Track Listing

1. Ethereggae
2. Night
3. 3 East
4. Look Around
5. Believe You Me
6. Four on One

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90294 in Music
• Released on: 2001-05-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Night
On the front cover is a completely uncharacteristic turn for an ECM cover, reflecting this album's exciting and gritty urban grooves. On the back shows pristine skyscrapers in the night. The point is, this album is city music, and a good bunch of it.

Abercrombie rocks through these pieces with urgency and curiosity, while Jan Hammer, Mr. Miami Vice/Mahavishnu, adds to the urban excitement with his organs and keyboards, as does Brecker with his characteristically emotional tenor work. DeJohnette is a relentless tour de force, and supports the cast well. Abercrombie's compositions (and one of Hammer's) are excellent impressionistic representations of bustling life/unsettling peace of the city at night, but you can just consider this album a good jam. It may be sloppy at places, but you know they are into it, keeping it real, and that's good enough... and play this while driving downtown at midnight and you'll see why I gave this 5 stars.

fun
definitely this is a record about the jamming! Abercrombie and Brecker's soloing really highlight this one, and I would have probably gave only three stars, but Abercrombie and Brecker do really heat things up at times.

I like the compositions, the heads really just serve as launching pads for all the great blowing. The overall album might have benefitted from a more thoughtful conception, but in the end it's still well played and jammed out.

Hammer and DeJohnette provide some fine support.

Shawn

Just love this record!!
This is one of my favourite records of all time & the opener "Etherreggae" one of my favourite tracks of all time. This album also marks (I believe) only Abercrombie's second experimentation with an organ largely replacing other keyboards (the first being "Timeless" in 1974) & personally I think the results are inspired (& certainly induced Abercrombie to repeat the "experiment" on two future albums, with Dan Wall stepping in for Jan Hammer). The other musicians on this disc are Mike Brecker (ts) & Jack de Johnette (d).
Take the aforesaid opener - beginning with a great 6-time repeated augmented B Minor chord with reverb by Abercrombie this track develops into a wonderfully slow reggae rhythm in major scale(s) with overdubbed guitar, a nice Brecker saxophone solo in the middle & a wonderful, uplifting closing electric guitar solo (joined in a wonderful burning conclusion by Brecker) featured. The second track "Night" encapsulates the mood of a reflective late evening at home alone perfectly & features brilliant soulful sax from Brecker plus nice acoustic piano from Hammer. Finally on Track 3 (Three East") Hammer's organ gets a decent workout but again, despite more great guitar work from Abercrombie, it's Brecker who steals the piece - ditto on "Look Around" which also features brilliant work from de Johnette (hitherto a tad understated).
Throughout the album the organ on this track plays mainly an underlying supporting role & really sets a largely reflective & occasionally melancholic tone (although the pace noticeably picks up on the last two tracks). The album also displays Abercrombie's versatility & willingness to experiment as well as what a brilliant saxophonist Brecker was. Enjoy!!