Eberhard Weber - Later That Evening

EBERHARD WEBER
Later That Evening
ECM 1231

Recorded 1982

Side One

1. Maurizius
2. Death In The Carwash

Side Two

1. Often In The Open
2. Later That Evening

PERSONNEL

PAUL McCANDLESS; soprano sax, oboe, english horn, bass clarinet
BILL FRISELL; guitar
LYLE MAYS; piano
MICHAEL DiPASQUA; drums, percussion
EBERHARD WEBER; bass

For a laid-back Friday night in, here's some really laid back music
courtesy of the excellent ECM label. This album, like so many on that label, brings together musicians from a diverse selection of musical projects to create a satisfying whole. In some respects this could be said to be the ECM house band, Weber and Frisell at least appearing on many of the label's releases.

'Maurizius' sets the tone. Introduced by Lyle Mays' piano, it expands with the help of McCandless and the others into an elegiac piece. Weber is barely noticeable at first, his bowed bass suiting the sombre mood, but soon becomes a greater presence, as does Frisell on guitar - here using a soft sound, very little attack, never letting the volume rise too high or the tension go unreleased. Despite the lack of anything appoaching a beat, DiPasqua still has an important supporting role, sticking mainly to his cymbals throughout. 'Death In The Carwash' supplies more of the same feel through it's 4 movements, the 3rd even approaching a groove that acts as backing to a superb group improvisation. This is the strength of these players having been on so many of each other's records - they're not only a tight group but can almost read each other's minds.

A lot of ECM music is rooted in the free-jazz and avant-garde musics of the late 1960s/early 1970s, and although this influence had largely been purged by 1982, Mays can't help but open side 2 with a brief snatch of free jazz, before 'Often In The Open' develops into something similar to that seen previously. The closing 'Later That Evening' showcases Weber's smooth sound on electric bass (6-string, I think) with an ambient wash of sound in the background, before being played out by McCandless' beautiful soprano.

As an ECM record, you can expect nothing less than sonic brilliance, and once again Manfred Eicher has done an outstanding production job. Many of the ECM records are worth owning for the production alone. If you've got the kit, and the inclination to find them, I can tell you that they really do sound better on vinyl than CD.