| | John Abercrombie Characters CD John Abercrombie Discography of CDs
 (1 Customer Review)
Always unique and uncompromising, John Abercrombie gained a good deal of his popularity from his solo playing. Not the virtuoso of his primary influences -- Django Reinhardt, Tal Farlow and Jim Hall -- Abercrombie is much more the introvert. He often bypasses traditional techniques to pursue experimental sounds and rhythms. Along with Ralph Towner, whom he has recorded with before (see Sargasso Sea), Abercrombie makes excellent use of space within both his compositions and solos. Upon the first listen there may not appear to be very much here; however, this music needs to be absorbed over several listens to appreciate Abercrombie's brilliance. ~ Robert Taylor
Recorded at Talent Studio, Oslo, Norway in November 1977.
Solo performer: John Abercrombie (acoustic & electric guitars, electric mandolin).
Personnel: John Abercrombie (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, electric mandolin); Peter Donald (drums).
Recording information: Talent Studio, Oslo, Norway (11/1977).
Photographer: Roberto Masotti. John Abercrombie Characters Songs Characters Music Review Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)  Abercrombies only all-solo recording a true masterpiece
Any (even casual) fan of the wonderfully original Jazz guitarist won't want to miss this one. It's Abercrombies only all-solo recording ever, an overdubbed masterpiece from 1977. Personally, i've been waiting for John to do another one since I first purchased the vinyl of this way back in '78, but it hasn't happened. I've purchased most of John's olo works, and many many performances on other peoples recordings but this is my "desert Island disc" as far as Abercrombie's career is concerned. Why hasn't he done another one? I don't know and i've been waiting since this one came out way back when. Perhaps he doesn't think he could top this one? That's the only acceptable reason I could think of. The long 1st track kicks off with several minutes of John's solo miniature elctric mandolin soloing before several acoustic guitars kick in wonderfully and drive the tune on. There are several shorter, more reflective pieces here based around Joh's acoustic guitars, or a combination of acoustic and electric. A couple of these rate as John's most beautiful ballad writng ever, very reflective and a bit sad. John was certainly inspired during these sessions. "Ghost Dance" has a bit of an unusal haunting refrain to it, but the final piece is by far my favorite. Without using any guitar synthesizers (this was before John's involvment with them), Abercrombie makes a spacey, ethereal pice using the volume swell of his electric guitar aided by some nice background finger picking on acoustic guitar. I could listen to him do this for 20 minutes, but, as usual Abercrombie doesn't overstay his welcome on any of these pieces, even the 10 minute opening track. I will continue to listen to all the music John will give to us in the future, and continue to hope that another all-solo effort is in the cards, but I don't know if this one can ever be topped...
Submitted by phasedin (South Hackensack, NJ)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No | Have you heard this album? |  |
Purchase Characters CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Mahavishnu Orchestra Birds Of Fire CD (1972) Remastered
Characters album
 $6.75   
| | Deep Purple In Rock CD (1970)
Characters CD music
$6.95 
| | John Abercrombie Timeless CD (1975)
Characters music CDs
$15.55 
| | Bill Frisell Good Dog, Happy Man CD (1999)
Characters songs
$14.59
| | Ralph Towner Anthem CD (2001)
Characters album
$14.65
| | John Abercrombie Class Trip CD (2004)
Characters CD music
$14.79
| | Message Art Of Blakey CD (1993)
Characters music CDs
$10.65
| | John Altenburgh Vol II CD (1991)
Characters songs
$14.79
Pianist Altenburgh is a composer and arranger with broadly based taste, in and out of jazz. Influences derived from either pop or R&B creep into his zone of taste, and there's a bit of electronica as well. Varying in range and effectiveness, not to mention originalty, there's a lack of spark that makes some of the music less than compelling. Still, Altenburgh, tenor saxophonist John Greiner, bassists Jeff Eckels and Mark Farrell, drummer Mark Ladley, and select guests all play well on this 36-minute, eight-cut program. When they're at their best, a melodic swing á la the neo-bop strain of Chick Corea and Michael Brecker can be ...
| | John Singer Shakuhachi Bell (Feat. Karma Moffett) CD (2009)
Characters album
$10.09
ohn Singer, master shakuhachi teacher, performer, recording artist and former shakuhachi instructor at the University of Hawaii, has performed music on the Japanese bamboo flute since 1975. After several years of intensive study in Japan under the tutelage of the late shakuhachi Grand Master ...
| | Elixir from New England Super Tonic CD (2008)
Characters CD music
$18.99
| | Jazzy Lounge CDs (2009) (Import) France
Characters music CDs
$30.39
| | Soulive No Place Like Soul CD (2007) Import
Characters songs
$31.99
No Place Like Soul is Soulive's seventh full-length (eight if you count the remixed Turn It Out), and the band's debut for Concord's then-recently birthed Stax label. The longstanding instrumental trio has reinvented itself by adding a fourth member in vocalist Toussaint from Boston (former frontman of the reggae outfit China Band). On Breakout, the band used guest vocalists such as Chaka Khan, Ivan Neville, and Corey Glover to further diversify its sound, but Toussaint (son of a Baptist preacher and former church choir leader) is an equal member of the ensemble. The sound is gritty, nasty, and pumped up on most of the set's 13 cuts. While Soulive had matured in their previous incarnation perhaps as far as they were going to, the addition of a permanent singer finds them back in the cradle, learning how to rebalance their sound with an additional wheel. The results are mixed, and that's not a bad thing at all. While it roars out of the gate with the funk-drenched "Waterfall" with Eric Krasno's guitar dirtying up the joint, it's rooted more in the nastiness of Southern soul than Funkadelic. Where the vocal dredges up the grit and grease and meets the organ fills, organic breaks, and wah-wah guitar head on "Don't Tell Me," the volume (and adrenaline) rush is less effective, however, with the band's shoddy backing vocals and the instrumental rave-up so full-on it nearly feels like an organ playing with Living Colour and a different vocalist. It's got a stuttered rock-cum-New Orleans groove that feels stilted by the production, though it might work well live.
But that's the only truly misguided moment here. "Mary" works well as a ballad, with a Spooner Oldham-Dan Penn feel, and Toussaint's vocal is flawless. The B-3 swells are in the pocket rhythmically, and Krasno's blend of electric and acoustic guitars accent the vocals beautifully. But it's Alan Evans' drum kit that gives the tune its teeth. The tough funk angle works best on tracks such as "Comfort," while a deeply Jimi Hendrix-influenced vibe fuels the wildly infectious instrumental cut "Outrage." The blend of funky breaks, fat bassline, atmospheric B-3, and Krasno's killer guitar work takes this cut up into the realms of Soulive's ...
| | Eyal Maoz Hope And Destruction CD (2009)
Characters album
$12.99
Electric guitarist Eyal Maoz offers his second Tzadik CD with the quartet Edom in a favorable but wary quandary, as the title Hope and Destruction suggests, rattling cages and offering dire-straits themes while also taking liberties that stretch the parameters of this music no matter the specific genre, Maoz redefines what ethnocentric world fusion can be from a mean-streets New York City perspective. You could loosely call this a jam band or Klezmer fusion, but it's more jazz-rock with the emphasis on rock. Swirling motifs and densely packed melodies are pushed and shoved with a Jewish undercurrent, electronics, thumping beats, and a hardcore arrogance that easily blend into a unified whole -- an instantly recognizable, unique sound. The various keyboards that Brian Marsella employs stagger the imagination, working in perfect tandem with the snaky, steely, vocal, and chameleonic guitar of the leader, evolved far beyond mere metamorphosis. Bassist/producer Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz and drummer Yuval Lion are incessant rhythm navigators, driving the band steadily without forcing them over the edge and off a cliff. It's an arresting, commanding sound that is ...
|
|
|
139279 
buttons below to play song samples
Adobe Flash
Email a Friend
Facebook
Digg it
Twitter
MySpace
