Customer Reviews

Stages of a Long Journey (Ocrd)

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Whenever a jazz artist teams up with symphony orchestra I grit my teeth and hope for the best. All too often, the results are a less than swinging compromise, as a large orchestra when attempted to harness itself to the groove of a small ensemble is a bit like trying to drive a semi tralier hitched up to a mini. There have been notable exceptions, of course. Charlie Parker with strings, Miles' recordings with Gil Evans, Bill Evans with symphony, Oregon's work with the Moscow symphony and Vince Mendoza's "Epiphany" quickly come to mind as marvelous examples of the potential sonic rewards this symbiosis presents .

Eberhard Weber is no stranger to latching the large ensemble to his work. He first did so on the the third stream classic, Colors of Chloe and later on the understated (and overlooked) masterpiece, The Following morning, in which he added cellos , oboes and french horns to his duo with pianist Rainier Brunninghaus. His deceptively simple compositions are well suited to the development and extended colors of the orchestral palette, and are here are given the full treatment in this, his latest ECM release.

In many ways, this is a restrospective and summation of his considerable composing and performing career. This is evidenced both by the special guests from various periods of his playing career and by his choice of expanding largely existing compositions. Indeed the core group consisting of Jan Garbarek, Marilyn Mazur and Rainer Brunninghaus is the longstanding lineup of the Garbarek group. Gary Burton's crystal clear vibes are added to that ensemble. Burton has recently retired from his teaching post at Berkeley in order to focus on performing. I recently had to the opportunity to hear him with Chick Corea and am happy to report that the man is on fire! He is playing like a guy in his 20's. His performances on this disc are further evidence that this man's authority and heartfelt virtuosity are unmatched when it comes to four mallet technique on the vibraphone.

Highlights include a free wheeling, swinging romp through Carla Bley's Syndrome, a deeper more probing version of Maurizius (off of Later that Evening,) a lofty re-imagining of Colors of Chloe and a pared down duo on the standard, Yesterdays. I find it amusing when critics take a patronizing tone in describing their surprise that Weber can swing with the best of them on a walking bass line or that Garbarek or Brunninghaus can blow over traditional changes. Hello! These are master musicians-they were doing that when they were kids! That they veered away from the standard repertoire to help create today's european jazz language is what makes them great.

The album is not without its awkward moments. The opening track illustrates the pitfalls of coupling the nimble quartet with the great lumbering orchestral beast. Silent Feet is one of Weber's great small ensemble pieces, but sadly, this version loses some of the freedom and openess of the original, trading fleetfooted abandon for weightier orchestration. Happily, the CD picks up from there.

One of the most successful arrangements is the expanded Last Stage of a Long Journey. This tune started off as a quartet composition on the third Colors album, Little Movements, was further expanded on Later that Evening and now has evolved into a fully orchestrated arrangement here. It is expansive and cinematic in scope. It unfolds like Weber's own artistic career, probing, growing, ever deepening and integrating the wisdom of a lifetime spent in pursuit of the muse. Let us hope that this is indeed only another 'Stage' of his artistic journey and not the Last one. I am looking forward to more new music from this important performer and composer.

I just found out that Mr Weber suffered a stroke last april. He is recovering well, but unfortunately had to cancel his participation in the Garbarek tour this fall. However, he plans to tour this project in 2008-2009 with the same players and orchestra. I wish him a speedy recovery.

I have been listening to Mr Weber's music since the 1970s, when the ground-breaking "Colours of Chloe" first appeared. As a young bassist and composer, that recording (and the earthy yet ethereal sound of Weber's electrobass) literally changed the way I heard music, and I have followed his career since then with the greatest interest. "Stages of a Long Journey," his 65th birthday concert recorded in Stuttgart in 2005 and released this year, combines the forces of an improvising quartet with the wide range of colours of the orchestral palette, and represents a retrospective of Weber's career in a kind of "greatest hits" format, in the sense that there is only one new piece, the spirited "Hang Around," which mostly features the vocal gymnastics of Nino G on beatbox, apart from the brief linking material provided by Bruninghaus and Mazur respectively.

The most revelatory element of the concert for me is Weber's deft orchestrations of familiar pieces, which sometimes however lack space by comparison with their original, sparser versions and occasionally sound a little cluttered and over-busy. This is perhaps to be expected, since there is obviously a vast difference between the more traditional quartet format and the resources of a 90-piece orchestra, and it is difficult not to compare these newer versions with their familiar (definitive) versions.

These minor reservations aside, there are stunning moments on the recording and the sound quality is good, considering it is outside the bounds of the recording studio where editing and balancing after the fact are routinely available. As an introduction for the uninitiated to the oeuvre of a definitive European jazz bassist and composer, it rates very highly indeed. As a new twist on pieces that may be very familiar to those who admire his music, such listeners may experience "the shock of the new," in hearing his music fleshed out with innovative orchestrations which sometimes seem a tad overdone and sit uneasily between the Scylla and Charybdis of Western art music and European improvising. Such problems may well be endemic to ambitious fusions of this nature, but the attentive listener will be well rewarded by hearing anew Weber's compositions in their new colours. I join the other reviewers in wishing him a speedy and complete recovery from his health problems.

Eberhard's work through the last three decades are represented beautifully here. The recording is top notch as are the individual players and the Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra performances. Some of the most familiar pieces are reworked into alternate arrangements , yet the chamber music feel is maintained throughout the proceedings. An enjoyable recording worthy of the stature of both the musicians involved and the arrangements of these truly magnificent compositions.

WOW!! If you are a fan of Eberhard and Jan G, you should buy this right now. If you need some music for your iPod on your next balloon flight, again, buy it! I've been listening to it a lot! It's done nothing less than provide me with a "religious experience" and I'm really not religious! This album is a bit unique for me in that I don't normally consider this type of music to be compatible with an orchestra, and in truth, I really doubted that these fine players coupled to an orchestra would maintain their ability to float and grove the way the way they do, but I have to say it's amazing at just how well it all meshes together where the sum really is greater than the parts. The first track doesn't mesh as well as the rest of the album for me, but after that, it's clear sailing.
Track 5 (The colours of Chloe)is a great example of how sweet the ensemble works. Track 7 (Maurizius) is the track that sent me through the roof with joy, play it with someone you love and it will have you both weeping happy tears in no time. Gary Burton ought to play with these guys more as it's just a marriage made in heaven.

I was really upset to hear that Eberhard had a stroke recently (he's better now thankfully), and in thinking about it, what upset me most was the realization that these gods of music are as fragile as the rest of us... I so want to take my young boys to hear this music live someday, but they are only 2 years old!! I guess we're just very lucky to have music like this recorded, and I feel blessed that I get to listen and share.

Many CDs come with stickers containing little blurbs that are intended to make potential purchasers excited. Although some of these blurbs are truly laughable, occasionally you run across a blurb that describes the recording both accurately and succinctly, such as the blurb for this new ECM release: "A vibrant, live album celebrating Eberhard Weber's extraordinary musical career."

In March 2005, a concert was held in Stuttgart featuring Weber and some of his close musical associates to mark Weber's 65th birthday. With the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Roland Kluttig providing orchestral support, bassist Weber was joined by old friends Gary Burton (vibes), Jan Garbarek (saxophone), Rainer Brüninghaus (piano), and Marilyn Mazur (drums), plus some new friends such as pianist Wolfgang Dauner, percussionist Reto Weber (no relation), and beatbox vocalist Nino G. (I only wish Pat Metheny could have been there--Metheny and Burton and Weber have made some dynamite music together in the past, e.g., on Burton's Passengers album.)

Ranging over a number of Weber's past hits, such as "Silent Feet," "The Colours of Chloë," "Maurizius," and "Yellow Fields," interspersed with some music prepared especially for the occasion, the assembled musicians produce a memorable sound, emphasizing the sheer beauty of Weber's musical world. It is interesting to compare the large-scale live performances on this recording with the original jazz ensemble studio recordings on ECM's :Rarum series CD devoted to Weber's music. Both these CDs are treasures--I'm amazed that Weber's music in not more widely known.

If you have never heard the music of this amazing bassist, then by all means pick up this new CD. If you like it, you will certainly want to listen to his hits on the :Rarurn release, and then maybe investigate some of his classic ECM albums. If you do, you will soon have a new favorite musician that you will no doubt encourage your friends to hear for themselves, and your life will become a fluid rustle. Enjoy!

"I realized pretty soon that I have to do more than just play bass in the background way. So, I developed a kind of playing which only a handful of musicians accepted."So said Weber indicating the amazing long journey of one of a kind musicians.This recording is an honoring of this amazing talent.Shortly after this Weber had a stroke which he is slowly recovering from.I highly recommend searching out all you can about this man and his work.