John Abercrombie unveils a band comprised of old friends, and increases the improvisational quotient in his new music on "Cat´n´Mouse", which extends the experimental spirit of the "Open Land" session. This time, the emphasis is placed on string sounds, and the interaction of Abercrombie’s guitar, Mark Feldman’s violin, and Marc Johnson’s double-bass. Drummer Joey Baron adds drive and an edgy intensity to the music.
Cat 'n' Mouse
John Abercrombie, Mark Feldman, Joey Baron, Marc Johnson
- 1A Nice Idea
10:55 - 2Convolution
05:31 - 3String Thing
03:58 - 4Soundtrack
08:03 - 5Third Stream Samba
08:41 - 6On The Loose
05:58 - 7Stop and Go
06:59 - 8Show Of Hands
09:18
In the 30 years that guitarist John Abercrombie has been recording for ECM, his career has pulled in different directions - it hasn't always been cool chamber jazz. Early on he played with such jazz rock artists as Jan Hammer, the Brecker brothers' Dreams, and Billy Cobham's fusion group Spectrum, and his recent strong albums have thrived on a valuable friction. This is reinforced in the superb Cat'n'Mouse. On Cat'n'Mouse the emphasis is entirely on string sonorities. Making up the quartet are violinist Mark Feldman, Marc Johnson on bass and Joey Baron on drums. Chamber jazz might be the natural description many would reach for, but Abercrombie often brings a rock sensibility to bear, switching between electric and acoustic instruments. Two collective improvisations aside, all compositions are by the leader. ... Immensely resourceful, constantly challenging music.
Andy Hamilton, The Wire
This is spacey, patient yet thrilling contemporary music from one of the most creative parings on the current jazz scene. Anything with violinist Mark Feldman's beautifully articulated phrasing and tonality on it is worth some serious attention, and guitarist Abercrombie's spare and feathery improvisations: constantly rewrite the postbop guitar book. Abercrombie's style is loosely derived from the thoughtful methods of Jim Hall, and there are occasional links here to John McLaughlin bands of the early 1970s, but without the heavy-fusion bombast. The rhythm section (if the phrase means anything in such a collective context) is the formidable partnership of bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joey Baron. They are perfectly equipped to respond with ease to the way in which the music moves between freedom and structure. ... John Abercrombie is a very rare breed of player, and in this partnership with Feldman he travels to some fascinating musical places.
John Fordham, The Guardian
His playing is subtle and supportive when need be, and if a song is best served by him laying out for a while, he keeps his hands to himself. What kind of a guitar hero is that' The finest kind, as Abercrombie's latest disc, Cat'n'Mouse, demonstrates. Because its structure is so relaxed, the album could easily have degenerated into good-natured chaos. But thanks to producer Manfred Eicher, who maintains a sense of control even when the music leaves traditional structure behind, plus the skill and sensitivity of the players involved, these eight cuts hang together beautifully. The result provides the pleasures of outside jazz even as it pays tribute to trust and teamwork.
Michael Roberts, Jazziz
It's a refreshingly uncluttered set. No messing around with electronics, no fashionable crossovers: four musicians thinking hard and following their best instincts.
John Truitt, Jazzreview
A rare contemporary jazz guitarist who employs deliberation rather than flash to make his points, Abercrombie has cooked up an unpredictable quartet session that darts skillfully from chambermusic delicacy to probing free-jazz improvisations to frontal attacks inspired by the Mahavishnu Orchestra. In violinist Mark Feldman, Abercrombie has a simpatico partner who follows his creative mood swings with second-sight shadowing.
Steve Futterman, Entertainment weekly
Bei dem neuen ECM-Gitarrenalbum erlebt man die Geburt einer großen Band. Geradezu heiter, relaxt und erfinderisch wirkt John Abercrombies neues Quartett. Ja, viele sind berufen, wenige aber auserwählt. Und Abercrombie gehört zu den begnadeten unter den ungezählten Jazzgitarristen, einen warmen und klaren Sound à la Jim Hall bevorzugend. ... Mit Mark Feldman agiert ein äußerst flexibler und expressiver Violinist, der schon auf dem Vorgängeralbum eine Hauptrolle bekam; jemand, dessen Sound unter die Haut geht. Das Gespann Abercrombie/Feldman kann Walzer ohne Kitsch kreiseln lassen. Oder frei aus der Jazzhistorie zitieren: von Django/Grappelli bis John Zorn. Das tun sie auf vielen Umwegen, die Spiellust genussvoll verlängernd, das Ende der Träumereien ständig herauszögernd. Mit dem Drummer Joey Baron und Marc Johnson am Bass konnte nichts mehr schief gehen. Der Radius, den sich Abercrombie zumisst, das Kräftefeld, in dem diese Sounds entstehen, ist das eines großen Schauspielers, der sein Handwerk genau kennt und ökonomisch einsetzt. Hinter oder neben dem Solisten die Szene gestalten, keine langen Egotrips trotz ausladender Soli, dafür aber permanent begleiten und agieren.
Karl Lippegaus, Süddeutsche Zeitung
John Abercrombie weiß zu verzaubern: mit seinen lyrischen Single-Notes, mit seinem technisch hochversiertem Spiel, das in seinen leisen Momenten ebenso berührt wie bei den kraftvollen, virtuosen Ausführungen. Diese Bandbreite wird auf Cat'n'Mouse mit seinen acht Titeln in allen Facetten dargeboten. Feldman und Abercrombie schwelgen in schönsten Melodien und stören die vermeintliche Harmonie wenig später geschickt mit schroffen Free-Jazz-Sprengseln. Mit dem Hörer wird so Katz und Maus gespielt, er wird eingefangen in das turbulente Spiel der Solisten, welches Marc Johnson und Joey Baron sensibel und ideenreich unterstützen. Nebenbei bietet Abercrombie mit dem Einsatz von verschiedenen akustischen und elektrischen Gitarren eine schöne Palette an unterschiedlichen Gitarrensounds, die sich mit den weichen, ganz und gar nicht kratzigen Geigenklängen wunderbar mischen. Hohe Literatur als musikalische Prosa, das sind diese auf CD festgehaltenen 60 Minuten Musik - und ergiebig, auch beim x-ten Hören!
Gregor Hilden, Akustik Gitarre
Dieses Album klingt erstaunlich europäisch. Liegt das daran, dass John Abercrombie unter free nicht lauten Aktionismus, sondern die Öffnung akustischer Freiräume versteht' Nun, der 58-jährige US-Gitarrist, der selbst in freien Passagen sehr kontrolliert agiert, stellt mit feinem Gespür Mark Feldmans bittersüße Geige in den Vordergrund, derweil Drummer Joey Baron und Bassist Marc Johnson delikate Strukturen zeichnen. So versprüht String Thing barocken Charme, und Show Of Hands ist ein rasantes Improvisationsabenteuer von vier Top-Musikern, die unprätentiös feinsten Kammer-Jazz spielen.
Sven Thielmann, Stereoplay
Schon Open Land - seine letzte Veröffentlichung - setzte auf die Liaison von Violine und Gitarre. Eine Erfolgsgeschichte, die sich hier fortsetzt. Manches an dieser Musik ist völlig frei entstanden; manches folgt vagen Festlegungen, einem harmonischen Gerüst etwa, dessen Melodie ausgespart und augenblicklich neu erfunden wird: Den Song zum mitdenken, ohne ihn wirklich zu spielen - das als Grundsatz und Wegzeichen. Joey Baron ist der Neuling der Formation. Abercrombie und der vitale Drummer aber kennen sich aus Jam Sessions in Abercrombies Loft in Manhattan. Und natürlich liebt der Gitarrist Barons unkonventionelle musikalische Herangehensweise, seinen humoristischen, dabei hochvirtuosen Ansatz. Und natürlich sind sie allesamt Könner ihres Instrumentes; nur so ist dieses scheinbar entspannte Musizieren denkbar, das die jeweilige Melodie, die Sanglichkeit einfacher Phrasen in den Vordergrund rückt. Und natürlich entsteht hier mit Gitarre - wobei durchaus die akustische mit einbezogen wird -, Violine und Bass ein Saiten-Triumvirat, fast ganz ohne Vibrato, manchmal streng wie ein Barock-Ensemble. Das ist nicht die lauteste Platte von Abercrombie; aber sicher eine der nachhaltigsten.
Tilman Urbach, Fono Forum
Unter den vielen Spitzengitarristen in der aktuellen improvisierten Musik ... ist John Abercrombie der konstanteste. Er ist in den sechziger Jahren aus dem brodelnden Kreativitätstopf der Berkley School of Music hervorgegangen und hat über die Jahrzehnte so viele gute Platten und CDs produziert, dass seine außergewöhnlichen schon keiner mehr wahrnimmt. ... Abercrombie war nie weg, hat auch bei aller Wertschätzung von Rock und Fusion die Vorlieben für die Spitzenklöppelkünste eines Jim Hall, ja eines Tal Farlow nie verleugnet. Er war zu gut um aufzufallen.Bis zu seiner jüngsten CD. Die trägt den Titel Cat'n'Mouse, ist wie viele zuvor bei ECM erschienen und nun allerdings ein Stück, das, wenn denn überhaupt noch ein paar Maßstäbe funktionieren in den Köpfen von von Jurys, Fachjournalisten und Produzentenlobbys, von allen Seiten als Produktion des Jahres nominiert werden müsste. Von vielen guten Kreationen dieses Gitarristen ist sie die beste, allerdings einmal mehr mit dem Makel behaftet, schlecht in eine der etikettierten Schubladen zu passen. Das unübertrefflich integrierte Saiten-Trio Abercrombie, Mark Feldman und Marc Johnson - beflügelt durch das impressionistisch offene, gelegentlich anarchisch aleatorische Schlagzeug von Joey Baron - spielt eine so inspirierte und überraschende Meta-Kammermusik, dass der zunehmend ungläubige Hörer kaum mehr auszumachen vermag, was ausgeschrieben und was spontan improvisiert ist. Die Musik ist gleichzeitig unerhört und selbstverständlich dahergespielt.... Abercrombie liefert ganz undidaktisch und scheinbar anstrengungslos eine Lektion zur Frage, wie's denn weitergehen könnte mit dieser so oft totgesagten Musik. Out of the dogma, into the hot. Besser: hinein in die Sauna-Wechselbäder der kalkulierten Unvorhersehbarkeit.
Peter Rüedi, Die Weltwoche
John Abercrombie unveils a band comprised of old friends, and increases the improvisational quotient in his new music on "Cat´n´Mouse". Violinist Mark Feldman had already expanded the Abercrombie/Dan Wall/Adam Nussbaum Trio to quartet size after the success of the 1998 "Open Land" recording, and has toured Europe and America with the guitarist. The idea for the current project, recorded in New York in December 2000, was to "continue the relationship with Feldman and develop a music that was still more open-sounding". Keyboards were abandoned for this album, freer even than "Open Land", and an emphasis placed instead on "string-sounds": violin, guitar and double-bass. In the latter capacity Abercrombie welcomes Marc Johnson back to the fold. Guitarist and bassist were of course two-thirds of a long-running trio (completed by Peter Erskine, and well-documented on ECM). John and Marc have worked together in recent seasons, too, in Charles Lloyd's touring bands, and their musical empathy is very much intact. On drums on "Cat´n´Mouse" is Joey Baron, bringing his particular drive and edgy intensity to the music.
Baron and Abercrombie haven't crossed paths much in the last decade, but they also go back a long way. About 20 years ago, a young Baron substituted for Peter Donald, one night in Los Angeles, in an Abercrombie group with Richie Beirach and George Mraz. Through the 1980s, Baron would drop by for jam sessions in Abercrombie's Manhattan loft, often proposing unorthodox approaches to improvisation. "Let's think of a tune and not play it" was one of the directives Abercrombie fondly recalls. (A similar spirit might apply to parts of the present recording: "Third Stream Samba" for instance contains no hint of Brazilian rhythm.) "Joey has such a different take on the drums yet at the same time has all this tradition behind him, everything with work from Carmen McRae to big bands. And his playing is really wide open, ready to go anywhere at a moment's notice."
Abercrombie's "A Nice Idea", which opens the album, is one of a long train of waltzes written by the guitarist over the years. (His passion for 3/4 time once prompted pianist Andy Laverne to dedicate a composition, "The Waltz King", to Abercrombie). John praises Mark Feldman's contribution: "I can't imagine any other violinist being able to do what he does here. My tunes are not easy to improvise upon, and this one is harmonically pretty rich. But Feldman goes through it like it was a standard song."
"Convolution" is structured to encourage open-form playing: "It's a series of three little melodies which occur at different times, and in between the melodies the improvisation is quite free." A final theme sets up a rock rhythm. "At the end we play all the themes again, one after another, in rhythm." With electric guitar and violin playing the themes in unison, a heavy and powerful sound, some correspondences with the late Mahavishnu Orchestra may be noted.
"String Thing" was written on guitar and its melodic lines redistributed to Feldman and Johnson to create a chamber piece. "Manfred Eicher encouraged us to improvise freely around a harmonic chord progression extracted from the tune. Manfred also asked Mark Feldman and Marc Johnson to play without vibrato, to make the composition sound almost like a baroque piece." Abercrombie's steel string acoustic guitar takes on an almost lute-like sonority in the mix.
"Soundtrack" written on the piano, has a rich, romantic theme that cries out for cinematic treatment. "It's the soundtrack to a love story not yet written", the composer suggests.
Listening to playbacks of the first completely improvised piece on the disc, and the way in which abstract phrases of guitar and violin move around Joey Baron's brushed snare rhythms, Abercrombie was reminded of Third Stream music he'd heard around 1960, when Gunther Schuller and associates began to integrate jazz and classical forms. Hence "Third Stream Samba": "There's no 'Samba' of course ..." Broken rhythms figure prominently.
"On The Loose" is in two sections, the first has a "bluesy, backbeat feel", the second - cued with three sharp raps on Baron's snare - is in a fast and furious jazz tempo. The extreme diversity of approach challenges the soloists to play quite differently at both ends of the song.
"Stop And Go" is the oldest tune on the album, written 25 years ago in response to a recording by the Jerry Hahn Quintet. Guitarist Hahn, probably best known for his work with Gary Burton ("Country Roads", "Throb" etc) and John Handy, had a recording on (roots music label) Arhoolie with a band that included Jack DeJohnette, bassist Ron McLure, saxophonist Noel Jewkes and violinist Michael White. "The direction on Hahn's record was 'free country swing'. The melodies were country and almost corny and the solos were played in what we used to call 'time, no changes': there'd be a rhythm, a fast jazz tempo, but no harmonic progression. So 'Stop And Go' is in this spirit, in the style of a piece by Jerry Hahn called 'Dippin' Snuff'". The country context allows Mark Feldman to touch on some of the things he learned in a six year residency in Nashville. Before the violinist landed in New York, he was an in-demand session violinist in Tennessee, recording with country giants including Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
Finally, "Show of Hands" is another free piece, building from delicate textural exploration and sound-colour, to powerful blowing. Towards the end of the collective improvisation, as the storm subsides, Joey Baron abandons drumsticks to play the kit with his hands. Hence the title.
The Abercrombie-Feldman-Johnson-Baron quartet tours the US in support of this CD in March, finishing with a week at the Jazz Standard in New York City. In April and May they tour Europe.
Baron and Abercrombie haven't crossed paths much in the last decade, but they also go back a long way. About 20 years ago, a young Baron substituted for Peter Donald, one night in Los Angeles, in an Abercrombie group with Richie Beirach and George Mraz. Through the 1980s, Baron would drop by for jam sessions in Abercrombie's Manhattan loft, often proposing unorthodox approaches to improvisation. "Let's think of a tune and not play it" was one of the directives Abercrombie fondly recalls. (A similar spirit might apply to parts of the present recording: "Third Stream Samba" for instance contains no hint of Brazilian rhythm.) "Joey has such a different take on the drums yet at the same time has all this tradition behind him, everything with work from Carmen McRae to big bands. And his playing is really wide open, ready to go anywhere at a moment's notice."
Abercrombie's "A Nice Idea", which opens the album, is one of a long train of waltzes written by the guitarist over the years. (His passion for 3/4 time once prompted pianist Andy Laverne to dedicate a composition, "The Waltz King", to Abercrombie). John praises Mark Feldman's contribution: "I can't imagine any other violinist being able to do what he does here. My tunes are not easy to improvise upon, and this one is harmonically pretty rich. But Feldman goes through it like it was a standard song."
"Convolution" is structured to encourage open-form playing: "It's a series of three little melodies which occur at different times, and in between the melodies the improvisation is quite free." A final theme sets up a rock rhythm. "At the end we play all the themes again, one after another, in rhythm." With electric guitar and violin playing the themes in unison, a heavy and powerful sound, some correspondences with the late Mahavishnu Orchestra may be noted.
"String Thing" was written on guitar and its melodic lines redistributed to Feldman and Johnson to create a chamber piece. "Manfred Eicher encouraged us to improvise freely around a harmonic chord progression extracted from the tune. Manfred also asked Mark Feldman and Marc Johnson to play without vibrato, to make the composition sound almost like a baroque piece." Abercrombie's steel string acoustic guitar takes on an almost lute-like sonority in the mix.
"Soundtrack" written on the piano, has a rich, romantic theme that cries out for cinematic treatment. "It's the soundtrack to a love story not yet written", the composer suggests.
Listening to playbacks of the first completely improvised piece on the disc, and the way in which abstract phrases of guitar and violin move around Joey Baron's brushed snare rhythms, Abercrombie was reminded of Third Stream music he'd heard around 1960, when Gunther Schuller and associates began to integrate jazz and classical forms. Hence "Third Stream Samba": "There's no 'Samba' of course ..." Broken rhythms figure prominently.
"On The Loose" is in two sections, the first has a "bluesy, backbeat feel", the second - cued with three sharp raps on Baron's snare - is in a fast and furious jazz tempo. The extreme diversity of approach challenges the soloists to play quite differently at both ends of the song.
"Stop And Go" is the oldest tune on the album, written 25 years ago in response to a recording by the Jerry Hahn Quintet. Guitarist Hahn, probably best known for his work with Gary Burton ("Country Roads", "Throb" etc) and John Handy, had a recording on (roots music label) Arhoolie with a band that included Jack DeJohnette, bassist Ron McLure, saxophonist Noel Jewkes and violinist Michael White. "The direction on Hahn's record was 'free country swing'. The melodies were country and almost corny and the solos were played in what we used to call 'time, no changes': there'd be a rhythm, a fast jazz tempo, but no harmonic progression. So 'Stop And Go' is in this spirit, in the style of a piece by Jerry Hahn called 'Dippin' Snuff'". The country context allows Mark Feldman to touch on some of the things he learned in a six year residency in Nashville. Before the violinist landed in New York, he was an in-demand session violinist in Tennessee, recording with country giants including Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
Finally, "Show of Hands" is another free piece, building from delicate textural exploration and sound-colour, to powerful blowing. Towards the end of the collective improvisation, as the storm subsides, Joey Baron abandons drumsticks to play the kit with his hands. Hence the title.
The Abercrombie-Feldman-Johnson-Baron quartet tours the US in support of this CD in March, finishing with a week at the Jazz Standard in New York City. In April and May they tour Europe.
