THE COLOURS OF CHLOË

THE COLOURS OF CHLOE is, without any doubt, Eberhard Weber's most visionary album. Strange to think this was Weber's first album for the ECM label, and he never again came up with anything so idiosyncratic.

Just look at that unconventional line-up. Weber himself plays a leading role on custom-built double bass (now sounding vaguely eastern, now powerfully rhythmical, now singing out freely), on cello and even ocarina. (The mournful sound of the latter plays an important role in the album's tour-de-force, the nineteen-and-a-half-minute "No Motion Picture".) Weber's old friend Rainer Brüninghaus plays keyboards and provides "No Motion Picture"'s whirling, repetitive, somewhat TUBULAR-BELLS-like themes on synths and multi-tracked electric pianos. Brüninghaus also plays some of the most limpid acoustic piano solos recorded in 1973! His performance contrasts beautifully with the massed forces of the cellos of the Südfunk Orchestra, Stuttgart, which lend the album some of its dreamiest passages. Two drummers appear on the album, and there's also Ack Van Rooyen on fluegelhorn, delivering a highly dramatic break on the magnificent title track.

If THE COLOURS OF CHLOE is anything, I suppose you could call it truly symphonic 1970s jazz, but without a trace of empy virtuosity or bombast. And unlike certain other ECM albums, the music is fascinating from start to finish. It never breaks down, and this is due, to a large extent, to Weber's knack for writing and arranging unforgettable and wonderfully mysterious melodies.

It comes as no surprise that the eight-minute title track was covered by Gary Burton on one of his own masterpieces, the 1974 album RING, which features Burton himself on vibes, Bob Moses on drums, Weber AND Steve Swallow on bass, with Mick Goodrick PLUS Pat Metheny on guitars, all playing at the same time. THE COLOURS OF CHLOE as a whole made a strong impression on the then twenty-year old Metheny, since its influence (both melodically and structurally) can clearly be heard on Metheny's most ambitious album, THE WAY UP, where Eberhard Weber is explicitly thanked in the liner notes.

I cannot call THE COLOURS OF CHLOE 'a masterpiece of progressive rock' per se, but it is definitely one of the masterpieces of European jazz and of 'progressive music' in general. If you like intelligent, imaginative instrumental music, don't hesitate to get a copy! You'll enjoy it for the rest of your life.

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