EBERHARD WEBER

I like the picture of the band in the liner notes, five cool looking guys sitting in what looks like an auditorium spread out across the stairs and chairs. Weber has enlisted Paul McCandless (sax, oboe, English horn & bass clarinet) , Michael DiPasqua (drums, percussion) , Bill Frisell (guitar) and Lyle Mays (piano) on this 1982 release.

"Maurizius" is very mellow as the piano tinkles with the cymblas and sax helping out. The sax stops but returns before 4 1/2 minutes. Such a relaxed tune I couldn't help but think of that Mays / Metheny release "As Witchita Falls..." Next up is "Death In The Carwash" an almost 17 minute epic. I was surprised at how haunting the intro was with voices whispering and so on. Very eerie. Melancholic horns and cymbals eventually lead then we get some sparse piano after 5 minutes. Bass follows around 8 minutes with guitar expressions helping out too. The piano is back before 12 minutes and it dominates until before 14 1/2 minutes when the horn takes over and leads tastefully.

"Often In The Open" has piano and drums that come and go to start. It's building as bass clarinet and more join in. Intense. A calm before 4 minutes then sparse sounds come and go including oboe, piano, drums and guitar. It's building 8 minutes in. Nice bass lines here. It settles back late. "Later That Evening" has these long english horn notes as guitar then deep bass comes in. it's still laid back. Piano just before 4 minutes then the horn retruns 5 1/2 minutes in.

Another ECM winner but i'd rate "Yellow Fields" and "Silent Feet" slightly above this.

The year after releasing the beautiful "Yellow Fields" bass extraordinaire Eberhard Weber is back with "Silent Feet". Same lineup except for on the drum kit where John Marshall (NUCLEUS, SOFT MACHINE) replaces Jon Christensen. Charlie Mariano (EMBRYO, SUPERSISTER) is back playing sax and flute. I do prefer this one over "Yellow Fields", I just find it more dynamic and interesting.

We get three long tracks beginning with the side long "Seriously Deep". It takes a while but eventually piano and sax lead the way tastefully then the drums join in. We get bass and drums only before 4 1/2 minutes then the piano joins in as well. The sax is back 6 minutes in. Some intensity around 10 minutes as the sax and drums impress. I really like the electric piano too. It settles back 11 1/2 minutes in then kicks in again around 14 minutes. Marshall is his usual amazing self after 15 minutes.

"Silent Feet" is led by bass and piano early then drums arrive after 1 1/2 minutes. It picks up a minute later. The piano is fantastic here. A calm just before 6 minutes as the sax comes in and leads then it picks back up. A calm 8 1/2 minutes in then it starts to pick up again a minute later. Nice "Eyes That Can See In The Dark" opens with atmosphere and flute. Sparse piano and bass come in after 2 minutes. Sax and sounds build before 4 minutes then the piano leads before 6 minutes. Nice bass and drum work too. The sax replaces the piano 8 minutes in. It settles after 11 minutes to end it.

Such a classy, well played recording in the ECM tradition. Marshall really impressed me too.

Anyone familiar with ECM Records knows they are all about class, and here's another excellent example. Eberhard Weber is a German bass player who has played with so many greats over the years including Jan Garbarek, Volker Kriegel and the German band ET CETERA. Pat Metheny is a big fan of Eberhard's playing as well. We also get Jon Christensen from Norway on drums and he's also played with the best including Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous, Ralph Towner and so many more. We have saxophonist Charlie Mariano and keyboardist Rainer Bruninghaus to round out the lineup. I almost feel like I should have a small section in my collection for ECM released albums as they all are so professional and classy. Makes me feel like I should be drinking wine or doing something snooty. Not (haha).

"Touch" opens with piano,drums and bass standing out in this laid back affair. The sax joins in and this is all so intricate with the sax playing in a relaxed manner over top. "Sand-Glass" is quiet to start with a beat. Sax after 1 1/2 minutes. Piano before 4 minutes but it's brief. We then get one of those strange sounding Indian horn instruments before 5 1/2 minutes. The piano is back out front before 7 1/2 minutes then sax again. Piano leads around 9 minutes.

"Yellow Fields" picks up before 2 minutes to a bright sound. Gotta love the fender rhodes that follows as it picks up even more. I like the contrasts in this one. Great tune ! "Left Lane" opens with piano, bass and a beat. Sax before 3 minutes then we get a calm a minute later. The piano then starts to lead. It picks up at 8 minutes with prominant bass.The sax leads then the piano takes a turn before 10 1/2 minutes. Sax is back around 12 minutes.

Beautiful cover art on this one from Maja Weber. A classy 4 stars.

Eberhard Weber is well-known by his collaboration on some best jazz artist's albums, but at the same time he is one of ECM label's leading solo musician as well.

"Later Than Evening" contains just four compositions, but with a help of some great musicians participated it could be mentioned as one of the best Weber's release. Sound is crystal clear,crisp and very airy - as you can expect from ECM classic release. Music on the album is relaxed, down tempo, quite often almost liquid and rhythmless, minimalistic but precise.

Album's opener "Maurizius" is composition, heavily rooted in classical music, but played very relaxed,almost ambient-like. In this case ECM sound is more attractive for listening than composition itself."Death in the Carwash" for sure is central album's song and one of the best Weber's composition ever. With help of Frisell's guitar and more energetic Michael DiPasqua drumming, it got flesh and blood, and demonstrate some ascetic, but signature-like Weber custom-made bass leaks.

"Often In The Open" contains dramatic Lyle Mays ( Pat Metheny's collaborator for years) piano and DiPasqua's drums interplays with energetic bass - another great album's composition!"Later That Evening" returns back to opener's fashion - liquid and ambient,but characterless composition, very common for many ECM releases (for good and bad).

In all, album represents some great Weber's moments, and some quite common as well. Strong album for ECM sound maniacs, it is only in part interesting for more adventure jazz lovers.

This is one of my favorite Weber's albums and one of the best in the ECM catalogue also!The music here is mostly silent with a sence of melancholy and also mystery. Is an album of little details and holistic perspective. Weber's writing here is more abstract and not so "rock" oriented or kinetic as Yellow Fields or his work with the band Colours, leaving the place for the great players to shine. Mays' piano here is so moving and sweet ,Bill Frissell is (as always) the monster that he is-Paul mcCandless the man with the perfect clear tone, and Michael diPasqua a unique drummer (check his playing with Jan Garbarek, Ralph Towner, and the bands Double Image and Gallery). The most interesting part of the album is the uptempo part of the 2nd track Death In The Carwash, there is a very strange harmony and minimal soloing , that isn't common for Weber;s writing. So this is a great album for winter evenings, combining atmosphere, rests, free music, impresionism.

The arrival of this music--including Side One, a "perfect" side (an all-too-rare feat)--caused a profound awakening, such a dramatic transformation in my listening adventures and tastes, that I will forever be indebted to Eberhard and Rainer. Side Two is, unfortunately, far below the level of breathtaking beauty and much more experimental with 'soundscapes' than Side Two. Otherwise, this would be one of my favorite albums of all-time.

Wait a minute! It still is! I just turn it off after "Moana I"!

NO DRUMS! What a joy! What a revelation: that music doesn't have to have a 'beat'--or that it doesn't have to be provided by a standard drum kit. Hail to Brian Eno for turning off the drums! Hail Peter Gabriel and his WOMAD! Hail to Bill Bruford and his Simmons electronic drum kit! Hail to Zakir Hussein and his non-Western percussion! Hail to Mickey Hart and his ethnic musicology! Hail to Glen Velez and his hand drums!

If you want a trip to some of the most beautiful, peaceful inner mindscapes you could ever imagine, program "T. on a White Horse" and "Moana I" to play and repeat, over and over and over. I call this blissful place heaven!

I'm really having trouble giving this album less than five stars, for it is such an unusual music listening experience. Yet, the third and fourth songs, as mentioned, are far less appealing and engaging than the transportive first two. "T. on a White Horse" and "Moana I" are, IMHO, an essential experience of the mastery of truly 'progressive' music. This will be one of those rare times when the pieces of an album will earn the album a high rating despite the true 'adjusted rating' of the whole.

Silent Feet is a great album from fretless bass extraordinaire Eberhard Weber. Another artist from the famous ECM label. Recorded in Weber's homeland, Germany in 1977 alongside fellow musicians, Charlie Mariano ( Sorprano sax & Flute), Rainer Bruninghaus ( synths and piano) and Johan Marshall on drums. Weber's bass playing is awesome throughout the entire album and a fellow reviewer has described perfectly Weber's incredible exchanges on Silent Feet with his fellow musicians. All I can say is once you become a fan of bass, fretless bass or even cello in a minimalist jazz setting, Weber's dazzling style will leave you addicted and wanting more!. The album is made up of three pieces, the opener " Seriously Deep", " Silent Feet" and the stark and moody " Eyes That See In The Dark". An excellent piece of work and highly recommend for jazz enthusiasts seeking minimalist soundscape. Four worthy stars.

Talkin' about a classic live album!

STAGES OF A LONG JOURNEY, recorded live in Stuttgart in 2005 to celebrate the great Eberhard Weber's 65th birthday, offers the listener first-rate re-interpretations of some of Weber's loveliest tunes. The album actually improves on each of them and gives them new force, not least thanks to Marilyn Mazur's precise and energetic drumming. Many of the tunes are accompanied by the "SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart" but this does not make them bottom-heavy, not at all. Those who are familiar with the original studio versions will be pleasantly surprised how Weber has modified his original arrangements. As master bassist (and a cello player too) Weber has, of course, rewritten all arrangements himself; no hired hands for him!

The album is full of surprising and touching moments. Thus, there are two brief pieces where you can hear Weber duetting on bass with the legendary German jazz pianist Wolfgang Dauner (with whom he founded one of his first bands in the 1960s) and with the great Norwegian sax player Jan Garbarek, in whose band he appeared for three decades. There's also an entertaining four-minute piece where Weber performs with a certain Nino G., who's a beatboxer.

The majority of the pieces, however, are performed by Weber (on his unique-sounding double bass) with a core band of Mazur on drums, Garbarek on sax, the great Gary Burton on vibes, and the equally superb Rainer Brueninghaus on piano. (Like Garbarek, both Burton and Brueninghaus have played with Weber, on and off, for more than three decades.) This approach works best in the amazing Birthday Suite, which moves from "The Colours of Chloe" to "Mauritius" and "Yellow Fields" (each and every one of them a Weber classic) via two splendid transitions: a four minute grand piano solo by Brueninghaus, and an exciting three minute percussion solo by Mazur.

STAGES OF A LONG JOURNEY isn't really jazz and it isn't European classical music, although it incorporates elements from both traditions, and from rock music as well. It seems undeniable that here we have one of the best possible examples of what you may want to call "progressive music"! It reminds me of similar projects by the American band Oregon, but Weber's music is more forceful, his soloists are more exciting, and though some of his tunes are melancholic, there is no trace of sentimentality or wishy-washy "New Age". Those who have not yet encountered Eberhard Weber's solo albums couldn't hope for a better introduction.

P.S. If you happen to be familiar with STAGES and you'd like another ECM live album that's similarly inspired, I recommend Jan Garbarek's own DRESDEN, which was released in 2009.

Of all of Eberhard Weber's classic albums YELLOW FIELDS is probably the most likely to appeal to the average prog fan. First of all because it opens with "Touch", the most "symphonic" piece Weber has ever recorded without using an actual orchestra: a lush, stately, moving instrumental ballad with gorgeous mellotron, and with the main melody played in unison by Charlie Mariano's lyrical sax, Rainer Brueninghaus's synth and Weber's own plangent bass. "Touch" is utterly delightful, a major highlight in Weber's oeuvre.

The remainder of the album's original A-side is taken up by the fifteen-and-a-half minute "Sand-Glass", which is strongly reminiscent of mid-seventies Weather Report, especially because Brueninghaus's playing on Fender Rhodes borrows a trick or two from the late Joseph Zawinul! As the title of the piece suggests, the beat is rockier and steadier than with Weather Report (not polyrhythmic) and the main melody sounds somewhat hesitant, at least until Mariano switches from sax to an Indian wind instrument (either shenai or nagaswaram) and the piece suddenly acquires wings! It's another magic moment on a deeply satisfying album.

YELLOW FIELDS' B-side opens with the ten-minute title track, one of the sprightliest tunes Weber has written, beautifully played by Mariano on soprano sax. The real highlight of this piece, however, is Brueninghaus's exciting Fender Rhodes solo. Together with the magisterial Weber and the energetic Jon Christensen (on drums), Brueninghaus is also the star of "Left Lane", the thirteen-and-a-half minute closing track. Once again he shines on Fender Rhodes, but the piece also contains an intriguing extended break for grand piano solo, reminiscent of Yes's "South Side of the Sky" but much better recorded and played with far greater subtlety.

If YELLOW FIELDS, the first album Eberhard Weber recorded with his group Colours, was a sensation, SILENT FEET (which appeared a year later) turned out to be more conventional, but still highly enjoyable.

SILENT FEET boasts just three tracks performed by four musicians: Weber on bass, Rainer Brüninghaus on pianos (both acoustic and electric) and very occasional synth, Charlie Mariano on soprano sax and flute, and John Marshall on drums.

John Marshall had just left the Soft Machine; Brüninghaus's electric piano sounds similar to Karl Jenkins's; even Weber's composing is reminiscent of the Soft Machine's BUNDLES, which had only just appeared when SILENT FEET was recorded. Chances are that if you enjoy BUNDLES, you will also like this! The main difference is, of course, the total absence of electric guitars or organs, with the result that SILENT FEET sounds like a subtler album, less "rocky" than anything the Softs were providing around this time.

SILENT FEET's three compositions all have more or less the same structure: plangent, sometimes mournful melodies dissolve into slow grooves, which gradually take on speed as one of the main soloists struts his stuff, until his solo reaches a climax and the whole process can start over again. The 17+ minutes "Seriously Deep" boasts extended solos from Weber, Brüninghaus and Mariano. The title track (12 minutes long) is the highlight of the album and one of the greatest highlights in Weber's career. It's the only track on SILENT FEET which features a truly fast and exuberant main theme - but the band play the old trick of starting out slowly, and soloing on top of the basic chord pattern BEFORE the main theme is actually played. The initial solo is taken by Brüninghaus, and (as it speeds up) it's one of the most exuberant piano solos I know! The only time I've ever heard Brüninghaus come close to this, is on Jan Garbarek's recent live album DRESDEN, where he's once again given the space to shine.

What you make of Charlie Mariano's solos depends on how you feel about soprano sax in general. In my view, Mariano's playing was more remarkable on YELLOW FIELDS. Here, it never really catches fire (in spite of those crescendos), not in the way Brüninghaus's playing does. Weber himself, on the other hand, is absolutely brilliant. SILENT FEET is worth buying just to hear the way he accompanies his fellow band members. He sounds so strong and confident, it's a joy throughout! As for Weber's own solos, they're highly convincing and totally sui generis. Just imagine a fretless bass which sounds more "organic" than any guitar ever could, and which also swoops and trills in unexpected ways... Incredible mastery is all I can say.

N.B. SILENT FEET is now available in a bargain-priced two-disc set which includes all three albums recorded by the 'Colours' band: YELLOW FIELDS, SILENT FEET itself, and LITTLE MOVEMENTS. A strongly recommended collection.