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.

Wether Report - Weather Report

Weather Report - Weather Report

Joe Zawinul - Keyboards
Wayne Shorter - Soprano Saxophone
Miroslav Vitous - Bass
Alphonse Mouzon - Drums
Airto Moriera - Percussion

1. Milky Way
2. Umbrellas
3. Seventh Arrow
4. Orange Lady
5. Morning Lake
6. Waterfall
7. Tears
8. Eurydice


I can not explain how happy I was to find this c.d. at Borders bookstore for under $7! Weather Report is not a c.d. that you would expect a retail store to carry, let alone place in their discount bin. I was able to pick up this c.d. and Hank Mobley's Workout for less than $7 each. 'Twas a good day for purchasing c.d.s (this was also the day I picked up Christian Scott's album, which I recently reviewed).

Experimental. Temperamental. Ever-changing, much like the daily weather report. These are the terms I choose to describe Weather Report's debut album. This is a great collection of sonic poetry that will be enjoyed by many fans of jazz and jazz fusion (especially the fusion that Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock started to experiment with in the late 1960s). The group started, more or less, after Zawinul and Shorter worked for Miles Davis on In a Silent Way. The two teamed with Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous (who had recently recorded one of the all time greatest jazz albums with Chick Corea entitled Now He Sings, Now He Sobs). These three were the core of Weather Report for the first few years of the group's inception, as the percussion chair became somewhat of a rotating cast (kind of like Spinal Tap, but minus the bizarre deaths). The three shared a common goal of creating high quality experimental jazz music using electronic keyboards and effect pedals. I am not certain, but Miroslav often sounds like he plays his arco bass with a wah-wah effect pedal. This makes his bass sound like a french horn (listen to the track "Orange Lady" to possibly hear what I am referring to).

Hopefully I have given enough of a backdrop for this debut album, as I would like to start to review the album's tracks. The album starts off with the brilliant "Milky Way." The lay listener may listen to this opening track and be unimpressed by the seemingly random angelic sounding chords that make up this composition. What has made this track legendary is that the group did not use a synthesizer to create the mysterious sound effects. The instrument(s) used are actually a piano and a saxophone. The band claims that they used a prepared piano, but it is not a prepared piano in the sense that it has nuts/screws placed between the strings ala John Cage. What they did was have Zawinul gently press down the notes of each chord on his piano. Then, Wayne Shorter blew the arpeggiated notes into the piano, creating a resonant, majestic sound. The recording engineer pressed record only after Shorter was done playing, so the record only picked up the sustain of the piano. I guess this recording had many people confused for years, but I think it was a great, creative idea from great, creative musicians.

Some of the tracks I would describe as Lush+Groove. "Waterfall" would fall under this category. A vary smooth backdrop of keyboards and bass playing sets up Wayne Shorter for some great experimental soprano saxophone improvisations.

Tracks such as "Seventh Arrow", "Umbrellas", and "Eurydice" are a little more aggressive with their grooves and their in-your-face melodies. The album is nicely laid out, with a gentle track often followed by an aggressive tune.

This album is a really cool debut album from a really cool group. I forgot to mention Airto in this review, but he is kinda the wild card. His guiro playing and his other Brazilian percussion instruments add a nice exotic flavor to this music. This music may be considered the first example of world fusion music due to Airto's contribution. Anyways, this album must be checked out by people that love Miles Davis Bitches Brew. While I find Brew to be a little bit aimless at times, I think that Weather Report keeps its focus throughout. I have to give this album five out of five stars.

Collin Walcott - Cloud Dance

Collin Walcott Cloud Dance

Collin Walcott - Sitar and Tabla
John Abercrombie - Guitar
Dave Holland - Bass
Jack Dejohnette - Drumset

1. Margueritte
2. Prancing
3. Night Glider
4. Scimitar
5. Vadana
6. Eastern Song
7. Padma
8. Cloud Dance


Collin Walcott was a gifted musician most known for performing with the group Oregon. Other groups that Walcott has performed with include the Paul Winter Consort and Codona. Walcott was one of the first American musicians to master both the sitar as well as the tabla, both traditional instruments used in Indian music. Walcott learned the sitar by studying with the most famous sitarist, Ravi Shankar. Cloud Dance is a brilliant album that perfectly melds eastern and western (ECM-type jazz) music.

Margueritte opens this album with a long solo sitar cadenza. The ensemble eventually joins in, and the sound is lush. The track (in fact much of the album) is reminiscent of John Abercrombie's Timeless. This is likely due to the fact that Abercrombie and DeJohnette (both on Cloud Dance) had recorded Timeless two years prior.

The album presents many great duets with Walcott and some of the other musicians. "Prancing" and "Eastern Song" are duets with Dave Holland. "Scimitar" pairs Walcott (this time on tabla instead of sitar) with Abercrombie while "Padma" is a reflective guitar-sitar duet. Abercrombie's guitar tone is heavier on "Scimitar" than on most of Cloud Dance. The teasing of eastern scales with the distorted guitar almost predates Steve Vai's style.

I really enjoy the tracks that include DeJohnette, "Margueritte" and "Cloud Dance". "Cloud Dance" in particular reminds me of Frank Zappa from Waka/Jawaka or The Grand Wazoo, which are two of my favorite Zappa albums. Phaser heavy guitar provides a lush ambiance on this tune. My only negative comment would be that DeJohnette's snare drum sounds a bit off. I'm strictly talking about the tone of his drum. His comping is all rhythmically fine, but the sound does not ring out at all; there is no sustain from the drum. Maybe it is just me, though.

My parents bought this c.d. for my birthday. I like it a lot, and I would recommend people give it a try. It is definitely underrated. If you like Abercrombie's Timeless, Zappa's Waka Jawaka, The "ECM" sound, and Indian music, you should really check out Collin Walcott's Cloud Dance.

Esbjorn Svensson Trio - Strange Place For Snow

Esbjorn Svensson Trio - Strange Place For Snow

Esbjorn Svensson piano
Daniel Berglund bass
Magnus Ostrom drums

1. The Message
2. Serenade for the Renegade
3. Strange Place For Snow
4. Behind the Yashmak
5. Bound for the Beauty of the South
6. Years of Yearning
7. When God Created the Coffeebreak
8. Spunky Sprawl
9. Carcrash


The Esbjorn Svensson Trio was a very prominent jazz group in the 1990's and 2000's. Sadly, Esbjorn Svensson died in a scuba diving accident in the summer of 2008, and the world lost, amongst many things, a great musical spirit.

E.S.T. gained a large following in their native Sweden. Many people were attracted to the band's musical aesthetic, which I may describe as Keith Jarrett's American/European groups combined with Radiohead. The group incorporated elements of electronica and drum-n-bass to their jazz sets. This was accomplished tastefully not by using electronic instruments, but by manipulating their acoustic instruments with line 6 effect pedals. I've read that their studio albums would be recorded live, and then the group would spend a lot of time in post production tweeking the timbre of the mixes. The Keith Jarrett comparisons can be heard in some of the more gospel tinged songs ("The Message") and also in some of Svennson's wordless vocals that accompany some of his playing.

I purchased Strange Place For Snow from a wonderful used record store in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I had wanted this album after I seeing the group perform "Behind the Yashmak" on youtube. This song is rather long, but it has many beautiful sections stitched together delicately. The climax of the song is the abrupt ending. The song is all rising action with no conclusion. One of the recurring melodies in the song almost sounds like a teasing of Erik Satie's first Gymnopedie.

A lot of the other songs ("Serenade for the Renegade", "Bound for the Beauty of the South", for example) contain a brooding minor feeling. I get the feeling that I'm wandering through a desert in the Mid-East listening to these modal melodies. This is comparable to some of Jarrett's songs (Take "Prism" or "Oasis" from Personal Mountains, for example).

The post production really shines on tracks such as "Serenade for the Renegade", "Behind the Yashmak", and the end of "Carcrash". "Carcrash" is 18 minutes long, largely because their is a "hidden track" many minutes after "Carcrash" ends. In fact, the tune "Carcrash" has very few post production effects, but the hidden track is an ambient techno-acid-jazz freak-out unlike any of the previous songs.

I have really enjoyed this album since I purchased it in late February. Along with the Christian Scott c.d. I recently blogged about, it is one of the few contemporary jazz albums I have taken a chance on. I don't know why I tend to be skeptical of all things new in jazz, but I know that I am not the only person that has these tendencies. I do try to be open minded when it comes to listening to music. Maybe it is because there is so much great older jazz to listen to, and not enough time to listen to it all! Anyways, this would be the jazz album that I would recommend to my friends that appreciate indie rock and/or drum 'n bass. Strange Place For Snow might not be E.S.T's best album, but it is very good, and it is the only album they made that I own. Therefore, I would suggest everyone give this group a chance. At least check out the youtube link I posted earlier!

Christian Scott - Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

Christian Scott - Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

Christian Scott - trumpet
Mathew Stevens - guitar
Milton Fletcher Jr. - Piano
Kristohper Keith Funn - Bass
Jamire Williams - Drums

1. K.K.P.D.
2. The Eraser
3. After All
4. Isadora
5. Angola L.A. and the 13th Ammendment
6. Last Broken Heart
7. Jenacide
8. American't
9. An Unending Repentance
10. The Roe Effect


Yesterday You Said Tomorrow is the first time I have heard the young trumpet player Christian Scott. Listening to the album and reading the liner notes, you can tell Scott's influences of old school jazz dominates this album. He got Rudy Van Gelder to produce his album! Van Gelder is legendary for the Blue Note albums he engineered in the 1960's (I believe he was the engineer on Dolphy's Out to Lunch as well as MJQ's Django, which I have reviewed on this blog). Scott (27 years young) feels a need to incorporate politics into his music, which I feel falls flat. Scott, influenced by Bob Dylan amongst others, thinks that musicians who successfully incorporate these political issues into their music stand the test of time well. While I do not disagree, I do find it difficult to state that a collection of instrumentals are political. I guess in a way, that makes this album like program music -- tone poems, if you will. Most of the songs are partially explained in their titles, and Christian Scott elaborates on the meanings of the songs on his web site (www.christianscott.net).

One of the many highlights of this album is American't. I am really drawn to this piece, as it contains a unique time signature of 11/8 (I believe). The time signature with the jangly guitar playing from Mathew Stevens and the ballsy drumming from Jamire Williams evoke images of soft-core Mahavishnu Orchestra to this listener. Another song I admire is Isadora. This an example of Scott imitating his influences; by using a harmon mute without a stem, his tone sounds very much like Miles Davis. The piano similarly is reminiscent of something Bill Evans, or even Herbie Hancock may have played. I don't really care for Scott's super breathy tone, though, which is prominent on this track as well as others (he draws out long tones until all you hear is warm air blowing through the horn).

When I first heard this album, I was listening with very narcissistic ears. I was trying to find flaws in the music. The main thing I was hearing and disliking was that it seemed so much that the group was trying so hard at times to be like their musical idols. Wynton Marsalis is also known for emulating the older players quite well, so I don't know if Christian is trying to do this too. However, Scott and Mathew Stevens (who separately wrote most of the albums compositions) do, at times, find a unique niche style. The electric guitar adds an element that makes it close to fusion, but it doesn't seem to get as heavy as so much fusion does. What I'm referring to can be heard on the opening chords to "Angola...", "Jenacide", and "The Eraser."

The latter of the three seems to incorporate prepared piano. While I am usually a fan of prepared piano, the sibilance that the effect provides becomes rather distracting. It sounds like one is listening to the track with blown out speakers.

I think my review can be paradoxically summed up by saying Scott's album is cliche, yet unique. I seem to like it the more I listen to it. I would recommend this album to anyone who is disenchanted with the contemporary jazz scene. I myself do not own a lot of contemporary jazz albums, but maybe this c.d. will be a gateway for me.

p.s. I bought the c.d. at Borders. It included a 5 track e.p. of Freddie Hubbard covers including Red Clay. I was expecting to like Red Clay, but I found some of the other pieces more enthralling.