Ralph Towner and Gary Burton - Matchbook

Ralph Towner and Gary Burton Matchbook

Ralph Towner - 12 string and classical guitars
Gary Burton - Vibraphone

1. Drifting Petals
2. Some Other Time
3. Brotherhood
4. Icarus
5. Song for a Friend
6. Matchbook
7. 1 x 6
8. Aurora
9. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat



I just got back home from shopping at a nearby used record store, and I just purchased nine records for $19! I am currently listening to one of these purchases, Ralph Towner and Gary Burton's Matchbook. I have already reviewed one Gary Burton album on this blog, Dreams So Real. This duet recording with guitarist Ralph Towner is another spectacular ECM recording. Two highly skilled improvisers create majestic landscapes of sound (listen to "Icarus", for example). Some of the improvisations sound more calm and reflective (take "Song for a Friend" and "Drifting Petals").

Since I am currently listening to this album for the first time, I am just going to write down my thoughts about each track as I listen to them.

"Drifting Petals" - Similar in style to what Towner and Abercrombie do with their duets from Sargasso Sea.
"Some Other Time"- Vibraphone vamp is very pretty - reminiscent of Peace Piece or Flamenco Sketches.
"Brotherhood" - Very short, dissonant, seems like 20th century "modern" music (I'm not well versed in contemporary music, but it maybe sounds like something Karlheinz Stockhausen or Milton Babbit would have composed).
"Icarus" - Wonderful Ralph Towner song originally from the Oregon repertoire. Burton plays a very nice flashy, yet musical solo.

(side two)

"Song for a Friend" - very calm. Introspective. I think this piece would benefit with a larger ensemble. It has a minor feeling throughout that almost reminded me of John McLaughlin's "Lotus Feet". I wonder what friend for whom the song was written.
"Matchbook"- Ralph Towner stuck a matchbook over some of his guitar strings. This makes the guitar sound more like a kalimba or a marimba. The song has a cool phrygian/Spanish feeling to it. Great descending melody.
"1 x 6"- Modern sounding classical guitar solo. This ain't no Mauro Guiliani piece! Very short, too.
"Aurora" - Two chord vamp to start things off. Not the Coltrane/ Pharaoh Sanders style two chord vamp. First chord is pretty dissonant, and it resolves nicely to a consonant sounding chord. Very adventurous comping from both musicians during solos.
"Goodbye Pork Pie Hat" - I bought two albums that have this song today (I also bought Joni Mitchell's Mingus) Burton and Towner take on the Weather Report approach on this tune - they always solo and they never solo. Working in the duet setting allow Towner and Burton to take many liberties with tempo and harmony. A nice reading of this often recorded Mingus tribute to Lester Young.

This is a pretty good album. Not a must own for the casual jazz fan. But fans of the ECM label, or fans of Oregon may want to give this album a listen or two. Especially if you liked Sargasso Sea, which was a duet record of Ralph Towner and John Abercrombie. I like how Matchbook has a contrast of timbre, whereas I felt Sargasso Sea gets a little stale hearing acoustic guitar the whole album. Solid album all the way through.