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John Abercrombie: Timeless

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: John Abercrombie
Title: Timeless
Released: 1975
Label: ECM Records
Time: 43:36
Producer(s): Manfred Eicher
Appears with: Jan Hammer, Jack De Johnette
Category: Jazz
Rating: *******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  1998.09.22
Price in €: 18,10
Web address: www.johnabercrombie.com

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Lungs (Jan Hammer) - 12:08
[2] Love Song (John Abercrombie) - 4:34
[3] Ralph's Piano Waltz (John Abercrombie) - 4:52
[4] Red And Orange (Jan Hammer) - 5:21
[5] Remembering (John Abercrombie) - 4:32
[6] Timeless (John Abercrombie) - 11:57

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


John Abercrombie - Guitar
Jan Hammer - Organ, Synthesizer, Piano, Keyboard
Jack DeJohnette - Drums, Percussion

Tony May - Recording Engineer
Jan Erik Kongshaug - Mixing Engineer
Rolf Liese - Cover Design
Roberto Masotti - Photo

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Recorded June 21, 22, 1974 at Generation Sound Studios, New York.
 

Guitarist John Abercrombie's first in a long line of recordings for ECM was also his debut as a leader. Teamed up with Jan Hammer (who here plays organ, synthesizer and piano) and drummer Jack DeJohnette, Abercrombie plays four of his originals plus two by Hammer. These performances differ from many of the guitarist's later ECM dates in that Hammer injects a strong dose of fusion into the music and there is plenty of spirited interplay between those two with fine support by DeJohnette. Thought-provoking and occasionally exciting music that generally defies categorization.
 
 Scott Yanow, All-Music Guide
 

Although there have been recent vigorous exceptions, Abercrombie's work over the last decade or so has generally reflected his admiration for the pastel-toned Jim Hall school of guitar playing. However, this untypically energetic debut for ECM shows that in the heady seventies even the apparently deferential Abercrombie was not immune to the allure of high octane fusion. Keyboardist Jan Hammer was only six months out of John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, and the influence of that group looms large in much of this music. Hammer's frenetically paced opener quickly sets the scene, inspiring eight-bar exchanges between his galloping Hammond and Abercrombie's uncommonly aggressive staccato guitar (shades of the type of guitar work to come many years later on Abercrombie's recent Speak of the Devil), complete with the overdrive and phase-shift effects typical of McLaughlin's sound at the time. Other tracks, such as the limpid piano and acoustic guitar duets of Love Song and Remembering, announce Abercrombie's more meditative inclinations, as well as being redolent of Mahavishnu's quieter moments. There isn't much of the unmodified changes playing that Abercrombie has latterly developed, but the record is seductively atmospheric, dynamically varied, and incidentally shows that the organ trio had places to go after Jimmy Smith. It was recorded in the LP era, so the playing time is average, but there's no lack of breadth in the music.
 
© 1997 Gramophone Publications Limited
 

Perhaps the most skilled of the contemporary jazz guitarists who've embraced and utilized rock techniques and electronic devices in an improvising framework, John Abercrombie has made many superb recordings since the early '70s. He's used phase shifters, volume pedals and guitar synthesizers on a regular basis, as well as the electric mandolin. Abercrombie is cited (or blamed) in many circles for helping create the "ECM sound," a patchwork of acoustic and electric sounds made by electic musicians who combine jazz, European and Asian / Indian sources, elements and influences. But Abercrombie can also swing, play in the distorted, jagged rock style, execute bebop changes, improvise in 12 - bar blues patterns or engage in free dialogues. He began playing guitar at 14, taking lessons from a local teacher. He attended Berklee in the mid - '60s, while also playing in rock bands. Abercrombie studied guitar with Jack Petersen, and in 1967 and 1968 toured with Johnny "Hammond" Smith. He moved to New York in 1969, working briefly with the group Dreams, then playing with Chico Hamilton, in whose band he made his first visit to Europe. Abercrombie later played with Jeremy Steig, Gil Evans and Gato Barbieri, while recording with Dave Liebman and playing in Billy Cobham's Spectrum. He recorded with them and attracted extensive critical attention. Abercrombie began recording with Jack DeJohnette and also as a leader in the mid - '70s, working mainly for ECM. Since that time, he's done duo albums with Ralph Towner, played in various DeJohnette bands and headed various groups. Abercrombie's recorded with Jan Hammer, Dave Holland, Mike Brecker, Richie Beirach, George Mraz, Peter Donald, Marc Johnson, Adam Nussbaum, Peter Erskine, Vince Mendoza and Jon Christensen among others. He has many titles currently available on CD. Recently John Abercrombie had a reunion of his early 1970's trio Timeless with Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette.
 
 Ron Wynn and David Nelson McCarthy
 

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