Search - Henri Texier, Joe Lovano :: Colonel Skopje

Abercrombie Fans, Take Note!

Stephen Silberman | SF, CA USA | 06/24/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very fine album that probably sold 100 copies because of the weird title and packaging. For John Abercrombie fans, it's a major event: this is the only recorded meeting of Abercrombie and the marvelous electric bass player Steve Swallow, who's made many great recordings with Gary Burton, Carla Bley, and others. There's a lovely version of Abercrombie's "Killing Time," released on his own five-star album Current Events -- this version is less "synthed out" than the version on the previous release. And there's a lovely Abercrombie tune called "Ladies' Choice," unrecorded elsewhere as far as I know.The band sound is very empathetic, as if these guys had been playing together for years. Frankly, though Texier is the "leader" of this session, his contributions are not as apparent as the energetic, spirited playing of Lovano, Swallow and Abercrombie. Abercrombie sounds positively energized by this session, and his tone is a little cleaner here than on other recordings of his from this era (1995).A really sweet album that is certainly not getting the audience it deserves."