Up and coming

Description

The guitarist John Abercrombie, who has been recording as a leader for ECM since 1974, returns with a second album from his quartet, featuring Marc Copland on piano, alongside his long-time rhythmic partners Drew Gress and Joey Baron. 39 Steps, the group's previous album, was praised by the Financial Times: "The emphasis is on subtle intrigue, flowing lyricism, and the interaction between the leader's warm and clearly articulated guitar and Copland's piano...with bassist Gress and drummer Baron as companions both supple and nervous." These same characteristics can be found in Up and Coming, although with even more attention given to the immutable values of song. Abercrombie's liquid phrasing and bright tone—enabled by the thumb technique he has perfected since abandoning the pick in recent years—animate his 5 original compositions, the two by Copland, as well as the Miles Davis standard Nardis, played in the spirit of Bill Evans. Up and Coming has a twilight atmosphere, with the melody as the guiding light.