I remember this as being one of the first ECM recordings to suffer from the late-seventies ‘back to the (swinging] roots’ reaction to the label’s early success. At the time, one reviewer went as far as to suggest that, in Face In The Water, ‘nothing happens’. For my money, however, Of Mist And Melting remains the rewarding album it always was, featuring fine, open-ended compositions from Connors and sterling playing all round: rarely have elements of ‘hot’ and ‘cool’ jazz combined so strikingly.
I’ve never heard another guitarist play behind the beat to the extent that Connors does here: the combination of his predominantly cool linearity and DeJohnette’s patented rolling and tumbling creates a very special blend of poetic contemplation and rhythmic vitality – a combination central to the contributions of Garbarek. His dynamically rich tenor solo on Melting is exemplary in the reflective nobility of its sculpted accents and tonal variety. Unfortunately, Peacock remains as (surprisingly) low in the mix as he was on the original LP, but that’s no reason not to invest in an album where plenty happens.
Discography
Melting; Not Forgetting; Face In The Water; Aubade; Cafe Vue; Unending (47.37)
Bill Connors (g); Jan Garbarek (ts/ss); Gary Peacock (b); Jack DeJohnette (d). Oslo, December 1977.
(ECM 1120)
