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Ralph Towner Solstice: Sound and Shadows
by John Kelman
Ralph Towner SolsticeSound and ShadowsECM Records1977 While it took the label a year or so to define its raison d'être, by 1970/71 Germany's ECM Records had already garnered significant attention for its pristine, transparent sound, and for beginning to redefine the possibilities of what improvised music could be. A group that seemed ideal for Manfred Eicher's nascent label was Oregon, the American group that was already pushing every envelope by bringing in elements of Indian, ...
read moreRalph Towner / John Abercrombie: Five Years Later
by John Kelman
The long overdue release of Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie's Five Years Later, originally released in 1982, may well be the most eagerly anticipated of the Re:Solutions series that brings into print--on CD (four titles for the first time, Five Years Later previously only available for a limited time in Japan), vinyl and high resolution digital formats--seven historic ECM recordings. Add the three Abercrombie Quartet albums recorded immediately prior to Five Years Later--1979's Arcade, 1980's Abercrombie Quartet and 1981's M, ...
read moreRalph Towner / Wolfgang Muthspiel / Slava Grigoryan: Travel Guide
by John Kelman
Following an early series of ensemble releases for ECM (the label he's called home as a leader since 1973), Ralph Towner ushered in the new millennium by focusing on solo explorations with Anthem (2001) and Time Line (2006). Not that there's anything wrong with that, but after classic records like Solstice (1975) and Batik (1978), there are those who have long pined for the days when the guitarist/pianist collaborated more regularly with others beyond Oregon, the groundbreaking group shared with ...
read moreRalph Towner / Paolo Fesu: Chiaroscuro
by Martin Gladu
In a stuffed, empty room, rays of moonlight spill through a cobwebbed window and come licking a tired hardwood floor to the feet of an old, stiff chair. On it, the silhouette of a guitar; its strings, silent. At its side, a second chair with an embossed trumpet planted alongside a lonely music stand completes the tableau. Music was made in this imaginary place. But the tones have since vanished in the still air, leaving a feeling of nostalgia and ...
read moreRalph Towner e Javier Girotto all'Auditorium di Roma
by Mario Calvitti
Auditorium -Roma -25.01.2010C'era molta curiosità verso l'inedito duo Towner/Girotto presentato in un concerto esclusivo presso l'Auditorium romano per la rassegna Dialogo. La diversa provenienza artistica dei due musicisti (prettamente latino l'argentino Girotto, jazzista intriso di cultura classica europea Towner) poteva rappresentare sia uno stimolo che un ostacolo; fortunatamente ha prevalso di gran lunga il primo aspetto, e i due hanno dato vita a un concerto ricco di pathos, in cui l'energia e l'esuberanza di Girotto si sono dimostrate ...
read moreRalph Towner / Paolo Fresu: Chiaroscuro
by John Kelman
Since moving to Italy over a decade ago, guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner's output as a leader has been woefully infrequent, with only two discs released this decade--2001's Anthem and 2006's Time Line, both on the label that's been his home for over 35 years, ECM. It's not that he hasn't been busy; he continues to work and record regularly with Oregon, the group that he co-founded nearly 40 years ago, heard most recently on the Grammy Award-nominated 1000 Kilometers (Cam Jazz, ...
read moreRalph Towner / Paolo Fresu: Chiaroscuro
by Thomas Conrad
After Enrico Rava, the most important trumpet player in Italy is Paolo Fresu. The fact that he is not well known in the United States may be about to change, because he is now an ECM recording artist. The label has placed him with major people: Carla Bley on The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu in 2007 and now guitarist Ralph Towner on Chiaroscuro. A pairing of trumpet and acoustic guitar is unusual. Towner and Fresu have ...
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