BILL BRUFORD & RALPH TOWNER & EDDIE GOMEZ: IF SUMMER HAD ITS GHOSTS

Quite a departure from his progressive and fusion efforts, this is a low-key, atmospheric album that would fit in nicely with most of the recordings on the ECM Records label. And, in fact, the other musicians involved have ties to that label. Ralph Towner comes across as the star performer here, playing guitars and keyboards, but Bruford composed most of the music. To the untrained ear, this sounds like jazz-tinged New Age music. Personally, I've always felt that the music released on the ECM label should be taken more seriously than 99% of so-called New Age music, and the same holds for this album. You won't hear simple, repetitious "wallpaper music", but you won't hear Bruford playing any complex, powerful rhythms in constantly-shifting time signatures, either. Surprisingly enough, I found this album in a pawn shop priced at about $5.00, mixed in with all the usual hip-hop, country and metal albums. It's on Robert Fripp's label, and must have been part of a small pressing, since I've never seen it in any record shops.