Spare and mournful, Sunday-morning coffee and croissants music from the duo of veteran guitarist and Oregon founder Towner and the superb Sardinian trumpeter Fresu, who also plays a mean flugelhorn.
Since moving to Italy over a decade ago, guitarist/pianist RalphTowner's output as a leader has been woefully infrequent, with only two discs released this decade--2001's Anthem and 2006's Time Line, both on the label that's been his home for over 35 years, ECM. It's not that he hasn't been busy; he continues to work and record regularly with Oregon, the group that he co-founded nearly...
... guitarist {{John Abercrombie = 3242}} and percussionist Michael Smith, but also features enlists {{RalphTowner = 10866}} and, in one of his earliest date, pianist {{Marc Copland = 5913...
... and Jack DeJohnette, keyboardist Jan Hammer, bassist Dave Holland, guitarists John Scofield and RalphTowner, and brass specialists Randy and Michael Brecker. On records like Timeless and Gateway, Abercrombie flaunted a fluid, crystalline style that could chill and enflame with equal adroitness. His work is marked by subtle melodic beauty and a quiet intensity that recalls Terje Rypdal's...