John Abercrombie First

In another blast from the past, I wrote this post about John Abercrombie's first solo album.  Timeless is a classic.  I wrote this post March of 2011. Every time I listen to it I still have a jaw drop on how great John, Jan Hammer and Jack DeJohnette are.  All three are masters in their craft.  It was tough this year to take John's passing.  He was a great musician and knew how to push the boundaries of music.  How to blur the lines of Jazz and or Rock.  Listening to again this morning I really think this album is still one of the best that ECM ever put out.  

People who know me well, know that I will not settle for any music that is not engaging or simple. I love music that takes a bit of difficulty to really understand what is happening. People who also know me know that I love ECM records. I mean any smart music geek should listen to some of the early ECM albums to hear how forward thinking this music was. The other day I grabbed some of this early ECM gems and really was quite impressed with what this music did for me and for music in general.

I took the more then handful of these records and went through them. I was looking for something that was rare and unique for it's time frame and then with the music that goes with it. In some respect, the music never fit the years that the music belonged with. When ECM started in 1970, not many people were listening to Jazz, or Classical. If they were they were like my science teacher from High School, who told me that he liked music with Organ and the popular music for him was Procol Harum. He loved listening to Bach Organ music and stuff that was not of mainstream music, but of stuff that was just unique. I owe him a lot on the music I listen to now, because the music that I love is jazz keyboard music. The Bill Evans, Keith Jarretts' of this world are amazing every time I hear them. They never get old.

I also love Guitar as well. The music of great guitar chord progressions really astonish me as well. If you notice a theme in some of my ECM blogs I really like the music of John Abercrombie. He is featured in a few of my posts. From Gateway to the Collin Walcott Grazing Dreams to baking Charles Lloyd. His guitar playing is sick and beyond description. I had the pleasure of seeing him play a few times. The first time I saw him play he made me speechless. The second time around I knew what to expect, but he still once again had me shaking my head. I know what your thinking. Is there a few Rock guitar players that do the same thing? Yes, there is but remember they play with bass, keys and drums. With John Abercrombie, he plays with any kind of group. His latest project is a quartet of Violin, Upright Bass and Drums. He has done this ensemble of for the past three albums. Even the past two have been a simple quartet of Bass, Piano Drums and Guitar. 

So now were are back in John Abercrombie's early years. The album I chose was his first as a leader. It was called Timeless. This one in a way is also unique with band forming. This has the great Jan Hammer on keyboards and also Jack DeJohnette on drums. There is no need for bass or even a brass section here. They do this with so little effort that it seems like they did this when they were kids. Even the song Love Song where it's only piano and acoustic guitar sounds great with so little effort. the other piano and acoustic guitar duet Remembering sounded fresh and new. In all this great music the song that still makes my head shake on this album is the staple in Abercrombie's cannon. Ralph's Piano Waltz is amazing piece of work. It makes you understand why a group like this comes around once in a blue moon. Even in 1975 this stuff was really ahead of it's time.

If you need to add more soul to your music collection and really want to hear the music tell the story like it should then I suggest this album. To me, it's a wonderful album just to hear how three great musicians really know how to put it all together and do it well. It really is an album worth searching for. After this I am sure any ECM album will be on your mind next time you go CD's buying. Check it out and let me know what you think! Enjoy!