JOHN ABERCROMBIE — The Third Quartet (review)

JOHN ABERCROMBIE — The Third Quartet album cover Album · 2007 · Post-Fusion Contemporary Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
M.Neumann
Don't expect any Jazz-Rock or other musical fusions here: this is strictly Jazz of the purest kind, from one of its most esteemed players. And if you don't already possess a well-developed palate for the real thing, feel free to skip the rest of this review (or better yet, give the album a fair hearing: it might just surprise and / or enrich you more than expected).

The instrumentation is unusual for an otherwise traditional Jazz combo: drums, upright bass, guitar, and violin, the latter introducing hints of Folk Music richness into the ensemble. Abercrombie's guitar is the only electrified instrument in the group, but his amplification is attractively muted to fit snugly alongside his acoustic cohorts (all ace players, it goes without saying).

The music itself is beyond criticism. Each of the ten entirely instrumental tracks is never less than exquisite, refined, subtle, and intuitive. All of them together form a simple yet sophisticated album, following to the letter the ECM label motto: 'the most beautiful sound next to silence'.

The conservative rating reflects only the limits of my own familiarity (thus far) with the full breadth of Abercrombie's work. Veteran Jazz aficionados (I'm more of a dedicated tourist myself) and other highly evolved aesthetes can add at least another half-star at their discretion.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Moving Day Jazz Related Improv/Composition
ANDRÉ 3000
Buy this album from MMA partners
Luis Lopes Humanization 4tet : Saarbr​ü​cken Jazz Related Improv/Composition
LUÍS LOPES
Buy this album from MMA partners
Giovanni Mirabassi, Rosario Giuliani : Live and Kicking Post-Fusion Contemporary
GIOVANNI MIRABASSI
Buy this album from MMA partners
Christmas Time Vocal Jazz
ANTONIO FARAÒ
Buy this album from MMA partners
Alt er Luft Avant-Garde Jazz
SIMON TOLDAM
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

The Way You Make Me Feel
THE GREYBOY ALLSTARS
snobb· 18 hours ago
Chicago - Hard to Say I'm Sorry / Get Away [Live At 55]
CHICAGO
snobb· 1 day ago
John Coltrane's iconic Parker Blues: "Freight Trane" w/ Tobias Meinhart, Rick Rosato & Jesse Simpson
TOBIAS MEINHART
js· 1 day ago
Yo Viné Para Echar Candela
SPANISH HARLEM ORCHESTRA
snobb· 2 days ago
Joe Armon-Jones - Sorrow (feat. Liam Bailey) (Official Audio)
JOE ARMON-JONES
snobb· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed