John Abercrombie – The First Quartet (2015) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

This triple album set with recordings from 1978 to 1980, issued in ECM s acclaimed Old & New Masters series, returns some historically-important material to the catalog, namely the albums Arcade, Abercrombie Quartet and M. The quartet with Richie Beirach, George Mraz and Peter Donald John Abercrombie s first touring band as a leader was the group in which the guitarist defined some priorities, moving away from a jazz-rock period into a more spacious, impressionistic and original music. Abercrombie and pianist Beirach had a strong musical rapport as improvisers and wrote almost all of the band s book between them. George Mraz and Peter Donald provided imaginative support. For this edition the recordings – made in Oslo and Ludwigsburg and produced by Manfred Eicher were remastered from original analog sources.

The quartet with Richie Beirach, George Mraz and Peter Donald – John Abercrombie’s first touring band as a leader – was the group in which the guitarist defined some priorities, moving away from a jazz-rock period into a more spacious, impressionistic and original music. Abercrombie and pianist Beirach had a strong musical rapport as improvisers and wrote almost all of the band’s book between them. George Mraz and Peter Donald provided imaginative support.

For this edition the recordings – made in Oslo and Ludwigsburg and produced by Manfred Eicher – were re-mastered from original analog sources. It’s a first appearance on CD for these discs in most world territories (‘Arcade’ was briefly available on compact disc in Japan) and re-release of these titles has been much requested by followers of both Abercrombie and Beirach as well as ECM collectors.

From the liner notes, by John Kelman: ‘With the release of ‘Arcade’, ‘Abercrombie Quartet’ and ‘M’, John Abercrombie’s entire ECM discography as a leader is finally available on CD. Looking back at these discs and their position in his oeuvre, they are revealed as seminal documents of Abercrombie’s arrival as a distinctive writer, improvising guitarist and bandleader. […] Abercrombie’s subsequent career has, in many ways, been built on the foundational strength of these early quartet recordings.’

Tracklist:

Arcade
1. Arcade 09:43
2. Nightlake 05:35
3. Paramour 05:09
4. Neptune 07:34
5. Alchemy 11:33

Abercrombie Quartet
6. Blue Wolf 08:33
7. Dear Rain 06:54
8. Stray 06:36
9. Madagascar 09:05
10. Riddles 08:12
11. Foolish Dog 06:18

M
12. Boat Song 09:57
13. M 06:19
14. What Are the Rules 07:33
15. Flashback 06:17
16. To Be 05:17
17. Veils 05:44
18. Pebbles 04:45

Personnel:
John Abercrombie: guitar, mandolin guitar
Richard Beirach: piano
George Mraz: bass
Peter Donald: drums

Download:

mqs.link_JhnAbercrmbieTheFirstQuartet2015Qbuz2496.part1.rar
mqs.link_JhnAbercrmbieTheFirstQuartet2015Qbuz2496.part2.rar
mqs.link_JhnAbercrmbieTheFirstQuartet2015Qbuz2496.part3.rar