JOHN ABERCROMBIE

A guitarist that has been known to me since the 1970s due to his long association with ECM Records, it has only been recently that I've really come to know and appreciate his skill and genius as a technical wizard of both acoustic and electric guitar formats, as well as his high intelligence and creativity in conditions requiring structure, support, and improvisation. I am now unafraid to include John in the highest circle of jazz-rock fusion guitarists (with the likes of John McLaughlin, Jan Akkerman, Volker Kriegel, and Al Di Meola).

1. "Lungs" (12:08) organ and electric guitar trading incandescent flares for solos over some equally-stunning drum play. In the fourth minute, just as the two melody-makers start to really duel, the music slows down, spreads out, leaving a lot of space for some spacey organ and volume-controlled and echoed electric guitar note play while Jack gives a virtual clinic in cymbal and bass drum play which turns into a tom-tom and snare clinic as well. This is easily as powerful and virtuosic as anything the Mahavishnu Orchestra ever produced. At the beginning of the eighth minute the band resets and restarts with some kind of low-bass note play (from Jan Hammer, of course) providing a kind of funky rhythmic propulsion for Jan, John, and Jack to slowly, very deliberately, start contributing notes, riffs, and other idiosyncratic flourishes and musical catchphrases from here to the song's end. What this has to do with lungs, I'm not sure. (22.5/25)

2. "Love Song" (4:34) Jan Hammer's piano and John Abercrombie's acoustic guitar are here recorded performing a beautiful duet. These guys really hear each other--which is why this lovely conversation sounds so respectful and co- ordinated--like a dance--and not unlike something Chick Corea and Al Di Meola might have done together. (9.75/10)

3. "Ralph's Piano Waltz" (5:21) a more typical jazz swing with a great melody "hook" This is a John Abercrombie composition that became one of his signature songs--one that he re-recorded on several other studio albums and, of course, performed live with many of his bands--and I wouldn't understand anyone who wouldn't be able to "see" why. Great performance by John with awesome support from Jan's organ play and Jack's stunning drum play. Though I have great trouble thinking of Jack DeJohnette as a "fusion" drummer, he is definitely on the short list of the best jazz drummers I've ever heard (probably #1): his creativity is a marvel to behold. (9.375/10)

4. "Red In Orange" (5:21) a furious syncopated opening sounds like it could come from both EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER or the MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA though the jazz guitar play ends up sounding more like JOHN TROPEA or ERIC GALE during the early section, the Larry Coryell in the fiery second section, and then like John McLaughlin in the photon-speed final minute. Jan Hammer's dynamic organ play sounds like LARRY YOUNG (Khalid Yasin)--especially when in support mode--but then he fires up some amazing Keith Emerson-like stuff in his duels with John--and Jack is right there with them the whole way! (9.625/10)

5. "Remembering" (4:32) back to piano and acoustic guitar dueting, this one meandering a little more like something from the Americana or Chick Corea school of austere acoustic or atmospheric duet music. Despite the flourishes of virtuosity, the key and tempo changes are met with ease with both musicians delivering gorgeous melodies and variations on those melodies throughout. Both musicians are showing their masterful ability to bring the listener back to the security of "home" by positing the occasional, perfectly-timed, dominant "comfort" chord. (Thank you!) There is, however, something very warm and humane about this song--this style of duet music--that feels more inviting and engaging--more personable--than the "competitive" duets that Al Di Meola became known for. (9.25/10)

6. "Timeless" (11:57) ominous low-end synth chord provides the steady foundation for John to noodle around improvisationally using a very gentle, soft tone on his electric guitar. I love this kind of electric guitar performance where volume and dynamic take a backseat to heart-felt feeling and sensitivity. In the fifth minute there is a transition into a section in which Jan sets forth a patterned bass line over which John plays off of with equally-interesting, beautiful fluidity and melodic sense. Jack joins the puff parade with his brushes, rarely beating anything dynamic, instead keeping to the same delicate sensibilities as his band mates. Jan is allowed to jump in a couple of times with his MiniMoog and the song never really changes or shifts or deepens again, just plays out with this same bass-line-led motif to the end. A nice exhibition of a certain kind of solo improvisational music but not a really engaging or deeply interesting song from a listener's standpoint. (22/25)

Total Time: 43:53

Jan Hammer has always come across as a much weaker keyboard player in my mind due to the fact that I've seen and heard mostly his performances where he is playing on either his stage "keytars" or dueling with guitarists and/or violins by using the right-hand upper registers of his computers, thus, I never thought the guy had a left hand. On several albums from the 1970s that I've stumbled across over the past couple of years I've been impressed to hear Jan Hammer as a more "complete" keyboard player: playing piano, organs, Fender Rhodes, Moogs, and, as here, lots of bass as a substitute for the more typical upright or electric bass player.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of fringy jazz-rock fusion from three of Jazz-Rock Fusion's all-stars (two of which are lesser known). An album that I highly recommend to any prog lover who love it when virtuosic musicians can meld together really well.

An ECM production of the collaborative music of three of the greatest jazz musicians to have graced the vinyl and plastic grooves of last 40 years of the 20th Century.

1. "Back-Woods Song" (7:54) starts out sounding a bit like an ALLMAN BROTHERS song before the three start exerting their jazzy virtuosity. John Abercrombie, whom I've come to recognize as one of the greatest jazz guitarists ever, really puts on a display of CHET ATKINS-like virtuosic subtlety, also like Chet, often covering the low and middle ranges as well as rhythm--despite the fact that he's got one of the best rhythm sections ever assembled beneath him. The ECM sound is, as one comes to expect, incredibly well recorded, engineered, and rendered unto tape: it seems that every tiny little nuance of each players' performance is captured with pristine accuracy. Dave Holland is such a lyrical bass player that I don't for a minute lament the absence of vocals or words, and when he's soloing, we get to observe the creative/inventive rhythm strokes of Mr. Abercrombie--one of the areas that he excels in a way similar to that of John McLaughlin and Jan Akkerman. While I don't really like this style of music, I find myself sitting back while bathing in the enjoyment of hearing these fine musicians captured for all time, just for me. (13.75/15)

2. "Waiting" (2:13) interesting little loose piece with Dave's bass providing the focal material. Innocuous and forgettable. (Even as I just heard it two minutes ago.) (4.25/5)

3. "May Dance" (11:04) a piece that sounds a lot like the old jazz of the 1960s when the free-jazz artists were really starting to take off. Jack sounds like he's doing the best job playing off of John's lead guitar work, but then Dave Holland is so adept, so attuned that he may be not only in perfect synchrony but also perhaps the lead instrument. Heck! I understand free-jazz so poorly that maybe Jack's the lead--or all three could be racing off in their own direction. What let's me know that the artists aren't too far out there is the fact that there is some cohesion in the form of the pacing. John's guitar play in the sixth minute is so bizarre it reminds me of the free-form guitar playing of Sonny Sharrock or Robert Fripp. We get a nice extended bass solo in the seventh and eighth minutes as Dave and Jack back off to provide only minimal assistance. When double bass players solo like this I feel that they're really just practicing scales and inventing inversions and chords, never really thinking in terms of melody. In the meantime Jack and John's subtleties are equally, if not more, mesmerizing. Oh, to be in their heads in order to gain some inkling of comprehension for what they are doing! Though this is not my favorite form of music, at least with this song I am able to stay with the guys: I'm not driven away by the dissonance or anarchic chaos. (17.75/20)

4. "Unshielded Desire" (4:52) this song starts out as a Jack DeJohnette drum solo (with emphasis on the cymbal play). John enters about 30-seconds in with some wah-wah-ed staccato machine gun note play, but I find myself still glued to Jack's performance. I'm astonished to find that over two minutes into the song it's still a duet: nary a sign of Dave Holland! And yet, it's brilliant! It's breath-taking! The edge of Jazz-Rock Fusion but fascinating! At the end of the fourth minute the boys turn on the rock afterburners and really charge it up! Wow! Terry Kath and Danny Seraphine: eat your hearts out! (9.5/10)

5. "Jamala" (7:47) delicate cymbal play with sparse- and subtle-ly played volume controlled electric guitar note play and quiet, mostly accenting bass far beneath. John hits some stunningly beautiful riffs and runs, providing just enough space in between to allow the simple listener, such as myself, time to digest the offerings. Such pristine clarity in the guitar notes (and cymbals)! Though the music of this song falls more into the realm of pure jazz, it is still quite accessible and totally enjoyable. On the version I have access to, this song is over seven minutes long--with the final three minutes spaciously evolving into some aggressive, distorted, more-rock-oriented guitar and band play for the final minute. Wow! Now that was unexpected! (13.875/15)

6. "Sorcery 1" (10:56) Jack, followed by a very melodic Dave Holland, establishing a song with some blues-rock attitude. I like it! John enters with the same aggressive, distorted guitar tone that snuck into the end of the previous song. Now this is cutting edge Jazz-Rock Fusion of the highest order! These three musicians are so gifted! To be able to deliver this kind of cohesive music while playing at such high levels of virtuosity--and making it all feel as if it's so EFFORTLESS! Incredible! John sounds as if Jimi Hendrix were gifted, and Dave as if Noel Redding had a clue, and Mitch Mitchell had some skill and restraint! The musicians' performances are so mesmerizing that the song's eleven minutes pass by in the blink of an eye! Dave's intuition for holding back! Jack's intuition for providing such brilliant accent to John's guitar! And John! The dude that makes it all feel so Power Trio rock 'n' roll! Not a note wasted and yet not a note that isn't jaw- droppingly shocking! One of the best trio songs I've ever heard! Total perfection! (20/20)

Total Time: 44:46

Gateway's variety surprises me. The level of virtuosity coming from all three musicians even comes as a surprise. (I mean: I knew, but I never KNEW!) And then put that immaculate ECM production value from Manfred Eicher into the mix and you have an indisputable masterpiece of Jazz-heavy Jazz-Rock Fusion.

93.09 on the Fishscales = A/five stars; a total masterpiece of Jazz-Rock Fusion. If everyone heard that last song, "Sorcery I", alone, there would be a reshuffling of the greatest power trio songs of all-time. Step down Jimi, Eric, Larry, Stevie Ray, and Johnny Mac! There was a trio that was way better than you! And please, let's start adjusting our pantheon of guitar greats to include Mr. John Abercrombie at or near the very top!

3.5 stars. I was very much on the fence about picking this one up but I had just spent some time with Abercrombie's two 1975 releases "Timeless" and "Gateway" and was all giddy. The concerns were that this was released in 1984 and it's on the ECM label, not exactly a favourite of mine. A lot of classy, mature, sophisticated and snooty Jazz on there no? Where is my BUDGIE album? What moved me to take the plunge was the lineup of DeJohnette on drums, Hammer on keys and Brecker on tenor sax. And of course John Abercrombie who was one the greatest jazz guitarists ever, and a fixture on the ECM label for decades. The man with the moustache impresses here as usual and gives the other musicians plenty of space to do their thing.

This was recorded at The Power Station in New York but mixed in Norway and produced by Manfred Eicher of course. Hammer composed the opener while Abercrombie created the rest. The cover art is so strange but look at Charly Garcia's "Clic Modernos" cover art with seemingly the same dark figure from the year before in 1983. No doubt the inspiration for this one. I swear I hear bass on the opener and closer, especially the closer yet none is credited. No bass on a Jazz album? It doesn't exactly get off on the right foot for me with "Ethereggae" an 8 1/2 minute piece with that reggae rhythm that I'm just not a fan of. But to be fair it's more than that as it opens and closes without it.

The title track is classy and what you would expect from Abercrombie. Some smooth sax and piano too. A painfully mature track. "3 East" is a favourite. Some energy here as keys lead followed by drums and sax. Guitar replaces the sax at one point. A good song. I also like "Believe You Me", probably my favourite. Sax and guitar solo over the organ and drums. The organ leads before 4 minutes and it sounds awesome. DeJohnette really shines on the closer "Four On One" as does Brecker. I didn't mention the longest track "Look Around" at 9 minutes but it has it's ups and downs for me.

A true 3.5 star album in my opinion but fans of the ECM label need to hear this. Some killer performances on here by all.

This is a gorgeous album for a late spring/early summers day...as it is in the north of England today. Again, I understand that as the classifications stand, this had to go somewhere but most here would expect something different if they came to this wanting jazz/rock fusion.

What you get is a sublime acoustic interplay between the two protagonists with Towner putting some sympathetic classical infused as well as jazz tinged keys when and where required (Parasol)in place. I also like the fact it is a shared spotlight. Yes I have my fair share of jazz/rock guitar hero albums (and blues/rock too...but 'whispers' we don't mention that here if we can help it). Neither dominates, both compliment the other. If you want a guitar name to give you a handle then Philip Catherine would be it/him. As both players mix their jazz scales and chordings with Spanish/classical themes it does get a bit Julian Bream now and then...but albums should have contrasts and different influences. The melodies lead you down a labyrinth of unexpected twists and turns...and I now and then can spot a Brel type passage a la Jake Thackray (look him up). Staircase is the most deliberately disc(h)ordant piece and I almost expected it to cloud over and the wind get up outside...I would be pushing my luck to say it actually did...but the mood change doesn't jar, it feels appropriate. Elbow Room has some ebow electric guitar from Abercrombie with Coryell/Ray Russell similarities and I actually would stand with the guys who say 'this is better without a bass/drum rhythm section'. Fable is just beautiful...in the ears of this beholder anyways.

You can come here if you want a bit of 'wow me with your dexterity' but that would be the wrong reason. If you want something creative, well constructed and atmospheric I shall add you to the guest list.

Hard to believe that we're going on six years following Mr. Abercrombie's death (Aug. 22, 2017). John Abercrombie was one of those figures in Jazz Fusion specifically that I found myself latching onto easily. His approach is fantastic and he played with many fellow greats. Here on his first album he is joined by keyboardist Jan Hammer (Mahavishnu Orchestra) and drummer Jack DeJohnette. For John's solo work, Timeless and Sargasso Sea (1976) proved favorable in the least, and I wanted to be sure I also recommended the '76 debut Gateway album (exchange Hammer from this lineup with bassist Dave Holland for that band). Other recommendations I'd give from just before Timeless include Lookout Farm (1974) and Drum Ode (1975) by Dave Liebman, and Abercrombie also featured on Billy Cobham's Crosswinds and Total Eclipse (both from 1974).

No time is wasted whatsoever with the blazing fast start of "Lungs", the album opener and first of our two 12-minute bookends. All while DeJohnette lays down hasty Post-Bop on the drums, Abercrombie and Hammer (on Hammond and synth) change hands, exchanging every few bars for soloing, ramping up approaching minute 2. Abercrombie definitely proved to me to be of a similar caliber to John McLaughlin or Larry Coryell. While the others create wonderful atmosphere, Jack does things [although also consistently] that you will be hard-pressed to find anywhere; a unique and expressive player, to me unmatched. Get your noggin' scratched in this middle section, why don't'cha? Right at the 7 minute mark, Jan leads us off with a cool, alien-Funk bassline, followed by a smooth, smoky soloing from him and John. Abercombie and DeJohnette together but separately occasionally unravel as the soloing continues and intensifies. I just realized, in my excitement to be seriously listening through this once more, that this whole paragraph is about just that opener haha.

Unsurprisingly similar to the start of the perfect Mahavishnu song, "Open Country Joy"--or, also from Birds Of Fire, the bright acoustic track "Thousand Island Park"--"Love Song" features acoustic piano for the first time married with John's full-chorded strums and solo. Really gorgeous track, it's simultaneously crushingly sad and longing, by my estimation. Regardless, goes to show their knack and ability to conjure up any number of complex emotions. Up next is a track one might expect from contemporary Pat Metheny, "Ralph's Piano Waltz", with a smooth groove and beautiful, ever-flowing lead-play from John. Full steam ahead, regardless of the mood. And in this, once more, we get a few different feelings, from what I would consider joyous fun to pressing tension, the latter brought on most, to me, by Jan Hammer's Hammond return. This song has it; another near-essential.

We keep the speed at a 10 for "Red And Orange", a volcanic number with an apt title. I'm not sure what else to say here; just trying to keep up. This was the first time on the album where I truly felt that Abercrombie sounded like McLaughlin in tone. Wild stuff. Fiery Fusion Phenom. Up next, with a beginning to really hook you, we have the truly nostalgic "Remembering". This is, unsurprising to me, another acoustic number, though slower paced than "Love Song". The interplay of keys and guitar is really wonderful, with staccato and call-and-response and plenty of purty. Despite its quietness, "Remembering" certainly has its strengths abundant.

Finally, our title track, "Timeless". It begins out of nothingness, with a deep, sci-fi-perfect drone. John Abercrombie joins in, much like a singular Raga. Is it Rush's "La Villa Strangiato" that's coming to mind for me? Something off of Exit Stage Left. [Probably "Jacob's Ladder".] The drone continues, and the guitar slips and slides, now matched by light, distant organ and the softest cymbal strikes you've ever heard. To great effect, all this up till this point lasts for over 4 minutes. This track, in its quietness, is perfectly understated, so to speak. Nearing minute 8, the drums build and shift into a sort of trot. Really very lovely. All in all, a great closer to a great album.

True Rate: 4.25/5.00

Despite falling in love with the phenomenal guitar work of the late, great John Abercrombie, I let a whole lot of material of his slip out from under me. Some standards I once had! haha. Thanks is due in great part to Mr. Dereck Higgins for directing me specifically here. And although this is clearly a significantly later era for Abercrombie, I am likewise drawn by this lineup. On tenor sax, the wonderful, emotive Michael Brecker, the drumming of the inspired Jack DeJohnette, and the fiery, most excellent Jan Hammer on keys. Masters all.

Funny hearing a very-80s Reggae jam with these still-exemplary, worldclass jazz musicians, but that's what our opener has to offer, "Ethereggae". A bit of corny, but it works well enough and is a decent showcase of our performers. Strongest of them all here, in my mind, is John. His guitar effects feel a tad unlike him; more like he's trying to be Pat Metheny... a bit too hard to sound like Pat Metheny...

Our title track, "Night", is low and slow, yet super moving, starting with a solo from Brecker. Hammer comes in with piano, and all the while Jack is showin' his cymbal game. Off to a much better, more interesting start is the chill, sleuth-reminiscent "3 East". The blaze is constant yet low. John then has a pretty wicked extended solo regardless. Low and slow still is "Look Around", though with way more interest than one might expect. Around minute 4 things pick up... and really intensify, but only for a minute. Definitely the highlight thus far.

"Believe You Me", which comes as no surprise to me, being Abercrombie with Hammer, sounds like an early Mahavishnu number. This then was the best you'll hear on the album, to this point. Certainly an arena in which they all excel, in its lowness and slowness, it's still tense as hell, Michael coming in hot with a blaze of a solo. What I also love about this track is Jan's embrace of organ. It sounds perfect here. Once again, so tense. We are being pulled to and fro on this one, all while pretty consistently holding onto the main theme.

Finally, we have the ever descriptive "Four On One", starting off with wild, but light drumming and wild, but front-and-center organ. Another fiery solo from John here, then matched once more by Michael. They break out into an even wilder blaze. Perhaps the most straightforward Jazz track, and yet one of the most appealing, exciting tracks of the lot.

True Rate: 3.5/5.0

3.5 stars. I really like John Abercrombie and highly recommend his "Timeless" and first "Gateway" albums. An ECM staple this would be Abercrombie's first studio album of seven under the name JOHN ABERCROMBIE QUARTET. We get besides John's guitar and mandolin, bass, drums and piano. And in the ECM tradition this is a classy and mellow release with the bass and piano being acoustic. I'm just not big on this style but I have to mention that title track because it bumps up my rating and appreciation of this one. It's fairly similar to the other songs early on with the relaxed piano and guitar but it's the drumming that is so loose that has my attention. So good! Then we get some intensity which will come and go that is so enjoyable and really only appears on this song. Classy music from one of the greats.

First a citation from All Music Guide: "John Abercrombie's tying together of jazz's many threads made him one of the most influential acoustic and electric guitarists of the 1970s and early '80s; his recordings for ECM have helped define that label's progressive chamber jazz reputation. (...) Abercrombie's style draws upon all manner of contemporary improvised music; his style is essentially jazz-based, but he also displays a more-than-passing familiarity with forms that range from folk and rock to Eastern and Western art musics."

That's a good summation and an introduction to Abecrombie's music. On 39 Steps his quartet features pianist Marc Copland who makes his ECM debut. Several track titles come from the classic Alfred Hitchcock suspense films, but the general mood is pretty harmless and harmonic in its tidy impressionism. 'Vertigo' is a low-key and relatively quiet tune; the intimate thoughtfulness is doubtlessly coloured by the listener's memories of the film. 'LST' is happier and brighter but stays quite unspectacular. PAT METHENY sometimes sounds like this, at his most boring. Does 'Bacharach' capture the spirit of that evergreen songwriter maestro? Hard to say, at least it lacks the emotionally strong melodicism of Burt Bacharach. Pretty and enjoyable music it is, like the whole album, but somewhat sleepy.

And so on. This is nice and peaceful chamber jazz to listen to when you're not in need of something more energetic or exciting. But really, if a track refers to a film such as Spellbound, it should have some more edge in it. It's quite hard to tell all the ten tracks from each other. It all stays so spineless and over-careful. The final tune 'Melancholy Baby' has a bit more memorable melodies, and it's the only track not composed by the performers. The playing of the quartet is very democratic, and on some tracks sounding like the final minutes of a long jam session with the attitude "let's not disturb the neighbours... and we're tired ourselves too". This album could function as music to put you into sleep at night, as it contains no notable contrasts or unexpected turns.

I've been enjoying guitarist extraordinaire John Abercrombie's "Gateway" album for years now, so to finally get my hands on his debut has been nothing short of outstanding. "Gateway" was John's second album and featured Jack DeJohnette (drums) and Dave Holland (bass) while "Timeless" also featured a trio with DeJohnette, but instead of Holland we get Jan Hammer on a variety of keyboards. So yes there's a different feel to this one when compared to "Gateway" but both are incredible.

Up first is the over 12 minute "Lungs" which is a real trip. At first everything is very uptempo with Hammer and DeJohnette leading the way then Abercrombie comes in with some fast paced soloing. This continues for almost 3 1/2 minutes then it calms right down to a whisper. Things stay laid back as different sounds come and go right to the end. Such a cool track. "Love Song" as you might imagine is a mellow track with the tasteful guitar and piano standing out. "Ralph's Piano Waltz" opens with jazzy drumming from DeJohnette as guitar and keyboards help out in this tasteful composition. Hammer comes in around 2 1/2 minutes on his Hammond to spice things up the rest of the way.

"Red And Orange" sounds great early on with the guitar, organ and drums setting a brisk pace. Hammer is so impressive here, but then they all are. Abercrombie comes and goes ripping it up. "Remembering" is a ballad-like instrumental. "Timeless" ends things on a high. At almost 12 minutes this beast starts off in an atmospheric manner, almost spacey really. Guitar sounds rise out of the mist. This is really good. The atmosphere fades out after 4 minutes as gentle guitar notes continue soon to be joined by intricate drumming and keyboards. This is all so laid back and beautiful. My favourite track on the album right here.

A very solid 4 stars and a must have along with "Gateway" for all you Jazz / Fusion fans out there.

As fuxi says, John Abercrombie is a great jazz guitarist but with a relatively low profile. His vast dicogrpahy is very varied, much of it being Post-Bop. This album is an unmistakable ECM product, featuring the familiar spacey sound, courtesy of Manfred Eicher, and top musicians from the ECM label. On top of the cover Abercrombie's name is equally followed by "Marc Johnson Peter Erskine w/ John Surman". Erskine is drummer-composer, Johnson plays bass. John Surman is a British modern jazz legend, a unique composer who plays bass clarinet and saxes, and on this album his contribution is very central. Indeed bass clarinet is not too often heard, also I adore its nocturnal sound here. And of course the rhythm section is absolute first rate. All members are credited for compositions, Abercrombie slightly more than others.

John Abercrombie's output is not very familiar to me this far but seems to be worth more exploration. This album is nearly 70 minutes, and for the most part really keeps the listener's attention. There's plenty of strong atmospheres and some raw, proggish edge that suitably is softened by the Eicher production. Warmly recommended to listeners of guitar jazz/ fusion, John Surman or ECM jazz in general.