Ralph Towner and Gary Peacock – live at Radiokulturhaus – OSR-Austria – January 29, 2000 – OSR-Vienna –
Heading into Modern Jazz this weekend, by way of Guitarist Ralph Towner and bassist Gary Peacock in a concert given by Austrian Radio and recorded at the Radiokulturhaus in Vienna on January 29, 2000.
The extraordinary collaboration between Guitarist Ralph Towner and bassist Gary Peacock is an exploration of the intimate world of sound and emotion by these two giants and pioneers in the European Modernism that Jazz has been looking at in recent decades.
On their own, each has displayed a virtuosity that has been the perfect compliment in a number of group settings throughout the years – this pairing takes the emotional aspect of Jazz a step further. Solace with a groove is a candidate for apt description – comfort food for insane times is certainly another.
Here’s a review and liner notes of their second (and presumably last) collaborative album, Oracle – as presented by ECM to give you some idea if you’re not already familiar:
“With so much virtuosity living inside bassist Gary Peacock and guitarist Ralph Towner, one might expect from this duo a showcase of lively showmanship. And while this it most certainly is at heart, on the whole we are given an understated album recorded out of deepest respect for its listeners. The improv is robust yet tender and marked by a distinct patina around the edges. Above all, however, I find the playing to be forward thinking and worldly. Peacock and Towner bring a cartographer’s care to tracks like “Gaya” and “Inside Inside.” Programmatic energies abound in “Flutter Step” and “Burly Hello,” each speaking as if behind cupped hands into the ears of a secret joy, while the turns of “Empty Carrousel” resolve into a hazy picture that blurs even as it develops. “Hat And Cane” gives us a happy-go-lucky reprieve, its effervescent licks crossing the postcard of “St. Helens” into the title track. What begins as a quiet breathing exercise turns full somersaults for the album’s most intense unions. Finishing with “Tramonto,” we find the duo at its emotive best.”
Goes well with turned down lights and a few sticks of incense – just a thought.
Enjoy.
