Conference napalm::guitar

    Is anybody else going to hear John's organ trio tonight at Regattabar?
    
    John's always had a special place in my heart, because the first
    Gateway album single-handedly kept me from packing the guitar in.
    Back when that was released, I was just about to quit playing the
    guitar for good because all I was interested in at the time was
    free improvisation, and I really didn't see any role for the
    guitar in that.  But "May Dance" in particular caused me to stop and
    say, "hmmm...maybe there *is* something for the guitar to do here".
    Maybe even more importantly, it got me thinking that maybe free
    improvisation doesn't have to consist of screaming hyperactivity
    all the time.
    
    I also love John's playing on lots of classic ecm albums where his
    "comping" was often more interesting to me than the solo he was
    accompanying.

    Just a bit of trivia, John shows up in the Martino video.  He talks
    about how as a teenager, he and some friends would go to see Pat in
    NYC (with Don Patterson's band I think) and Pat would be giving them
    lessons between sets.  They were of course kind of dismayed to discover
    Pat was about the same age as them!  They ended up hanging around
    together, jamming, etc.  I never would've guessed a connection between
    these two, but there it is.
    
    /rick
    

    
    	One of the most enjoyable concerts was Abercrombie and Ralph
    	Towner at the Iron Horse in Northampton.  I'd guess it was
    	around '82 or '83.
    
    	I remember a mini-telecaster that John played.  
    
    	With their musicianship and humor, they struck me as a next
    	generation Kessel and Ellis.
    
    	Tom
    

Saw Abercrombie with Towner at an "ECM Revue" (quite a weird lineup!), back in
the late 70s I think.  I was very impressed with the way his electric guitar
tone blended so seamlessly with Towner's acoustic.

-Lance-

    re: .4
    
    Yeah, that aspect of things seems to be pretty important to him.  I
    recall reading an interview with him in which he said something to the
    effect that if his tone and balance are right for a particular
    situation, then everything else seems to take care of itself; and that
    if they're not, he has a hard time functioning.
    
    Paul

    Do those of you who saw John play in the past recall whether he used a
    pick or not?  These days, he uses his thumb when he plays electric, but
    still uses a pick when he plays acoustic.
    
    The sound at Tuesday night's show was abysmal, at least where I was
    sitting.  They sounded like they were playing way too loudly in the
    next room.  The B-3 and the drums were both hovering near my pain
    threshold quite a bit of the time, and the B-3 was so muddy sounding
    that often I literally couldn't tell what Dan was playing.
    
    John *is* wicked funny; I bet he'd be a stand-up comic if he weren't
    a musician.
    
    Paul

    I'm not really a fan of jazz fusion (or whatever John Abercrombie
    labels his music), but I recall an article about him in a British
    guitar magazine some 15 years ago that really impressed me. The article 
    included a page of still photos of Abercrombie's left hand, fingering
    the most outrageous chord positions I have ever seen in my life...it
    was enough to make your stomach turn ;-)
    
    His hand was splayed right up the neck, spanning about 7-8 frets - I
    just couldn't believe it. And the interviewer swore that:
    
    a/ Abercrombie was totally comfortable/relaxed while posing for the
       photos, and
    b/ When he played the chords, there wasn't a bum note/muffled string to
       be heard.
    
    It gave me cramp just to look at them!
    
    Dom
    

    
    He was playing electric with his thumb alot when I 
    saw him with Gateway as well.   Too bad about the sound.  I was 
    wondering how that show was.  
    
    Dave
      

    
    	It's gotta be the room.  For Pat Martino, the drums were
    	way too loud too.  The drummer was barely hitting so it
    	wasn't his fault.
    
    	re: funny - I also saw Scofield and Goodrick together and
    	they were also hysterical.  
    

    I'm a fan of Abercrombie.  Have a bunch of his records including his
    first with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum (While We're Young).  I listened
    to alot of his stuff when he was with Jack DeJohnette.  I actually saw
    him once live in DeJohnette's band which also included Eddie Gomez
    on bass and Lester Bowie on trumpet.  I thought it was some pretty
    fun stuff, not much composition, but mostly free stuff. Unfortunately
    alot of the audience (at Berklee) didn't dig it that much.  He's a
    great player though.
    
    Don't have the Gateway records, but have alot of his late 70's/80's
    stuff.  The Gateway trio reassembled for a show at the RBar last
    January and are supposed to have a new CD coming out this year.
    
    His CD recorded At Nightstage in Cambridge 1990? (ECM) w/Marc Johnson
    and Peter Erskine is awesome.  check it out if you don't have it!
    
    I have grown to dislike the Regatta for the sound in that room too.
    I was there for Martino and ditto on what the other guys said.  I heard
    Scofield's band in 1992 there with Joe Lovano (tenor sax), Dennis
    Erwin (upright bass) and Bill Stewart (drums) and Sco and Stewart
    dominated the mix then too.  Think it must have something to
    do with the low ceiling where the bandstand is and those small sized
    Bose PA speakers for the house system.  Bigger is better when it
    comes to PA speakers.  Martino's acoustic piano players sound was
    'dinky' coming thru those speakers!
    
    /Paul
    

    Has anybody heard the new Gateway recording yet ("Homecoming")?
    What's it like?
    
    Paul