16 replies to this topic

[Guy]

John Abercrombie - guitar
Jan Hammer - piano, organ, synth
Jack DeJohnette - drums

I'll write more about this later when I have time, but it's one of my favorite ECMs. Not without flaws, of course, but most of the music here is incredible. The title track is a favorite.

Guy

Edited by Guy, 04 September 2005 - 01:29 PM.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

I can't think of any flaws on this one.

It's the best album Abercrombie ever made, in my opinion. Wish there were more like it.

A piece like Lungs (and to a lesser degree, Red And Orange) has the Mahavishnu energy but leans more towards jazz, not so much of the involved composition and Indian stuff. I consider this one to be an extension of the Tony Williams Lifetime in terms of the evolution of the organ trio. Compared to MO, there's more listening, more interplay, less crash and bash and battling. I'm sure the trio compared to quintet has something to do with this, but it's also about DeJohnette as opposed to Cobham. I also love to hear Jan Hammer on organ instead of Rhodes.

The acoustic duets also have that kinship with the Mahavishnu pieces like Lotus on Irish Streams, for example.

It's kind of amazing that this is on ECM but it was a New York session and fairly early on. I guess there was some overdubbing of synthesizer parts, but it's still got a very live feel.

For those who haven't checked out the other renditions of the tunes on this album, I encourage doing this:

Jan Hammer: Red And Orange (Oh Yeah?, Nemperor)
Elvin Jones: Lungs (Merry-Go-Round, Blue Note)
Oregon: Timeless (Friends, Vanguard)
Ralph Towner: Timeless (Solo Concert, ECM)
Gerry Niewood: Timeless (Timepiece, Horizon)
Ralph Towner: Ralph's Piano Waltz (Solo Concert, ECM)
Gerry Niewood: Ralph's Piano Waltz (Timepiece, Horizon)

Abercrombie has also revisited RPW on some of his things.

Can't think of other recordings of the duet pieces. Perhaps there aren't any.

BTW, for flaws, you'd have to go to the reunion album (Night).

Mike

[sidewinder]

Good choice, I'll dig out the vinyl. Beautifully recorded by ECM and probably my favourite Abercrombie album (at least of those I've heard). Isn't one of the compositions also on the Elvin Jones 'At This Point In Time' session? (Hammer was on both sessions).

[Guy]

For those who haven't checked out the other renditions of the tunes on this album, I encourage doing this:

Jan Hammer: Red And Orange (Oh Yeah?, Nemperor)
Elvin Jones: Lungs (Merry-Go-Round, Blue Note)
Oregon: Timeless (Friends, Vanguard)
Ralph Towner: Timeless (Solo Concert, ECM)
Gerry Niewood: Timeless (Timepiece, Horizon)
Ralph Towner: Ralph's Piano Waltz (Solo Concert, ECM)
Gerry Niewood: Ralph's Piano Waltz (Timepiece, Horizon)

Abercrombie has also revisited RPW on some of his things.

Can't think of other recordings of the duet pieces. Perhaps there aren't any.

I have live recordings of the Gateway trio doing "Timeless" ('95) and "Remembering" ('75).

Guy

[mikeweil]

I agree that this is one of Abercrombie's best sessions, and one of the great organ trio sessions of its time. Bought the LP right away and the CD as well when it was issued. Jan Hammer is great on any keyboard, IMHO - the closest to this would be Elvin Jones Is On The Mountain (P.M. Records) with Hammer, Gene Perla, and Elvin, as far as Hammer's intensity is concerned, but he plays acoustic piano or Rhodes only on this one. Hammer recorded on organ before for MPS, but this is a very rare LP recorded live at the Domicile in Munich.
I, too, was disappointed when Night was released - Brecker was superfluous on that one.
I love Jan Hammer, have most of his jazzier efforts, the Steve Grossman LPs, the duets with David Earle Johnson .....
I wish they would have continued this trio, oh yes.

[Alexander Hawkins]

I sat next to Abercrombie's wife at one of his gigs a couple of years ago. She was really nice, although bizarrely rather more impressed by my (trust me, not-particularly interesting) shoes than anything else going on!

[rostasi]

Thanks Guy for choosing this one!

I love it! It has a nice edge during the uptempo
tunes, but also a hypnotic feel on others - especially
the title track. Don't know if any of you still put music on
when you go to sleep, but during my high school days
the title track was one of those: mellow - a bit 'dark" -
without being "new age" (the term wasn't even around in those days!).
I'd have to agree with others that it's a favorite Abercrombie
because it has "atmosphere" without pretentious doodling.
Kinda like the Weber "Colours of Chloë" that we discussed last month.
In those ways I miss the early ECM days.

[mikeweil]

....... In those ways I miss the early ECM days.

Same here .....

[SEK]

I can't remember which I had first: this album or the two long-out-of-print (and missed) DeJohnette albums from the period (which featured Abercrombie), "Untitled" and "New Rags". Anyway, "Timeless" and "Gateway" are the only two Abercrombie-led recordings that I've held onto through the decades.

"Timeless" is an excellent and wide ranging program that I always play from beginning to end.

[7/4]

What a beautiful album. I first bought this in the late '70's on safari looking for Jan Hammer discs at Golden Disc on Bleeker St. The cuts where he's playing organ smoke and having DeJohnette on board sure help move things along.

Those were the days...DeJohnette and Abercrombie still kick ass, but I wish they could get together for a couple of discs where they revisited that analog sound. Hammer could go back to the Mini Moog, Hammond & Rhodes that made him a legend.

[7/4]

The first cut is Lungs and now I find out many years later that was the nickname of Don Alias.

John Abercrombie

”Don Alias was the most natural musician I’ve ever known. I met him in Boston, and had the opportunity to play with him on both congas and drumset. There is a tune written by Jan Hammer on my ECM record Timeless (ECM, 1975) called 'Lungs.' This was Don's nickname, from back in the day, and of course the song is dedicated to him. He claimed that I gave him that name, but I always thought that Jan did, or maybe Gene Perla.

[Jazz Kat]

I just bought this album. I had to break down and get it finally. Heck, it's got my favorite drummer, an organist, and a personal favorite guitar player. I haven't listened to it much yet though.

[7/4]

I just bought this album. I had to break down and get it finally. Heck, it's got my favorite drummer, an organist, and a personal favorite guitar player. I haven't listened to it much yet though.

Time to start spinnin' it!

[Alon Marcus]

John Abercrombie - guitar
Jan Hammer - piano, organ, synth
Jack DeJohnette - drums

I'll write more about this later when I have time, but it's one of my favorite ECMs. Not without flaws, of course, but most of the music here is incredible. The title track is a favorite.

Guy

Great choice. I started listening to the album today and I like it already. Abercrombie always was a kind of bloodless player and I didn't expect he could play with such power, speed and articulation like here. He is almost like McLaughlin, just a bit more diverse and smart. The album is very surprising especially when you come to listen to it after hearing the traditional organ trio.

What are the flaws, Guy?

Edited by Alon Marcus, 17 June 2006 - 07:16 AM.

[Alon Marcus]

I can't think of any flaws on this one.

It's the best album Abercrombie ever made, in my opinion. Wish there were more like it.

A piece like Lungs (and to a lesser degree, Red And Orange) has the Mahavishnu energy but leans more towards jazz, not so much of the involved composition and Indian stuff. I consider this one to be an extension of the Tony Williams Lifetime in terms of the evolution of the organ trio. Compared to MO, there's more listening, more interplay, less crash and bash and battling. I'm sure the trio compared to quintet has something to do with this, but it's also about DeJohnette as opposed to Cobham. I also love to hear Jan Hammer on organ instead of Rhodes.

The acoustic duets also have that kinship with the Mahavishnu pieces like Lotus on Irish Streams, for example.

It's kind of amazing that this is on ECM but it was a New York session and fairly early on. I guess there was some overdubbing of synthesizer parts, but it's still got a very live feel.

For those who haven't checked out the other renditions of the tunes on this album, I encourage doing this:

Jan Hammer: Red And Orange (Oh Yeah?, Nemperor)
Elvin Jones: Lungs (Merry-Go-Round, Blue Note)
Oregon: Timeless (Friends, Vanguard)
Ralph Towner: Timeless (Solo Concert, ECM)
Gerry Niewood: Timeless (Timepiece, Horizon)
Ralph Towner: Ralph's Piano Waltz (Solo Concert, ECM)
Gerry Niewood: Ralph's Piano Waltz (Timepiece, Horizon)

Abercrombie has also revisited RPW on some of his things.

Can't think of other recordings of the duet pieces. Perhaps there aren't any.

BTW, for flaws, you'd have to go to the reunion album (Night).

Mike

I Couldn't say it better about the Mahavishnu comparison. Thanks for sharing the knowledge about the tangent albums.

[Swinger]

I just placed an order for several jazz cds and this is one of the cds I'm going to get.I only listened to its sound samples at amazon.com and I was hooked.