I didn’t expect to like this album at all, expecting a rather insipid blend of sugary vibraphone and frantic guitar strumming. After repeated listenings (and repeated self-inflicted thwacks around the head for being so prejudiced) I pronounce this album my rave of the month. The guitar/vibraphone partnership gels perfectly, the pizzicato guitar sharpening up the legato vibraphone, the vibraphone adding tonal depth to the guitar. Put the two together – and remember that both Burton and Towner can swing like hell – and what hits you is an exhilarating roller coaster of a set. The strong melodies, notably on Vessel, are sent on their way by the empathy of the two musicians, effortlessly shifting back and forth from melodic lead to percussive rhythm while on a track like Around The Bend the fluency of the two at full tilt can only be gasped at. Maelstrom in particular stands out in its use of light and shade, the cross-rhythms keeping the piece jumping, while quieter tracks like Beneath An Evening Sky show how closely the two lock their instruments together. The calypso Donkee Jamboree even had me grinning. Have I gushed enough?
Discography
Maelstrom; Vessel; Around The Bend; Blue In Green (23.11) – Beneath An Evening Sky; The Donkey Jamboree; Continental Breakfast; Charlotte’s Tangle; Innocent) (22.51)
Ralph Towner (classical and 12 string guitars); Gary Burton (vib/marimba). Recorded Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwidsburg, May 1985.
(ECM 1306)
