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DVD/FILM REVIEWS

Eberhard Weber: The Jubilee Concert

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Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber: The Jubilee Concert Naxos 2015 German bassist Eberhard Weber's 75th birthday celebration has already been documented in audio form on Hommage à Eberhard Weber (ECM, 2015). This video document more fully captures the celebratory tone of the event, includes a bit of bonus material, and perhaps most importantly, presents Pat Metheny's composition “Hommage" as the multi-media event it was created to be. Weber was both the honoree ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Eberhard Weber: Hommage à Eberhard Weber

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Hommage celebrates the 75th birthday of bassist/composer Eberhard Weber. His distinctive custom-built, five-string electro-acoustic upright bass sound has been the foundation of many ECM recordings, almost right from the beginning: as leader of his own groups; longtime sideman for saxophonist Jan Garbarek; and other ECM recording artists including Ralph Towner, Gary Burton, Wolfgang Dauner, Pat Metheny and the Frankfurt Jazz Ensemble. He has been unable to perform since a 2007 stroke, but the first two selections in this live concert ...

EXTENDED ANALYSIS

Eberhard Weber: Hommage à Eberhard Weber

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Despite being waylaid from playing the instrument that defined his approach to both performance and composition by a severe 2007 stroke, Eberhard Weber has managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible feat of continuing to make recordings that revolve around his instantly recognizable, custom-made electro-acoustic instrument: 2013's Resumé and 2015's appropriately titled Encore, both on ECM Records, the label that's been home to the bassist, composer and occasional bandleader since Colours of Chloë (1974), his award-winning leader debut. Now, it's true ...

REDISCOVERY

Eberhard Weber: Fluid Rustle

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Eberhard Weber Fluid RustleECM1979 Today's Rediscovery, after a bit of a hiatus, looks at an album by Eberhard Weber that is of particularly significance in the German bassist's discography. Fluid Rustle, released by ECM Records in 1979, was, in fact, one of many anomalies in Weber's discography for its unusual instrumentation (electric guitar/balalaika, vibraphone/marimba, bass/tarang, voices); but beyond that, it stands out as the album that introduced guitarist Bill Frisell to the world.

EXTENDED ANALYSIS

Eberhard Weber: Encore

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In a time when too many things that seem unfair create victims rather than heroes, the world needs more people like Eberhard Weber. Struck down with a major stroke in 2007, the renowned German bassist found himself without the strength required in his left hand to be able to play the custom-built, electric five-string double bass that, in various incarnations, has defined a sound as instantly recognizable as any bassist on the planet. That would have been enough ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Eberhard Weber: Encore

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The aesthetic sensibility that has become identified as the sound of ECM is--in large part--a manifestation of German bassist and composer Eberhard Weber's own vision. Spacious, obscured harmonies, fluid melodies and tastefully imbedded electronics, often within a minimalist framework have been consistent components of much of the music in the label's catalog. Weber's inventive approach to his instrument--especially his creation of the electrobass--led him away from the familiar parameters of walking bass lines into more uncharted territory of the bass ...

REDISCOVERY

Eberhard Weber: :rarum Selected Recordings

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Eberhard Weber :rarum Selected Recordings ECM Records 2004 Some days you want to hear a bit of everything, so today's Rediscovery? Eberhard Weber's :rarum Selected Recordings, a compilation of some of his work as a leader and a guest for the venerable ECM label, ranging from his own Colours group to collaborations with Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, Ralph Towner, Norma Winstone and Jan Garbarek. That he can no longer play bass, the result ...

INTERVIEWS

Eberhard Weber: Positive Pragmatism

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There are plenty of positives about getting older: wisdom, maturity and a more balanced outlook are just three of them. But it would be unrealistic to suggest that there aren't a few negatives thrown in there. When bassist Eberhard Weber woke up in his hotel room on the morning of April 23, 2007, in Berlin, Germany, where he was to perform with the Jan Garbarek Group--having played in numerous groups with the Norwegian saxophonist since Photo With Blue Sky, White ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW

Eberhard Weber: Résumé

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Composer/bassist Eberhard Weber has been one of the heritage artists to define and exemplify the standards of Manfred Eicher's ECM Records. Résumé continues the tradition of both the label and Weber with an unusually structured collection of live performances culled from more extended pieces. This global collection of bass solos, culled from live Jan Garbarek Group performances between 1990 and 2007, has been edited and engineered into a natural and flawless flow; each track takes its title from the host ...

EXTENDED ANALYSIS

Eberhard Weber: Resume

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You've got to admire German-born, France-resident bassist Eberhard Weber. Suffering a major stroke while on tour with Jan Garbarek in 2007--an association that went back more than 30 years, the two first collaborating on American guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner's Solstice (ECM, 1975) and Weber becoming the Norwegian saxophonist's bassist of choice beginning with Photo With Blue Sky, White Cloud, Wires, Windows And A Red Roof (ECM, 1978)--to this day Weber's left side remains too weak for him to play his unique, ...