| B i o g r a p h y |
Eberhard Weber
(born 1940 in Stuttgart, Germany) is a bassist. He began recording in
the early 1960s, and released his first record under his own name in
1973. In addition to his career as a musician, he also worked for many
years as a television and theater director. He has designed an
electric-acoustic bass featuring an extra C-string. His music, often in
a melancholic tone, follows simple ground patterns (frequently
ostinatos), yet is highly organized in its colouring and attention to
dramatic detail. Weber was a notable early proponent of the solid-body
electric double bass, which he has played regularly since the beginning
of the 1970s.
From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, his
closest musical association was with pianist Wolfgang Dauner. Their
many mutual projects were very diverse, from mainstream jazz to
jazz-rock fusion to avant-garde sound experiments. During this period
he also played and recorded with (among many others) pianists Hampton
Hawes and Mal Waldron, guitarists Baden Powell and Joe Pass, and
violinist Stephane Grappelli.
In 1973 he made his first record as a leader, The Colours of Chloë, for ECM Records. Since then he has released 10 more records under his own name, all on ECM. The ECM association also led to collaborations with other ECM recording artists such as Gary Burton (Ring, 1974; Passengers, 1976), Ralph Towner (Solstice, 1974; Sound and Shadows, 1977), Pat Metheny (Watercolors, 1977), and Jan Garbarek (9 recordings between 1978 and 1998).
In the mid-1970s he formed his own group, Colours, with
Charlie Mariano (soprano saxophone, flutes), Rainer Brüninghaus
(piano, synthesizer), and Jon Christensen (drums). After their first
recording, Yellow Fields (1975), Christensen left and was replaced by
John Marshall. The group toured extensively and recorded two further
records, Silent Feet (1977) and Little Movements (1980), before
disbanding. Since the early 1980s, Weber has regularly collaborated
with the British singer-songwriter Kate Bush, playing on four out of
her last five studio albums (The Dreaming, 1982; Hounds of Love, 1985;
The Sensual World, 1989; Aerial, 2005).
Since the early 1990s his performing and recording activity has decreased considerably - he has had only two new recordings under his own name since 1990. His main touring activity during this period has been as a regular member of the Jan Garbarek Group. Weber has, on at least five occasions, drawn on text from the book Watership Down (by Richard Adams) for the names of his compositions and albums. Examples include "Silent Feet" and "Eyes That Can See in the Dark" from the Silent Feet album; "Often in the Open" from the Later That Evening album; and "Quiet Departures" and the title track on the Fluid Rustle album.