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Ralph Towner's a difficult case. The snoozy noodlings of his former band Oregon can be downright stupefying, but his solo work is often, though not always, quite a bit more interesting. Open Letter walks both sides of the line, but succeeds more often than it fails. Towner teams up with jazz drummer Peter Erskine on this set, and while guitar and drums may sound like kind of a dry instrumentation, Towner fleshes things out with some synthesizer and Erskine puts electronic percussion to tasteful use. But it's the more traditional fare that is most successful here -- while "Magic Pouch," awith its imitation flute, is almost a new age parody, the similarly gentle "Nightfall" hits the spot perfectly, and Towner's solo turn on the Bill Evans classic "Waltz for Debby" is exquisite. In general, Towner seems to do best with standards rather than originals; he acquits himself beautifully on "I Fall in Love Too Easily," but the faux-Spanish modality and synthesized seagull cries of "Alar" sound like muzak for tourists. Other Towner compositions, notably "The Sigh" and "Short 'n Stout," are far more successful.
© Rick Anderson /TiVo
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Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Composer, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Bill Evans, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Towner, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Jule Styne, ComposerLyricist - Sammy Cahn, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Towner, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Ralph Towner, Composer, Guitar, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jan Erik Kongshaug, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Peter Erskine, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Manfred Eicher, Producer
℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
Albumbeschreibung
Ralph Towner's a difficult case. The snoozy noodlings of his former band Oregon can be downright stupefying, but his solo work is often, though not always, quite a bit more interesting. Open Letter walks both sides of the line, but succeeds more often than it fails. Towner teams up with jazz drummer Peter Erskine on this set, and while guitar and drums may sound like kind of a dry instrumentation, Towner fleshes things out with some synthesizer and Erskine puts electronic percussion to tasteful use. But it's the more traditional fare that is most successful here -- while "Magic Pouch," awith its imitation flute, is almost a new age parody, the similarly gentle "Nightfall" hits the spot perfectly, and Towner's solo turn on the Bill Evans classic "Waltz for Debby" is exquisite. In general, Towner seems to do best with standards rather than originals; he acquits himself beautifully on "I Fall in Love Too Easily," but the faux-Spanish modality and synthesized seagull cries of "Alar" sound like muzak for tourists. Other Towner compositions, notably "The Sigh" and "Short 'n Stout," are far more successful.
© Rick Anderson /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:53:40
- Main artists: Ralph Towner
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: ECM Records
- Genre: Jazz
© 1992 ECM Records GmbH ℗ 1992 ECM Records GmbH
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