back to browsing

Gateway 2

John Abercrombie
1 disc

1. Opening
2. Reminiscence
3. Sing Song
4. Nexus
5. Blue
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 847323
Credits

Producer Manfred Eicher
Engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug
/Dave Holland/Jack DeJohnette.
Personnel: John Abercrombie (acoustic & electric guitars, electric mandolin); Jack DeJohnette (piano, drums); Dave Holland (acoustic bass).
Recorded at Talent Studio, Oslo, Norway in July 1977.
Personnel: Jack DeJohnette (piano, drums); John Abercrombie (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, electric mandolin); Dave Holland (double bass).
Recording information: Talent Studio, Oslo, Norway (07/1977).
Photographers: Roberto Masotti; Andreas Raggenbass; Michael Heeg.
Stellar guitarist John Abercrombie has rewritten the modes of jazz guitar numerous times throughout his myriad career, but his Gateway troupe--with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette--composed some of the most atmospheric, impressionistic jazz of the fusion era. Recorded in late 1977, when ECM was becoming a label to be reckoned with, GATEWAY 2 traces a pathway to the stars.
"Opening" is the intake of tentative guitar and bass breaths, while DeJohnette signals what lies ahead with ominous snare rolls and cascading hi-hats. All three players are masters at creating a sense of pressure and release, and creating atmospheres that are perhaps best summarized in "Nexus," a voyage through warping guitar lines. Here, Abercrombie often sounds like an interstellar trumpet, Holland lays down motorik basslines, and DeJohnette sprinkles the stereo landscape with tricky time signatures and crashing cymbals. GATEWAY 2 is invigorating jazz that's as pertinent now as it was the first time around.
Critic Reviews

JazzTimes (10/96, p.125) - "...the trio establishes five stunning acoustic environments...that organically develop as they alternately groove and reflect. Adventurous in concept, timeless in terms of fine musicianship."