Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » John Abercrombie: The Third Quartet
John Abercrombie: The Third Quartet
Using the unique line-up of guitar-violin-bass-drums, Abercrombie effortlessly composes pieces snuggly fit to the band's considerable talents. Back to the freedom spectrum idea, The Third Quartet opens with the Abercrombie original "Banshee, a piece as untethered as blowing dust. Abercrombie affects a distorted tone while playing Eastern harmonic motifs in front of the sawing figures of Mark Feldman's violin. Drummer Joey Baron sets what tempo is present with his ride cymbal, throwing the occasional rim shot here and there.
The freedom of "Banshee is effectively contrasted with the lyrical "Vingt Six, which begins with an Abercrombie-Feldman duet, beautifully ornamented as a gentle ballad. Breaking from past practice, Abercrombie includes some standards in his recital, most notably Bill Evans' "Epilogue. Evans was known for a delicate and impressionistic approach to his piano performance, and Abercrombie and Feldman easily assimilate and emulate this approach in theirs.
The disc title, The Third Quartet, is a clever play on classical music naming. In this present case, it means the third recording by Abercrombie with his present working quartet, the two previous releases being Cat 'n' Mouse (ECM, 2002) and Class Trip (ECM, 2004). Each recording represents lessons learned from the previous one, showing a steady evolution toward a certain jazz perfection rare in the art.
Track Listing
Banshee; Number 9; Vingt Six; Wishing Bell; Bred; Tres; Round Trip; Epilogue; Elvin; Fine.
Personnel
John Abercrombie
guitarJohn Abercrombie: guitar; Mark Feldman: violin; Joey Baron: drums; Marc Johnson: double-bass.
Album information
Title: The Third Quartet | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: ECM Records
About John Abercrombie
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
