The Bebop Shop : Changes: Post-Bop Modernists : Eberhard Weber
The albums title Stages Of A Long Journey is also its programme, as the bassist-composer assembles around him players of importance in his career. The result is a work of strongly autobiographical flavour. If part of its appeal is nostalgic, the sentiment is not out of place at a birthday party, yet the most striking characteristic of the album is its vibrancy. These musicians, playing pieces which once belonged to the repertoire of Eberhard Webers 1970s Colours band, make them live in the moment. The core ensemble heard here is effectively the Jan Garbarek Group: Eberhard put his bandleader activities on hold in 1981 to join Garbarek, and has been with him ever since. But with Gary Burton added to the Garbarek/Weber/ Brüninghaus/Mazur nucleus, a setlist revolving around Weber tunes, and a fired-up Stuttgart audience in support, new discoveries can indeed be made. (ECM Records) Price: £14.99