Jazz Articles about Ralph Towner

About Ralph Towner

Radio & Podcasts

New Releases And A Tribute To Ralph Towner

by Bob Osborne
February 19, 2026

A show in two parts. The first part examines some of the exciting new releases that have just been released or are due soon. The second part is a tribute to the legendary guitarist Ralph Towner. Playlist Nicholas Mycio “Siny" from Please Plant Flowers (Self Released) 00:00 Shai Maestro “The Time Bender" from The Guesthouse (Naive) 05:50 James Fernando “Potions" from Philly 3 (Spring Garden Records) 11:50 John Fumasoli & The Jones Factor “Not Sure" from Not Sure ...

Radio & Podcasts

Ralph Towner (RIP), Brandon Sanders, and Anat Fort

by Jerome Wilson
February 11, 2026

This episode features the music of the recently deceased Ralph Towner. It also includes the work of Anat Fort, Sarah Jane Morris, Brandon Sanders, and Amancio D'Silva.Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosiac) 00:00 Dizzy Gillespie “You Go To My Head" from The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (Bluebird) 1:00 The Scott Silbert Big Band “Dusk" from Jump Children (Self-Produced) 4:01 Fabia ...

Interview

Ralph Towner: Unconcerned With What Genre His Music Is Labeled

by Jim Trageser
January 29, 2026

This interview was originally published in San Diego Troubadour magazine in the March, 2017 edition. You'll excuse Ralph Towner if he's not particularly interested in debates over genres and how to define them. The guitarist grew up playing swing jazz on trumpet, then studied classical piano in college, discovered guitar at age 22 and studied in Vienna before moving to New York City in the late 1960s and co-founding pioneering world music combo Oregon--and then was ...

Interview

Ralph Towner: The Accidental Guitarist

by Mario Calvitti
January 20, 2026

This article was first published on All About Jazz on May 16, 2017. Ralph Towner is a rather atypical figure in the vast world of jazz guitar. His instruments of choice are the classical guitar, which when he started, in the '60s, was played almost exclusively by guitarists related to Brazilian music like Charlie Byrd, Laurindo Almeida and Bola Sete, and the 12-string guitar, very common in the folk world but virtually unknown to jazz. These choices led ...

Play This!

Ralph Towner: Winter Solstice

by Geno Thackara
December 21, 2023

It's a thoughtful, pastoral yet playful album--an early touchstone of the ECM label's sound, for good reason--and right in the middle, Ralph Towner decides to take a breather a bit more sparse than the rest. The quartet lineup drops to just a duo, and he and Jan Garbarek spin a cozy little tone poem evoking the season's quiet while keeping a fun skip in their step. The darkest day of the year doesn't mean there isn't still a little space ...

Liner Notes

Bill Bruford: The Summerfold Collection 1987-2008

by John Kelman
September 2, 2023

Intrepid percussionist/composer/bandleader Bill Bruford began his career in the late '60s art-rock arena with Yes and, later, King Crimson, but jazz has always moved underneath, like an eddying current. His early recordings, well documented on the companion Winterfold Collection, may not speak the language of jazz, but they possess its spirit. By 1986, Bruford was looking for a new path. Crimson had again dissolved, the 1981-'84 incarnation having provided him with the opportunity to explore nascent electronic drum ...

Album Review

Ralph Towner: At First Light

Read "At First Light" reviewed by Mario Calvitti

by Mario Calvitti
May 15, 2023

A 83 anni appena compiuti, il chitarrista americano Ralph Towner è ancora attivo, e la sua discografia si arricchisce di un nuovo album a 6 anni di distanza dal precedente My Foolish Heart, e a 50 anni esatti dalla registrazione del suo primo disco solo, Diary, che sarebbe stato pubblicato l'anno seguente su etichetta ECM, come tutti i suoi lavori successivi. Nelle note di copertina il chitarrista sembra stupirsi di essere stato legato a una stessa label per così tanto ...