Chilco Glad you liked that track. I stumbled on ECM (Editions of Contemporary Music) as a teenager back in the mid 1980s after buying an album on the label by Chick Corea and was an avid fan for about ten years. The label is still going after issuing something like 2500 albums since 1969. I think ECM was really in tune with what was happening in the music throughout the 1970s and 80s but lost it's way mid 1990s.In the end the issues became too austere and the rest of jazz caught up from a technical level, both in regards to playing and sound recording in which ECM excelled. A lot of the music they recorded was largely jazz but some of it took on elements of World music and European folk music. The label had a diverse range of musicians, not all of whom played jazz, but there was a distinctive house style. Luckily, they signed a number of musicians who were in tune with the same version around the 1970s and the label has remained faithful to a number for the best part of 50 years. You could randomly pick up records by the likes of Oregon, John Abercrombie, Terje Rypdal, Jan Garbarek, Keith Jarrett, the Brazilian Egberto Gismonti and Ralph Towner and find something to enjoy. Some if the records such as the group Colours led by Eberhard Weber now seem a bit dated but , by and large , the music has stood the test of time. A lot of the "classic" albums are now being reissued as a budget price - the label having a reputation for always being a bit pricey. This track by Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal is the tune that really nails it for me. Again, Jack DeJohnette is on drums but the bassist this time is the Czech Miroslav Vitous who is perhaps best know for his work with Weather Report in the early 1970s. Of the artists on the label, Rypdal is the most rock orientated but he had had a parallel carer in Norway's equivalent of The Shadows as well as a classical composer.
Went to see the Fleetwood Mac tribute band - Rumours - last night. They were excellent and reminded me that I loved these songs: This clip is of the guy who "performed as Peter Green".
The other day I put up the link to Led Zep's version of White Summer. But I referred to the Yardbirds' version as well. Both are played by Jimmy Page under different arrangements. And my reaction is that this cover is nicer, to my ears at least. Both are great, but see what you you think:
Excellent stuff - a tough song to play and I’m well impressed. I love going to see these tribute bands. Saw an early Genesis one the other day in Romsey and they were excellent!
That Yardbirds track got me in the mood to listen to someone else who really attacks the acoustic guitar. I think the volume on this is quite low, so you may have to turn it up. And stick some headphones on or play it over a nice quality hi-fi. Anyway, Michael Hedges - Ragamuffin. Whenever Michael comes up as a topic I always get very enthusiastic because I literally discovered him on my own. Walked into a record store one day in the mid-1980s, probably with an album in mind to buy, got distracted by the interesting cover [which you see], read the sleeve notes, bought the album Aerial Boundaries.
I can remember "Aerial boundaries" being sold in HMV in Southampton when it first came out and was struck by the album cover too. From recollection in was a Windham Hill record and can recall at the time this label came under a lot of stick from mainly jazz fans as it was largely associated with "New Age" music which was all the vogue at the time. It is interesting to see this record come up in this discussion because I always felt that this label was a more commercial version of ECM and maybe lacked the adventurousness of what the German label was trying to do. As a consequence, artists like Michael Hedges snuck under the radar for me. Listening to this track it reaffirms my impression of the similarity with another acoustic guitarist, Ralph Towner. There is also something similar in style to some of Pat Metheny's work in his playing. I would have to say that I would always prefer Towner and Metheny as opposed to Hedges. There is something about Towner's playing which pulls you in whereas I feel few musicians are working at the kind of musical level of Metheny- a musician I have seen perform live at least five occasions. It was a shame that Michael Hedges died in a car accident in 1997 and that his reputation seems to have become enhanced after this point. He occupied a strange place in music as it did not belong in many categories and there was an emphasis on composition as opposed to improvisation. I would have to say that I am more open to that track now than I was in 1985 and recognise that he still has a loyal following. Technically, the music is really accomplished and in a style of music that was notoriously lightweight, I think he may have been the most significant musician in the whole New Age movement. It is still difficult to escape image of the Gary Larson Far Side cartoon regarding Charlie Parker's private hell ! please log in to view this image
I'm not aware of Towner, but I'm very familiar with Pat Metheny. Got a couple of his albums. For me however, Hedges was producing a new style of music that was essentially his own because of several things. Apart from a couple of tracks, he was playing the cut tracks pretty much one-take live, that is straight through with no accompaniment, and I couldn't believe how he could do it. His style was very percussive, and I subsequently realised that he used the techniques of 'hammer on' and 'flick off', with open strings a lot, which meant that his tunings pretty much had to be all his own. Then there was the absurd 'Harp Guitar', which had gone completely out of fashion, if it ever had been in fashion, and he made it fashionable. Pretty much all his work was self penned, certainly the arrangements, and they gave him a unique sound. Allied to the fact that pretty much every Michael Hedges track I've ever heard, I've liked. Mostly a lot. There are plenty I don't know. Hedges has inspired a huge number of acoustic guitarists over the years, plus people who hadn't even started playing, to take up the guitar. People like Andy McKee, Don Ross, and loads of others. He was difficult to categorise simply because when he arrived on the music scene he didn't quite sound like anybody else. These days there several people who sound like he did. Here's Andy McKee in concert playing a Harp Guitar during a 'Remembering Michael Hedges' evening. The track is Because It's There. Youtube has several live tracks with Hedges playing, but they tend to have lousy sound and video, but by all means go and look him up to watch the style. Here's one where he introduces the Harp Guitar to the audience. After you've done that, if you've not had enough, check out this track and various others on YT straight from the albums. And perhaps go to his Wikipedia page entry too.
Second Stain These tracks are fascinating. It is interesting to hear and can readily appreciate why you are enthusiastic. There was a lot of innovation with guitars in the 1980s from so many perspectives that, although the instrument I used to play was a piano, it was guitarists like Bill Frisell, John Abercrombie and John Scofield who captured my imagination. A lot of this was to do with the style of music they were producing but the technology was also advancing so that electric guitar never sounded like that before. It was a few years afterwards that I got in to Pat Metheny. It is curious to see Hedges cited as being influenced by Minimalist music as Metheny famously worked with Steve Reich. You can hear this in the tracks you posted. Back in the 1980s Minimalism was massive and I think that this influence almost defines the era as Hedges' outfit! I like the two tracks but I think there is a broader picture and would have to argue that his was not unique but part of a much broader picture. Wondered if you had listened to someone like Steve Tibbetts who was from around the same time? From an acoustic point of view, Ralph Towner is the musician I most admire. He is largely associated with the folk jazz group Oregon who also included Collin Walcott in their ranks. I posted a Walcott track last week.
Steve Tibbetts is more inclined to Eastern music but again someone I think you would like . Most of his work is done in the studio with a percussionist.
I suppose the most impressive acoustic guitarist I have hears (and seen) is Egberto Gismonti. Again, I am not quite sure where to place his music. It is improvised but the music is not really jazz. His piano playing is almost as impressive. He uses a lot of weird tunings and also treats the instrument in a different fashion. I have always been surprised at some of the sounds he produces. This clip with Nana Vasconcelos is pretty typical.
Wonderful series on Sky called “The Art of Drumming” - absolutely brilliant. I’ve learned a whole lot about those crazy guys who sit at the back of the band .........
One for Farage....." I don't want no bake and take, no strawberry milkshake"... "Where snakes in the grass are absolutely free"...
