Marc Johnson: Overpass

The virtuoso bassist Marc Johnson has kept a relatively low profile as a leader. A graduate of the prestigious North Texas State University jazz program, Johnson made his mark as a member of Bill Evans' trio from 1978 until the pianist's final album the following year. His ECM debut came as a member of John Abercrombie's trio on Current Events (1986) with Peter Erskine. The same trio, plus Bill Frisell, under Johnson's name, released Bass Desires the same year on ECM. Overpass marks Johnson's return to Manfred Eicher's label after ten years, and is his first solo album.

ECM has a small but powerful library of solo bass recordings, most notably from Larry Grenadier, Björn Meyer, Gary Peacock, Dave Holland, Miroslav Vitous, and Eberhard Weber. In that rarified company, Johnson's work here is more than admirable. All acoustic, with just a bit of overdubbing in places, Johnson gives us both pizzicato and arco readings in a program of five originals and covers which include Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance" and Miles Davis' "Nardis."

Johnson gives way to darker impulses with his take on "Love Theme From Spartacus." He trades the effortless fluidity of the Bill Evans trio version for a somber, pedantic treatment. The slow-building "And Strike Each Tuneful String" travels from a deliberate and portentous opening to a fast-paced rumble through the instrument's bottom end. "Yin And Yang" is an exotic arco piece which emerges as a cross-cultural experiment, interweaving tempered influences.

The music of Marc Johnson, original and repurposed, mingles traditional jazz, vivid structures, and improvisation, and an intuitively unique style develops. It's quite a feat to generate so much appealing sound from a single, double bass, but Johnson is talented enough to make that kind of magic happen. Eliane Elias, a frequent Johnson collaborator, co-produced the album with the bassist.