On paper this is the line up favoured by Jimmy Smith in his touring organ extravaganzas. There the similarity ends, because, although the dominant voice here is guitarist Abercrombie, this is an integrated performance in every way. One is almost tempted to say that the real stars are recording and mixing engineers Tony May and Jan Erik Kongshaug, so good is the sound quality and balance. But this would do less than justice to the musicians involved. The often aggressive DeJohnette is a model of control, without surrendering the punching drive of his style. On Lungs he is brilliant and throughout he captures the required mood for every one of these varied compositions.
Hammer, often called upon to replace the bass, is good on all of his three instruments, and his organ outing on Piano Waltz shows how well he can put a solo together. Abercrombie is the outstanding solo voice, however, and he makes subtle use of electronic effects in a style that is based on melodic reconstruction rather than free development. The most memorable themes are Love Song, which is a quite beautiful tune, and Red And Orange, one of those clever pieces designed for the keyboard that jazzmen enjoy so much. This is not a record that will set the jazz world on its ear, but is one that you will often pull out in reflective moments or for late night private listening.
Discography
Lungs; Love Song; Ralph’s Piano Waltz (21¾ min) – Red And Orange; Remembering; Timeless (22 min)
John Abercrombie (gtr); Jan Hammer (org/syn/pno); Jack DeJohnette (dm). NY, 21-22/6/74.
(ECM1047ST £2.99)
