Ralph Towner — Batik (1978)

   ^{Ralph Towner — Batik (January 1978/February 27, 1993)}
•≡•   Hudba se odvíjí pomalu, ale logicky. Townerův tichý zvuk zobrazuje velké množství vnitřního tepla ... No, stojí to za pozorný poslech, klidně i při vysoké hlasitosti.Born: Towner was born in Chehalis, Washington on March 1st, 1940.
Location: Towner now lives in Rome, Italy.
Album release: January 1978
Genre: Jazz, Fusion
Record Label: ECM/Polygram Int’l ({ECM 1121})
Duration:     45:00
Tracks:
01. Waterwheel      9:21
02. Shades Of Sutton Hoo      4:39
03. Trellis      8:24
04. Batik      16:19
05. Green Room      6:17
Personnel:
Ralph Towner — 12-string and classical guitar, piano
Eddie Gomez — double bass
Jack DeJohnette — drums
Jan Erik Kongshaug Audio Engineer
Manfred Eicher Audio Production
Recorded: January 1978, Talent Studio, Oslo
Engineer: Jan Erik Kongshaug
Produced by Manfred Eicher                                                           © Towner © P. Soriani
Awards:
Billboard Albums
1978 Batik Jazz Albums #39
EDDIE GÓMEZ
Birth name: Edgar Gómez
Born: October 4, 1944, Santurce, Puerto RicoJack DeJohnette
Born: August 9, 1942, Chicago, Illinois, United States
♣   Guitarist Ralph Towner (who also plays a bit of piano) teams up with the highly sympathetic bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette for five of his originals on this 1978 date. The music unfolds slowly but logically, and Towner’s quiet sound displays a lot of inner heat. Highlights include “Waterwheel” and the 16–minute “Batik.” Well worth listening to closely, at a high volume.
♣   There are certain images that seem fail–proof when musically evoked. The “Waterwheel” that inaugurates us into guitarist Ralph Towner’s astonishingly beautiful Batik is one of them. Having since been painted for us by such varied talents as Hamza El Din (see the Kronos Quartet’s Pieces of Africa) and Marina Belica (former leader of the October Project, of which their self–titled debut is a personal all–time favorite), Towner’s particular configuration embodies the best of all worlds with the precision of his fingers magnified to great effect by Jack DeJohnette on drums and soothingly animated by the bass of Eddie Gomez. Towner’s democratic shifts in density allow for solos to shine through the haze unhindered, such as the enchanting bass that darts through his added splashes of 12–string. Towner rejoins in overdubbed costume, while amplified sustains peek like the sun from behind a cloud. Their passage through the sky is marked only by DeJohnette’s delicate metronome, allowing us one final glimpse of its thematic pool. “Shades of Sutton Hoo” is named for an Anglo–Saxon burial ground and haunts us with its reverberant lows and tinkling cymbals. A noticeably freer structure pervades, tracing every mound of earth with archaeological care. This delicate filler leads us up a “Trellis” of melody into ghostly afterthoughts. Gomez’s voice cuts with urgency through Towner’s ornamental stride. Their sumptuous counterpoint continues in the 16–minute title track and sets us down comfortably in Solstice territory. DeJohnette unleashes a noteworthy solo, while Gomez laces his quick fingers to support every hoisted footstep. We end in the “Green Room.” Painted with Towner’s mournful piano, it glows in a wash of potent commentary from bass and brushed drums, crumbling like spring snow into silence.
♣   A classic to the nth degree.Press:
♣   “...some of the most beautiful writing next to enjoying the music itself.” — Doug Payne (producer, writer, critic)
♣   “...allows wonderful familiarity with the daunting, endless (and endlessly stunning) ECM catalog — and opens up possibilities that may have been missed on previous listening experiences.” — Craig LeHoullier (ECM lover, author, dedicated reader)
Label: http://ecmreviews.com/2011/01/18/batik/
Website: http://www.ralphtowner.com/
Website: http://eddiegomez.com/
Discography only for own name:
•  Trios / Solos (ECM, 1972) — with Glen Moore
•  Diary (ECM, 1974)
•  Matchbook (ECM, 1975) — with Gary Burton
•  Solstice (ECM, 1975)
•  Sargasso Sea (ECM, 1976) — with John Abercrombie
•  Solstice/Sound and Shadows (ECM, 1977)
•  Batik (ECM, 1978)
•  Old Friends, New Friends (ECM, 1979)
•  Solo Concert (ECM, 1979)
•  Five Years Later (ECM, 1982) — with John Abercrombie
•  Blue Sun (ECM, 1983)
•  Slide Show (ECM, 1986) — with Gary Burton
•  City of Eyes (ECM, 1989)
•  Open Letter (ECM, 1992)
•  Oracle (ECM, 1994) — with Gary Peacock
•  A Closer View (ECM, 1995 [1998]) — with Gary Peacock
•  Lost and Found (ECM, 1996)
•  Ana (ECM, 1997)
•  If Summer Had Its Ghosts (1997) — with Bill Bruford & Eddie Gómez
•  Anthem (ECM, 2001)
•  Time Line (ECM, 2006)
•  From a Dream (Material, 2008) — with Slava Grigoryan and Wolfgang Muthspiel
•  Chiaroscuro (ECM, 2009) — with Paolo Fresu
•  Travel Guide (ECM, 2013) — with Slava Grigoryan and Wolfgang Muthspiel_____________________________________________________________

Ralph Towner — Batik (1978)

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