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Eberhard Weber: Endless Days

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: ECM Records
Released: 2001
Time:
 50:19
Category: Jazz
Producer(s): Manfred Eicher
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.ecmrecords.com
Appears with: Jan Garbarek
Purchase date: 2015
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Concerto for Bass (E.Weber) - 6:09
[2] French Diary (E.Weber) - 6:46
[3] Solo for Bass (E.Weber) - 3:39
[4] Nuit Blanche (E.Weber) - 4:45
[5] A Walk in the Garrigue (E.Weber) - 3:28
[6] Concerto for Piano (E.Weber) - 4:46
[7] Endless Days (E.Weber) - 8:35
[8] The Last Stage of a Long Journey (E.Weber) - 9:20

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Eberhard Weber - Bass, Arrangements
Paul Mccandless - Oboe, English Horn, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone
Rainer Brüninghaus - Piano, Keyboards
Michael DiPasqua - Drums, Percussion

Manfred Eicher - Producer
Jan Erik Kongshaug - Engineer
Dieter Rehm - Design, Photography
Maja Weber - Cover Painting

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2001 CD ECM Records - ECM 1748

Recorded in April 2000 at Rainbow Studio in Oslo, Norway.




In his long-awaited followup to his 1993 solo Pendulum, Eberhard Weber has turned the tables from studio-edit solo improv work to notated small-group composition. Weber's distinctive sound on the upright electric bass earned him a distinct following, especially among fans of understated projects like his late '70s group Colours. His sidemen on Endless Days include musicians he's played with for decades, so naturally there's a strong sense of cohesion. One has the sense that when Weber composed these parts, he had specific musical personalities in mind. Reed player Paul McCandless made his mark early on in the group Oregon; keyboard player Rainer Brüninghaus has worked with Weber since the early '70s, including contributions to Colours; and drummer Michael DiPasqua worked with Weber in the Garbarek Group in the early '80s. Weber lured the drummer out of 14-year retirement for this project, and he offers welcome color to Endless Days.

The opening "Concerto for Bass" offers a delicately textured and starkly melodic feel, with Weber and McCandless playing leading roles. The harmonic backdrop for this piece, and most of the others, remains relatively static—providing ample room up front for thematic development. Most of the music is composed (and notated), but the sparsely-organized improvisations fit seamlessly into the greater whole. Of particular note are Weber's two related pieces for solo bass, where one gets a sense of his vision for playing "in the moment." Weber's bass work utilizes ambient space and hummable melody to create ethereal, floating sound structures. During group performances, drummer DiPasqua really shines. The drummer has a knack for exploring detail and texture without crowding out the other players. Endless Days occupies a distinct niche in the accumulating body of ECM records with sparse, reverberant sound and stark, often melancholy themes. The "composed" aspect of the record offers a degree of formalism that sets it apart from some of the more improvised music on the label.

AAJ STAFF - July 1, 2001
© 2015 All About Jazz



For his first recording since 1993's Pendulum, bassist Eberhard Weber teams up with Paul McCandless on woodwinds, Rainer Brüninghaus on piano and keyboards, and (emerging from retirement) Michael DiPasqua on drums and percussion. Weber's new compositions involve little improvisation and a steadfast avoidance of typical jazz vocabulary. Evocative and thoroughly composed, these tracks have something of a European classical, chamber jazz feel; McCandless' oboe and English horn emphasize this aspect all the more. DiPasqua's percussion can be quite dramatic and effective, particularly on "French Diary." Brüninghaus' piano shines throughout, but his synthesized string pads are also so prevalent that they begin to have a narcotic effect. Weber is no showoff on his instrument, although he reserves "Solo for Bass" and "A Walk in the Garrigue" for himself. His clear, cello-like electric tone brings Eddie Gomez to mind. Compositionally, there are distinct echoes of Lyle Mays in Weber's music as well, although more likely it is Mays who borrowed from Weber. Well done and moving at times, but a bit mild and innocuous overall.

David R. Adler - All Music Guide



To put it quite simply, this is a very important release and for many reasons. Foremost, it’s Eberhard Weber’s first date as a leader in some seven years. In addition, it’s probably his most realized group effort to date, taking advantage of his mature writing style and the past track record he shares with the musicians involved. Multi-instrumentalist Paul McCandless is, of course, one of the founding fathers of the group Oregon, with pianist Rainer Bruninghaus a regular of Weber’s group Colours. As for drummer Michael DiPasqua, this marks his first recording in fourteen years, having been gone from the music scene since 1986. To add another tangle to this web, it should be noted that both DiPasqua and McCandless were present on Weber’s transcendent 1982 ECM project Later That Evening, a masterpiece that also featured the budding talents of Lyle Mays and Bill Frisell.

Now that all that’s out of the way, let’s get to the music at hand. Weber has stated he wanted to create a work that was more classical in nature and less attuned to jazz sensibilities, that seeming somewhat of a paradox considering that Endless Days is very jazz-based indeed. The opening “Concerto For Bass” doesn’t seem like a concerto at all, but a delicate jazz waltz with McCandless’ charming oboe speaking the melody. Both “French Diary” and “Concerto For Piano” are less about swing sensibilities and more straight in character, although a beat dominates throughout. The title track and “The Last Stage of a Long Journey” are probably the most “classical sounding” of the lot, taking on an orchestral hue via Bruninghaus’ lush synthesizer backgrounds.

By using a hybrid electric bass, Weber adds to the characteristic sound of the recording as a whole. His writing also captures a lovely balance between animated and more pastoral moods, offering us an ECM classic in the making.

C. Andrew Hovan - July 1, 2001
© 2015 All About Jazz



Endless Days is an album by German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber recorded in Norway in 2000 and released on the ECM label. The Allmusic review by David R. Adler awarded the album 2½ stars stating "Weber's new compositions involve little improvisation and a steadfast avoidance of typical jazz vocabulary. Evocative and thoroughly composed, these tracks have something of a European classical, chamber jazz feel... Well done and moving at times, but a bit mild and innocuous overall". All About Jazz noted "Endless Days occupies a distinct niche in the accumulating body of ECM records with sparse, reverberant sound and stark, often melancholy themes. The "composed" aspect of the record offers a degree of formalism that sets it apart from some of the more improvised music on the label".

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