RALPH TOWNER

This album is one of cornerstone of European modern jazz. Excellent expressionist sound pictures painted by Towner's guitar, ECM founder Eberhard's bass, great jazz drummer Jon Hristensen and Nordic trumpet genius Jan Garbarek just build all the basis for what will be named "ECM sound" later.

Cool, aerial, melancholic, but Nordic- not too much sensitive, compositions, showed that improv jazz music could be not only interesting, but beautiful as well. Possibly, the best Towner work to time, at the same time is one of the best trumpeter's Jan Garbarek work as well! It is more than enough to name this album excellent.

Album's opener - 10 minutes long "Ocean" shows to listener all he must to know about this album. If you like Nordic jazz, you will love this song as well. After you heard the opener, you are ready to listen all the album. Every composition is excellent, but you know now what to wait.

Music fluctuates between folksy jazz improvs and acoustic fusion, being free and beautiful at the same time. Rare combination of accessibility and complexity.

If you're newbie to Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, or ECM sound in whole, just start there. Possibly you will find your new interest in music.

My rating is 4+.

Blue Sun marked the beginning of the 1980's for Ralph Towner. All instruments played by the multi instrumentalist but the classical guitar and 12 strings having the most impact. The opener Blue Sun is a beautiful moody song where his guitar work perfectly depicts the sun in all it's glory. Towner always has an inept skill at replicating climate and seasonal atmospheres to his musical pieces. The follow up " The Prince and The Sage" is another highlight to the album where his instruments play off against one another perfectly to create a lovely song. " C.T. Kangaroo" has always perplexed me, maybe it is Ralph Towner just having a bit of fun but the song is largely a throw away piece yet with clever interplays. My personal favourite is " Wedding of the Streams" where he evokes a cacophany of streaming rivulets of water all babbling in harmony at once. A truly elvish sounding piece :-). " Rumours of Rain" the closer is a brooding, slow, dark song. I am not sure whether it is titled from the anti apartheid novelist Andre Brink's book of the same name. If so one can definitely associate and relate to the sombre mood of this length song.

In summary a great album and almost a four star work but as this reviewer prefers to round down I am going to give this album a solid three and a half stars.

Released in 1973 prior to the excellent Solstice. Diary is for the most part played solely by Ralph Towner himself and whilst the classical guitar playing is the trademark sound of Towner, the piano and keyboards are much more evident on Diary and by far play the biggest influence to the album.

There are four tracks that really standout here, the opening " Dark Spirit" which sets the laid back minimalist tonal soundscapes, found on most of the album. Not the best by a long shot. These would have to be the beautiful melancholic " Ogden Road" and also " Mon Enfant". Again " Icarus" displays some wonderful pieces where the longer passages proves the albums worth. Early days for Ralph Towner and a good album, but this reviewer still recommends Solstice as a better inroduction to this musician's music. Three solid stars.

This Ralph Towner's solo album is recorded as quartet with drummer Jon Christensen, sax player Denney Goodhew and bassist Marc Johnson. Album's opener is usual Ralph just-classic guitar composition, influenced by melancholic Latin folklore.

But from second composition Towner goes deeper in minimalistic improvs, with very elegant help of supporting musicians. He demonstrates his best abilities there - abilities to play melodic improvs, to mix folk and jazz in excellent minimalistic, but attractive and accessible sound."Elan Vital" demonstrates such combination of jazzy rhythms and very folksy winds over the Ralph guitar.

Another Towner's visit card is melancholic, even sentimental compositions. "Summer's End" is the one on this album. Down tempo, with dry acoustic guitar chords and sax on the front of the sound, this melancholic melody will remind you of last warm days of the summer for sure. Towner, even often being sentimental, never cross the border and become pathetic or cheese though. Great talent!

"Col Legno" is Johnson composition, played solely bas double bass. Minimalistic and chamber at the same time. Another Johnson's composition on this album - "Sco Cone" - again played by bass solely, but this time it contains some funky groove.

All 15 album's compositions are beautiful musical paintings more than just songs, with dreamy, melancholic atmosphere and excellent musicianship. As often, it's difficult to classify the music of Towner recordings. Acoustic fusion of folksy jazz, post-bop and improvs? Doesn't matter, every fan of acoustic guitar, intelligent minimalistic sound and melancholic melodies will enjoy this album for sure.

Well it absolutely fantastic to see Ralph Towner added to Progressive Archives. An important ECM artist for mostly minimalist jazz instrumentals, alongside the likes of Jan Garbarek and Eberhard Weber or even keyboardist Keith Jarrett.

What needs to be said about Solstice? An absolutely stunning aural tapestry of sound encompassing all the characteristics one would feel or find with Winter, distant sun, weak sunlight, falling leaves or still frozen lakes and driven snow. It's depiction of this mood is so accurately kicked off with the splendid Oceanus. Towner's 12 string guitar is simply beautiful as is Garbarek's flute. A major highlight throughout Solstice is Eberhard Weber's bass and cello playing too. The musicianship holds this album together extremely well and being under the ECM banner/or progressive sound one can tell on listening and appreciating it why the music does not age at all. Anyway "Oceanus" take the listener on a swirling 11 minute ride before the alien song called ' Visitation' steps in. Perhaps one of the few songs that really does send shivers down the spine when depicting the possibilities of alien life. The most unusual track on the album but not unpleasant, reminds the reviewer morelike of amoeba and still pond life in midst of Winter. ' Drifting Petals" closes side one and is a beautiful seven minute passage and in the reviewers opinion the most accessible song on Solstice. Side two follows with ' Nimbus' which is an extremely clever piece of music with quirky time signatures as Weber and Towner interchange expertly between cello, bass and 12 string. Winter Solstice is next and here and the next few songs is where Garbarek seems to have more license to play out the album with the exception of Piscean Dance.

In summary this album would have received a fiver star rating had the album not dissipated so readily after Winter Solstice. It is an exceptional work that will require repeated listens by people new to RT before fully appreciating how important this work is.Four and a half stars.

For many jazz fusion lovers Ralph Towner is known by his guitar participated on Weather Report album "I Sing The Body Electric" or his collaboration on Bill Bruford solo album "If Summer Had Its Ghosts". But Towner is a founder of "Oregon" band and has long solo career as well. Being mostly acoustic guitarist , he is known as 12-string guitar master, but he experimented with new technologies (as sound synthesizers) as well.

"City Of Eyes" isn't very usual Towner's album: he has four collaborators there, including great jazz bassist Gary Peacock. Album's opener "Jamaica Stopover" has groove and some Southern melody. "Cascades" is one of few songs, where all musicians play together. Some mix of neo-classical elements and soft fusion drumming, filled with brass soloing. Paul McCandless, former ex-Oregon keyboardist/multi instrumentalist is known by his world fusion /new age works, but he creates more ambient atmosphere there. Winds interplays are airy and have their roots in Nordic folk.

Bigger part of album's compositions combines minimalistic neo-classical elements and some jazz aesthetics. Cool, often ascetic ECM usual sound, beautiful, a bit nostalgic melodies, perfect lines of all instruments. In some moments - a bit nervous and dark free-jazz sounds, but never - too chaotic or destroying whole album's beauty. Every composition is an aural painting of it's own plastic and atmosphere.

Whole album's music is difficult to classify - in some moments it's similar to some Pat Metheny works, in other - goes somewhere to neo classical, free-jazz or improv territories. But all the album is one musical piece doesn't destroyed by such fluctuations.

Really interesting work for open ears jazz fusion fans.