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Musician

Ralph Towner

Born:

Musical innovation is no easy feat. It not only requires an innate talent, but also a devotion to the art that is not blinded by the commercial glare of the popular culture. Ralph Towner is such an innovator on the modern musical landscape, his ideas ever fresh, though they span a career of more than forty years. Best known as the lead composer, guitarist, and keyboardist for the acoustic jazz ensemble "Oregon", Towner has also had a rich and varied solo career that has seen fruitful and memorable musical collaboration with such great modern musicians as Gary Burton, John Abercrombie, Egberto Gismonti, Larry Coryell, Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, and Gary Peacock. Towner was born in Chehalis, Washington on March 1st, 1940 into a musical family, his mother a piano teacher and his father a trumpet player

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Article: Album Review

John Taylor: Tramonto

Read "Tramonto" reviewed by Neil Duggan


British pianist John Taylor (1942-2015) possessed a remarkable talent for eluding the global recognition his skills warranted. A former house pianist at London's Ronnie Scott's club, Taylor probably achieved his widest acclaim through Azimuth, the group he formed with vocalist Norma Winstone (his wife) and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler. His trio recordings with drummer Peter Erskine and ...

4

Article: Live Review

David Binney Action Trio At Joe Henderson Lab

Read "David Binney Action Trio At Joe Henderson Lab" reviewed by Steven Roby


David Binney Action Trio Joe Henderson Lab San Francisco, CA August 9, 2025 With its two glass walls--one facing busy Franklin Street--the Joe Henderson Lab at the SFJAZZ Center feels like an open studio. At 7 p.m., the sold-out David Binney Action Trio made the most of that intimacy: all 100 ...

1

Article: Album Review

Patricio Morales: La Tierra Canta

Read "La Tierra Canta" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


If it has been some time since you listened to Ralph Towner, like a few decades or so, it may not be immediately obvious what classical guitarist Patricio Morales is doing. It may not even be obvious that he is playing jazz, although, by Morales' own account, Towner was a mentor and huge influence when he ...

4

Article: Album Review

Ronny Wiesauer: Figures and Shapes

Read "Figures and Shapes" reviewed by Geno Thackara


Amidst his occasional outings with combinations of other players, Ronny Wiesauer keeps drifting back to a personal niche that is reliably comfortable and comforting. When settled in alone with a guitar, he spins pastoral meditations with the easy-flowing smoothness of a daydream--this is contemplative territory sometimes reminiscent of Ralph Towner or Pat Metheny, though without making ...

4

Article: Album Review

Morten Duun: Code Breaker

Read "Code Breaker" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


This album by guitarist Morten Duun constructs a delicate and indeterminate beauty from just a few elements: guitar, trumpet, drums and occasional piano and voice. The music is a gauzy blend of sounds set in a lush silence reminiscent of some of the ECM recordings of Ralph Towner. There is a dreamy feel to the interplay ...

12

Article: Album Review

Adam Berenson: What Is This Place?

Read "What Is This Place?" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Pianist/keyboardist/composer Adam Berenson is fascinated with Eberhard Weber, the German jazz player probably better known for his “worked with" listing than his own album releases. The influential bassist/composer has helped to shape and shade and color albums by, among others, saxophonist Jan Garbarek, Pat Metheny, guitarist Ralph Towner and vibraphonist Gary Burton. This is a “minimal ...

1

Article: Album Review

Norma Winstone, Kit Downes: Outpost Of Dreams

Read "Outpost Of Dreams" reviewed by Neri Pollastri


Nato in modo quasi accidentale --la pianista abituale della cantante non era disponibile e le serviva un sostituto --quest'incontro tra generazioni diverse di artisti britannici ha subito funzionato talmente bene da dare in fretta questo eccellente frutto. La cantante è Norma Winstone, ottant'anni passati e portati benissimo, il pianista Kit Downes, trentotto anni; la prima ha ...

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Article: Building a Jazz Library

Saxophone Meets Guitar: The Dynamic Duo of Jazz

Read "Saxophone Meets Guitar: The Dynamic Duo of Jazz" reviewed by Robert Middleton


Imagine a smoky jazz club where the deep, soulful wail of a saxophone weaves effortlessly with the nimble, melodic lines of a guitar. This rare instrumental combination is a hidden gem in the world of jazz that deserves more attention. Jazz is not just a genre--it is a universe with galaxies of swing, bebop, ...

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Article: Album Review

Juanma Trujillo: Howl

Read "Howl" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Guitarist Juanma Trujillo's Howl explores some of the ways acoustic guitar can flourish in a small jazz group setting. Instead of playing simple rhythm parts, he is fully engaged in the music made by his three bandmates. His tangled strumming makes an interesting counterpoint to Kevin Sun's barrelling tenor sax on “Catharsis." On “Howl," his abstract ...


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