Jazz Articles about Ralph Towner

Ralph Towner / Paolo Fresu: Chiaroscuro

by David McLean
December 27, 2009

Continuing his long and fruitful relationship with Manfred Eicher's ECM Records--yielding a slew of successful solo records and concerts, acclaimed group work with Oregon and Solstice (also featuring Jan Garbarek), and duo work with John Abercrombie, Gary Peacock and Gary Burton--guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner has become something of an icon for the German label. Chiaroscuro marks another chapter in Towner's longstanding interest in duo work, this time pairing himself with Italian trumpeter Paolo Fresu. This largely restrained and meditative duo explores, ...

Ralph Towner - Paolo Fresu: Chiaroscuro

by AAJ Italy Staff
November 5, 2009

Il primo contatto tra i due protagonisti di questo lavoro è avvenuto nell'ormai lontano 1992, in occasione del festival jazz di Sant'Anna Arresi. Successivamente - ed in particolare negli ultimi anni - non sono mancate le occasioni di incontro che hanno dato origine anche ad alcuni concerti, ma solo ora emerge il frutto discografico di quella collaborazione. L'estetica musicale di Fresu, continuamente volto alla ricerca di una musica 'totale' senza confini geografici o di genere, ben si sposa con quella, ...

Ralph Towner: Timeline

by AAJ Italy Staff
October 16, 2006

I dischi di Ralph Towner per sola chitarra si sono fatti più frequenti nel tempo, come se la dimensione intima ad essi collegata fosse diventata quella privilegiata, e la presenza di altri musicisti con cui confrontarsi non più necessaria. Successivo ad Ana e ad Anthem, questo Time Line ne prosegue la linea, con composizioni originali eseguite alla chitarra classica (o alla 12 corde) mescolate ad alcuni standard. Ogni disco di Towner è una dimostrazione di stile che non ha eguali, ...

An Evening with Ralph Towner

by Erik R. Quick
July 20, 2006

Ralph Towner An Die Musik Baltimore, MD June 23, 2006

There is often a predisposition, for whatever reason, to categorize and compartmentalize both the manner of existence and the means of expression. Our food, friends, neighborhoods, automobiles and clothes are all neatly isolated and segregated into predisposed sections meant to conform to our already limited experiences and expectations. Of course, music is a frequent victim of such oft brutal and dismissive exercises and, ...

Ralph Towner: Time Line and Siroko

by Celeste Sunderland
June 10, 2006

Ralph Towner Time Line ECM 2006 Olivier Ker Ourio Siroko Nocturne 2005

As the nylon strings of Ralph Townerâ????s classical guitar or the steel of his 12-string react to the intrepid actions of his fingers, soothing intricacies flow toward the walls and settle among the shadows. Sharp harmonics shoot up into ...

Ralph Towner: Time Line

by John Kelman
April 28, 2006

Few artists have made the art of solo performance a significant part of their body of work. If a pianist is around long enough, you can expect the occasional solo recording. But except for Keith Jarrett, few pianists have made solo performance a fundamental part of their discography. The same applies to the guitar, where Ralph Towner is another obvious exception. While Towner's 35-year affiliation with Oregon gives him an outstanding ensemble with which to explore group interaction, the majority ...

Ralph Towner: Time Line

by Jeff Dayton-Johnson
April 25, 2006

In an essay about Kafka, Jorge Luis Borges asserted that great writers create their precursors. Guitarist Ralph Towner makes no secret about the influence of pianist Bill Evans on his musical style. He places “My Man's Gone Now at the end of this new solo recital, raising expectations of an Evans-like record. (Evans didn't compose the song but will be forever linked to it, thanks to his classic trio's recording from the Village Vanguard in June 1961.)

Evans' music is ...