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John Abercrombie
(Born 1944, Port Chester, NY). John Abercrombie, who comes from
Greenwich, Connecticut, began playing the guitar at fourteen, and by the
time he was out of high school, he was ready to veer away from imitative
Chuck Berry licks in favor of learning to play the instrument more seriously.
He enrolled at Boston's Berklee School of Music. While there, Abercrombie
worked with other students and played local clubs and bars. "It was
pretty much your standard guitar-organ-drums set up." An offer to tour
with organist Johnny Hammond Smith led to his going on the road for weeks
at a time, playing such spots as Count Basie's Lounge and the Club Baron
in Harlem. During that same period, Abercrombie met the Brecker Brothers
who were in the process of forming Dreams. They invited Abercrombie to
play with them, and he was heard on Dreams' dubut album on Columbia.
In 1969, following graduation, Abercrombie decided to head South in
hopes of breaking into the New York music scene. In the next few years
he developed into one of New York's most in-demand session musicians. He
did record dates with Gil Evans, Gato Barbieri, Barry Miles and many other
artists, and also became a regular with Chico Hamilton's group. It was
as the guitarist in Billy Cobham's band that Abercrombie first began attracting
widespread attention among the general public. This ensemble was something
of a Dreams reunion since it also included the Brecker Brothers. Abercrombie
is heard on Cobham's "Crosswinds", "Total eclipse" and "Shabazz" album.
He found himself playing large concert halls, and arenas on bills with
such top rock attractions as the Doobie Brothers. "One night we appeared
at the Spectrum in Philadelphia and I thought, what am I doing here?".
A short time later, at the Montreux Festival, Abercrombie ran into
Manfred Eicher who invited him to record an album for ECM. The result was
Timeless, on which he was joined by Jan
Hammer and Jack DeJohnette. It received virtually unanimous critical
acclaim.
Gateway was released in November, 1975; it marked the first
collaborative effort of Abercrombie with DeJohnette and bassist
Dave
Holland. A second Gateway recording, Gateway II was released
in June 1978.
In 1979, Abercrombie formed his own quartet which included pianist
Richie Beirach, bassist George Mraz and drummer Peter Donald. The group
has made three recordings: Arcade, Abercrombie Quartet and
M. Abercrombie has also recorded with many other ECM artists; the
most significant collaborations must surely be with drummer Jack DeJohnette
(Abercrombie appears on all of DeJohnette's Directions and New Directions
albums) and with fellow guitarist Ralph Towner.
Abercrombie and Towner's Sargasso Sea was released in 1976 and their
newest album, Five Years Later, came out in January 1982.
Abercrombie's touring trio with Marc Johnson
and Peter Erskine is heard on Current Events,
Getting There (with frequent guest Michael Brecker), and John
Abercrombie/Marc Johnson/Peter Erskine. Critic Chuck Berg has described
the group as: "solidified ... to the point where its sixth-sense interactions
create a singleness of vision associated only with Olympian ensembles such
as the trios of pianists Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson". On Current
Events, released in 1988, John used guitar synthesizer for the first
time on record. John Abercrombie/Marc Johnson/Peter Erskine, released
in 1989, was recorded in Boston on April 21, 1988 and documents this innovative
trio live. Repertoire from their four-year association is presented, and
standards often linked with Bill Evans are given resplendent treatment.
John's affinity for jazz standards complements his role as an active clinician
and teacher. In listening-preparation for a Harvard lecture, where John
surveyed the history of jazz guitar, he explained: "When I'm playing
tunes like 'Autumn Leaves' or 'Stella By Starlight', as much as I've played
those tunes over the years, I still enjoy playing them. And because I know
them so well, I'm very free with them. I'm just as free with them as when
I'm playing with no chords at all. That, to me, is free jazz".
John Abercrombie possesses a unique voice as a jazz guitarist combining
evolving technologies with a tradition well-represented by jazz standards.
Further insight into music comes forth in a 1988 "Jazziz" interview: "Carrying
the tradition of jazz guitar from Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt
to the present day is a very important aspect of my music...I'd like people
to perceive me as having a direct connection to the history of jazz guitar,
while expanding some musical boundaries which may not always involve the
guitar itself".
On the 1990 release Animato John collaborates with composer/synthesist
Vince Mendoza and drummer Jon Christensen and presents eight original compositions.
Photo copyright: John Abercrombie © 2001
Home page: www.johnabercrombie.com
Timeless (ECM Records, 1975)
Gareway 2 (ECM Records, 1978)
Current Events (ECM Records, 1986)
Within a Song (ECM Records, 2012)
39 Steps (ECM Records, 2013)