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John Abercrombie Quartet: Up and Coming
by John Kelman
Starting the new year with, if not precisely a bang, a nevertheless unforgettable record whose strength lies in pristine lyricism, nuanced group interplay and writing that capitalizes on the entire quartet's appreciation of subtlety over gymnastics and refined lyricism over angularity, John Abercrombie's Up and Coming--ECM's first release of the year--is also founded strongly on the concept of relationship. The guitarist has been playing with Marc Copland since the pianist's days in the early '70s as a saxophonist ...
Continue ReadingJohn Abercrombie on ECM - Part 1: Through the '80s
by Budd Kopman
Now that the The First Quartet set of recordings by guitarist/composer John Abercrombie from 1979-1981 has been released, it is as good a time as any to explore Abercrombie's career on ECM as a leader/co-leader, plus some his work as a sideman. There is a famous epithet from Bill Evans: “Jazz is not a what, it is a how." He is saying many things here, but essentially it is that jazz is not any particular rhythmic pattern (i.e. ...
Continue ReadingJohn Abercrombie: The First Quartet
by Mark Sullivan
In many ways guitarist John Abercrombie's recordings with his first quartet represent his real coming of age, as a jazz guitarist, composer, and bandleader. He already had a substantial ECM discography behind him, including his fusion debut Timeless (1975); the overdubbed solo record Characters (1977); the first trio with Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, the self-titled Gateway (1975); and his first duet record with acoustic guitarist Ralph Towner, Sargasso Sea (1976). But many of these recordings (and others ...
Continue ReadingJohn Abercrombie: The First Quartet
by Karl Ackermann
In his more than thirty year career--almost exclusively with ECM--guitarist John Abercrombie has more often than not confined his formation to smaller groups ranging from solo through quartet. He has been less restricted in the style of music he creates and that diversity is demonstrated with mixed results on The First Quartet. The albums included in the three-disc set are remastered from original ECM analog recordings of Arcade (1979), Abercrombie Quartet (1979) and M (1981). All but unavailable in CD ...
Continue ReadingJohn Abercrombie: Characters
by John Kelman
John Abercrombie CharactersECM Records1978 Guitarist John Abercrombie's emergence as a guitarist of singularity seems, in retrospect to have happened very quickly. A band member in the horn-driven jazz-rock band Dreams alongside drummer Billy Cobham and the Brecker Brothers, as well as stints with fusion keyboardist Barry Miles, saxophonist Gato Barbieri and Cobham's own group, it was a remarkable period of evolution for the guitarist. Abercrombie made his first ECM appearance with Dave Liebman on the ...
Continue ReadingJohn Abercrombie Quartet at Library and Archives Canada
by John Kelman
John Abercrombie Quartet TD Ottawa Jazz Festival Winter Jazz Festival, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Canada February 15, 2014 It's always a treat to see some of your jazz heroes performing in your hometown, but it's an even greater pleasure to see some of them performing together in the same group. Guitarist John Abercrombie, pianist Marc Copland and bassist Drew Gress have been working together for nearly two decades, and they've all ...
Continue ReadingJohn Abercrombie Quartet: 39 Steps
by AAJ Italy Staff
Il nuovo CD di John Abercrombie vede ancora un cambio di formazione nel suo quartetto. Al posto del sax tenore di Joe Lovano, presente nel precedente Within a Song ritorna il pianoforte, che mancava dai tempi del quartetto con Richie Beirach negli anni '80, affidato a Marc Copland, compagno di vecchia data del chitarrista qui al debutto per la ECM. La loro collaborazione risale infatti alla fine degli anni '60, quando ancora Copland suonava il sassofono, prima nel quartetto di ...
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