Ahmad Jamal is a survivor: born in 1930 his importance in
jazz history seems to grow with age. Now the cover of his
new album 'Marseille' won't win him any prizes. The music
certainly will.
Does the man has a love affair with Marseille? Fact is
that two tracks named 'Marseille', in which a different
vocalist (Abd Al Malik or
Mina Agossi) offers spoken word, are
central to this recording. A record date which leaves us
yet again with marvel about Jamal's both gentle and
adventurous piano playing.
This was my second Documenta visit. Twenty-five years had
gone by since Documenta 9. Curated by my compatriot Jan
Hoet it created a big buzz in Belgium so I wanted to see
for myself.
Why did I wait so long to visit again? Honestly I don't
know. I guess it was never top of mind. Documenta 9 was
great after all. Despite the fact that this has been a
very mediocre 14th edition of the Kassel exhibition I
became enthousiast to return in 2022.
Fridericianum: as always at the heart of documenta
Marta Minujín, Parthenon of Books, 2017,
Friedrichsplatz
Digital animation The End by Nikos Alexiou (EMST
Collection), Fridericianum
Part of Alvin Lucier's, Sound on Paper, 1985,
documenta Halle
Stanley Whitney, installation view, documenta
Halle
I got to know John Abercrombie by means of a French TV
show covering part of his 'first Quartet' concert at
Antibes 1979. That particulary band was a crossover
between jazz and chamberlike melodic music. The rythmic
part was heavy, stimulating playing by
George Mraz and
Peter Donald.
Richie Beirach was the virtuoso piano
player, jazz but with a clearly strong classical training.
The communication between the lead instruments was fluent,
sometimes hypnotic. Most material performed came from the
then actual "Arcade" album on ECM
records.
It was easy to recognize that Abercrombie was a
distinctive voice in the temporary music landscape. A long
list of recordings can be found in the ECM catalogue. Some
recordings to look for are:
Timeless (his knock on the door)
Gateway (with Dave Holland and
Jack DeJohnette)
Duo albums with Ralph Towner
Trio albums with Marc Johnson and Peter Erskine
Quartet albums: the first above mentioned and following
quartets with amongst others
Mark Feldman and
Joey Baron
A rather shady view from the highest balcony.
Abercrombie with Texier, Romano, Rava and Pansanal
in Montpellier, 2006
A rather rare album with all jazz standards:
Straight Flight,1979
