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Eberhard Weber: Stages of a long Journey

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: ECM Records
Released: 2007
Time:
73:29
Category: Jazz
Producer(s): Martin Mühleis
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] Silent Feet (Eberhard Weber) - 7:37
[2] Syndrome (Carla Bley) - 7:44
[3] Yesterdays (Jerome Kern) - 5:03
[4] Seven Movements (Eberhard Weber) - 5:54

      Birthday Suite
[5] The Colours Of Chloë (Eberhard Weber) - 7:19
[6] Piano Transition (Rainer Brüninghaus) - 4:11
[7] Maurizius (Eberhard Weber) - 7:04
[8] Percussion Transition (Marilyn Mazur) - 3:03
[9] Yellow Fields (Eberhard Weber) - 7:01

[10] Hang Around (Reto Weber) - 4:17
[11] The Last Stage Of A Long Journey (Eberhard Weber) - 11:06
[12] Air (Eberhard Weber) - 3:10

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Eberhard Weber - Bass on [1,2,4-12], Double Bass on [3]
Marilyn Mazur - Percussion on [1,2,5-9,11]
Rainer Brüninghaus - Piano on [1,5-9,11]
Wolfgang Dauner - Piano on [3]
Jan Garbarek - Soprano & Tenor Saxophone on [1,2,4-9,11]
Gary Burton - Vibraphone on [1,2,5-9,11]
Nino G. - Human Beatbox on [10]
Reto Weber - Percussion, Hang on [10]

SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart - Orchestra on [1,5-9,11]
Roland Klutting - Conductor on [1,5-9,11]

Martin Mühleis - Producer
Design – Sascha Kleis
Wilfried Wenzel - Balance Engineer
Michael Sandner - Tonmeister
Michael Tucker - Liner Notes
Gert Rickmann-Wunderlich - Cover Photo
Jörg Becker - Liner Photos

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2007 CD ECM Records - ECM 1920
2007 CD ECM Records - 172 3518

Concert recorded on 23-24 March 2005 at the Theaterhaus, Stuttgart.



Stages Of A Long Journey documents the best moments of two March 2005 concerts in Stuttgart celebrating the 65th birthday of Eberhard Weber. The bassist has, of course, been a mainstay at ECM, where his comparable talents as composer and arranger have found room to flourish since his breakthrough “Colours” discs of the seventies. This is his first live record for the label he calls home.

The album’s roster represents decades of inter- and intra-musical friendship, and dots a compass of profound collaboration. Saxophonist Jan Garbarek, in whose self-named group Weber has performed alongside many of the other featured musicians, returns the favor by casting his nets back to tunes in which he was never originally involved. The elliptical nature of it all brews fresh ideas and colorations, especially in the duo track “Seven Movements,” in which Garbarek’s soprano rides the ember-glow of Weber’s arpeggios like a bird on the wing.

Another evocative duo comes in the form of “Yesterdays.” The 1930s show tune pairs Weber with surprise guest (and oldest ally of them all) Wolfgang Dauner, he of the elusive Output, at the keys. In this conversation, one encounters the joy with which the bassist emotes. This makes it the most nostalgic portion of the program, which is perhaps why Weber foregoes his trusty electrobass and, in a rare turn, goes unplugged for a spell on the standard upright.

Another wizard of the keyboard, Rainer Brüninghaus, is a necessary presence for such a performance. Having contributed atmospheric details to so many of Weber’s tapestries, he lifts the classic “The Colours of Chloë”—which opens the five-part Birthday Suite—to new heights. The combination of bass and piano here reaches across and beyond the ensemble’s stretched canvas. Brüninghaus furthers the suite with his original “Piano transition,” as does percussionist Marilyn Mazur in her “Percussion transition,” both satellites orbiting Weber’s dreamlike “Maurizius” in telepathic gravitation. Moreover, Vibraphonist Gary Burton makes his mark on “Yellow Fields,” the suite’s final offering. Here, too, is where the final pieces of the puzzle work most intuitively, as the 90-piece Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Roland Kluttig, transitions across newly fertilized surroundings with its unassuming blend.

Because there has always been something of an orchestral heart beating in Weber’s music, one should not put too much stock into its actualization herein. This is duly apparent in “Silent Feet.” As the album’s opener, it is as likely an introduction as any for those hearing these pieces for the first time, but on its waves bobs the unblemished torch of interpretation that Weber has carried all these years, reaching full conflagration in a new take on Carla Bley’s “Syndrome.” This pet tune takes listeners into exciting directions as Weber navigates a shifting mosaic—sometimes in triplicate, sometimes duplicate—with controlled heat.Percussionist Reto Weber and beatboxing phenomenon Nino G join in the fun for “Hang Around” (a wordplay on Reto’s hang drum), much to the audience’s obvious delight. It is a playful interlude, but an equally conducive facet of the bassist’s prism, as is “The Last Stage Of A Long Journey,” a veritable origami figure of wind, land, and, above all, light.

Eberhard Weber’s music is a process of translation. Through it all, his bass is a visceral, thrumming magnet that seems to emerge from the very earth even while burrowing into it. His musical language is interlocking yet contrapuntal. Like an open book, its pages contain infinite wisdom but come together at the spine. All the more appropriate that Weber should end solo with “Air.” A summation but also a beginning, it is a badge of honor as only he can wear it.

ECM Records



If there's any lesson to be learned from Eberhard Weber's Stages of a Long Journey, it's this: just because you don't doesn't mean you can't. A career-spanning retrospective of his own most enduring compositions expanded, in some cases, to include a symphony orchestra, the bassist delivers more than a few surprises. Naysayers only cursorily familiar with Weber's ECM discography—largely defined by improvisation based firmly on defined structure living somewhere between the jazz vernacular and European classicism—often operate under the misconception that he lacks the ability to play "real" jazz.

He can. Here, Weber tackles Carla Bley's classic "Syndrome" with his core quintet—vibraphonist Gary Burton, saxophonist Jan Garbarek, pianist Rainer Bruninghaus and percussionist Marilyn Mazur—and its fiery swing is a persuasive acquittal for everyone (with the exception of Burton, who's allegiance to mainstream jazz has never been questioned). Garbarek navigates the changes with ease while retaining the personal attention to tone that's been a defining point of his career. Weber, using his distinctive five-string upright electrobass, swings energetically alongside Mazur, another artist rarely considered a centrist-capable drummer.

Weber also reunites with pianist Wolfgang Dauner for a soft reading of Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays." Briefly abandoning his hybrid instrument for the acoustic variety, Weber again makes it clear that his choice to evolve a career largely distanced from the mainstream is just that: a choice.

Endless Days (ECM, 2001), was an emphatically small-group, through-composed recording. Here, the bassist reworks some of his best material to explore the nexus where a longstanding interest in structure meets small ensemble democracy. Three of Weber's most lyrical compositions—the title tracks to The Colours of Chloë (ECM, 1974) and Yellow Fields (ECM, 1976), alongside the darkly romantic "Maurizius," from Later That Evening (ECM, 1982)—are joined together as the thirty-minute "Birthday Suite," this 2005 Stuttgart Germany live recording being a celebration of his 65th birthday. Weber's orchestration provides a requisite shape to the suite; still, Garbarek and Burton get plenty of solo space on the individual tunes, while Bruninghaus and Mazur are given brief solo spots that transition between them.

Weber takes the opportunity to reinvent his material in more ways than simply expanding the sonic palette and providing greater contrapuntal opportunities. The pulse of "Silent Feet" is more buoyant than the original, while Mazur lends an insistent pulse to the impressionistic introduction of "The Colours of Chloë."

Weber also proves his ears have remained open on "Hang Around," a brief piece of trippy hip hop that combines Weber's electrobass with Reto Weber's steel pan-sounding hang and Nino G.'s impressive vocal beatbox.

A compelling retrospective that demonstrates the malleability, melodism and beauty of Weber's oeuvre, Stages of a Long Journey's omission of two words from its source—the bassist's "The Last Stage of a Long Journey," which receives an expansive and expanded orchestral treatment—makes it thankfully clear that this recording is simply a milestone, not an ending.

Rating: [5 out of 5]

John Kelman - July 17, 2007
© 2015 All About Jazz



German bassist Eberhard Weber’s entire 35-year solo catalog is on ECM, so it’s natural to associate his name with the company known for its atmospheric, spacious acoustic music. But Manfred Eicher’s label also stresses innovation. Weber, 67, actually plays an electric upright bass, which he customized during the 1970s by adding extra strings. He uses the instrument on 11 of the 12 tracks on his latest CD, the live Stages of a Long Journey.

Weber’s first live CD, and first overall since Endless Days from 2000, was recorded in his hometown of Stuttgart to celebrate his 65th birthday. Old friends like vibraphonist Gary Burton and saxophonist Jan Garbarek blend with tracks featuring the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart (conducted by Roland Kluttig) and even Swiss “human beatbox” Nino G, making the program anything but predictable.

The symphonic opener, Weber’s “Silent Feet,” effectively blends the orchestra with Garbarek’s quartet (with Weber, pianist Rainer Bruninghaus and drummer/percussionist Marilyn Mazur) and Burton. The bassist has been a member of the Garbarek’s group for more than 25 years. Carla Bley’s “Syndrome” features that quintet sans orchestra, plus swinging interplay between Burton and Mazur, a former member of Miles Davis’ band.

Weber duets on acoustic upright with guest pianist Wolfgang Dauner, then on electric with Garbarek, before the half-hour “Birthday Suite” spotlights Bruninghaus, Mazur and the orchestra. The SWR also provides vibrant colors to the 11-minute title track, but the disc’s biggest surprises come before and after it. “Hang Around” features not only Nino G’s hard-to-believe vocal percussion, but also Swiss percussionist Reto Weber (no relation) playing with Eberhard Weber in a most unorthodox trio format. The bassist ends the concert with his unaccompanied composition “Air,” proving that his innovation extends beyond his customized instrument.

Bill Meredith - October 2007
© 1999-2015 JazzTimes



Stages of a Long Journey was recorded in Stuttgart in March of 2005, as part of a celebration of both the 20th anniversary of the Theaterhaus Jazzstage festival and as a 65th birthday celebration for bassist Eberhard Weber. Weber was asked to pick a number of his own compositions, rearrange them by writing new charts for the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and select his own band as well. Weber picked on former and current bandmates such as Gary Burton, Jan Garbarek, Rainer Bruninghaus, Marilyn Mazur, Wolfgang Dauner, Reto Weber, and human beatbox Nino G., and carefully chose material from his own catalog and pieces he had performed on in their initial recordings, such as Bruninghaus's "Piano Transition," Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays," Mazur's "Percussion Transition," and Carla Bley's "Syndrome." Those wondering if there is any actual "jazz" on this record need look no further than the gorgeous version of Bley's tune here, where Burton, Garbarek, and the bassist all shine. Another consideration for the listener is in Weber's beautiful, inventive, rhythmic charts for the orchestra (under the direction of Roland Kluttig). "Silent Feet," which opens the set, is one such exercise. What begins as a slow bowed bassline is colored and enlarged by the orchestra entering gradually, tensely, and dramatically, as grey dawn emerges from the night sky. A pulse begins just after Mazur's percussion entry, the band plays these intricate rhythmic phrases, and the orchestra adds genuine color, texture, and depth. They follow rhythmic signature perfectly, allowing the tune to evolve and bring its delightfully understated melodic frame (which is not inseparable from the pulse) to the fore. By the time Garbarek takes his solo and Weber plays double time behind him, the big brassy horns are ready to push and drop out only as Burton enters with a truly lovely and poetic solo.

There are a fine pair of duets played here as well, between Dauner on piano and Weber's bass on the lovely Kern number, and also "Seven Movements," shared by the bassist and Garbarek. They set the stage for what follows, the elongated "Birthday Suite" that encompasses five pieces - bookended by gorgeous readings of two of Weber's best-known pieces, "The Colours of Cloë" and "Yellow Fields." On "Hang Around," a trio of Nino G., Weber's downright funky acoustic bass, and the self-designed percussion instrument played by Reto Weber (no relation) called the "hang," are in deep intuitive interplay. The work by G. is not a novelty, but something inventive, utterly fresh, and full of the energy - especially in G.'s solo. The final two pieces of the evening are in many ways the most satisfying. The full band returns on "The Last Stage of a Long Journey," where the orchestra introduces the brooding and melancholy composition. Strings and the deep brass of tuba and euphonium gradually bring up the tempo and introduce the lithe melody, as Weber brings his bass up from the ether. When Bruninghaus restates the theme on the piano and Weber is allowed free play inside the rhythm, Burton begins to color it. When Garbarek's icy soprano saxophone cries out, it is arresting and rings true. The concert ends with a brief bass solo by Weber on "Air." In just over three minutes, the great bassist is not remotely interested in showing his chops but in playing this bittersweet little song as a folk tune. This is a watershed moment in Weber's recorded output, because it reveals his collective gifts as a musician, which, even when understated, are shining examples of the European jazz, folk, classical, and new music he has forged these last 40 years as a leader and as a valued sideman and composer.

Rating: [4 out of 5]

Thom Jurek - All Misic Guide



Stages of a Long Journey is a live album by German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber recorded in Germany in 2005 and released on the ECM label. The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states, "This is a watershed moment in Weber's recorded output, because it reveals his collective gifts as a musician, which, even when understated, are shining examples of the European jazz, folk, classical, and new music he has forged these last 40 years as a leader and as a valued sideman and composer". All About Jazz called it "A compelling retrospective that demonstrates the malleability, melodism and beauty of Weber's oeuvre, Stages of a Long Journey's omission of two words from its source—the bassist's "The Last Stage of a Long Journey," which receives an expansive and expanded orchestral treatment—makes it thankfully clear that this recording is simply a milestone, not an ending".

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