John Abercrombie (guitarist)

John Abercrombie (born December 16, 1944 in Port Chester, New York) is an American Progressive jazz guitarist. Aside from his solo work he is known for his work with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette and the Brecker Brothers. Abercrombie has recorded principally with the ECM label of Manfred Eicher. He also explores often the parameters of jazz fusion and post bop.

Abercrombie is 1967 graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He was presented with a Berklee College of Music Distinguished Alumni Award in 1998. Abercrombie's first notable recordings were two albums with the jazz-rock band Dreams in 1970.

The ongoing groups he has led or co-led include:
*Gateway, with bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette (mid-1970s, and again mid-1990s)
*duo with guitarist Ralph Towner (starting mid-1970s, occasionally through mid-1990s)
*quartet with pianist Richie Beirach, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Peter Donald (late 1970s to early 1980s)
*trio with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Peter Erskine (mid-1980s to early 1990s)
*trio with organist Dan Wall and drummer Adam Nussbaum (through 1990s)
*quartet with violinist Mark Feldman, bassist Marc Johnson, and drummer Joey Baron (starting 2000)

Discography

* Timeless (1974) with Jack DeJohnette & Jan Hammer
* Characters (1977) solo
* Arcade (1978) quartet with Richie Beirach
* Straight Flight (1979)
* Abercrombie Quartet (1979) quartet with Richie Beirach
* M (1980) quartet with Richie Beirach
* Night (1984) with Jack DeJohnette, Jan Hammer & Mike Brecker
* Current Events (1985) with Marc Johnson & Peter Erskine
* Getting There (1987) with Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine & Mike Brecker
* John Abercrombie/Marc Johnson/Peter Erskine (1988) live
* Animato (1989) with Vince Mendoza and Jon Christensen
* While We're Young (1992) with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum
* November (1993) with Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine & John Surman
* Speak of the Devil (1994) with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum
* Tactics (1996) with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum
* Open Land (1999) with Dan Wall, Adam Nussbaum, Kenny Wheeler, Joe Lovano, Mark Feldman
* Cat 'n' Mouse (2000) with Mark Feldman, Marc Johnson, & Joey Baron
* Class Trip (2003) with Mark Feldman, Marc Johnson, & Joey Baron
* Structures (2006) trio with Eddie Gomez and Gene Jackson
* Farewell (2006) with George Mraz, Andy Laverne, Adam Nussbaum
* The Third Quartet (2007) with Mark Feldman, Marc Johnson, & Joey Baron

With Gateway with Jack DeJohnette & Dave Holland:

* Gateway (1975)
* Gateway 2 (1977)
* Homecoming (1994)
* In the Moment (1994)

With Henri Texier:
* Colonel Skopje (1988; 1995)

With Ralph Towner:

* Sargasso Sea (1976)
* Five Years Later (1981)

With Andy LaVerne

* Nosmo King (1994)
* Now It Can Be Played (1995)
* Where We Were (1996)
* A Nice Idea (2006)

With Kenny Wheeler:

* Deer Wan (1977)
* Music for Large & Small Ensembles (1990)
* The Widow in the Window (1990)
* It Takes Two! (2006)

With Marc Copland:

* Second Look (1996)
* That's For Sure (2002)
* ...And (2002)
* Brand New (2004)

With Jeff Palmer:

* Abracadabra (1987)
* Ease On (1993)
* Island Universe (1994)
* Shades of the Pine (1994)
* Bunin the Blues (2001)

With Lonnie Smith

* Afro Blue (1993)
* Purple Haze: Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (1995)
* Foxy Lady: Tribute to Jimi Hendrix (1996)

With Charles Lloyd

* Voice in the Night (1999)
* The Water is Wide (2000)
* Hyperion with Higgins (2001)
* Lift Every Voice (2002)

With others:

* Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop (1970) with Stark Reality
* Eventyr (1980) Jan Garbarek and Nana Vasconcelos
* Drum Strum (1982) George Marsh, reissued as Upon a Time Album of Duets (1994)
* Solar (1983) John Scofield
* Witchcraft (1986) with Don Thompson
* Emerald City (1987) with Richie Beirach
* Landmarks (1991) Joe Lovano with Ken Werner, Marc Johnson and Bill Stewart
* Double Variations (1990) Tim Brady
* Brooklyn Blues (1991) Danny Gottlieb with Jeremy Steig, Gil Golstein, Chip Jackson
* Electricity (1994) with Bob Brookmeyer and the WDR Big Band
* Bush Crew (1995) Les Arbuckle, Mike Stern ,Essiet Okon Essiet, Victor Lewis
* Standard Transmission (1997) Pat LaBarbera, Jim Vivian, Jacek Kochan
* The Hudson Project (2000) Peter Erskine, John Patitucci & Bob Mintzer
* Animations (2003) with John Basile
* Three Guitars (2003) Badi Assad, and Larry Coryell
* Speak Easy (2004) with Jarek Smietana, Harvie S, Adam Czerwinski
* As We Speak (2006) Mark Egan trio with Danny Gottlieb
* Baseline: The Guitar Album (2007) with Hein Van De Geyn
* Robert Balzar Trio: Tales (recorded 2006, released 2008)

TV Appearances

SOLOS: the jazz sessions (2005 - Bravo! Canada)

Multimedia

* [http://homespun.powerusermedia.com/Homespun_Tapes/VD-ABE-GT01_Guitar2.wmv John Abercromoble instructional video introduction from Homespun Tapes]

External links

* [http://www.johnabercrombie.com Official website]
* [http://www.biink.com/a/discography.htm Extensive discography]
* [http://timberens.com/interviews/abercrombie.htm Interview]
* [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=3242 All About Jazz]
* [http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/johnabercrombie.html Perfect Sound Forever Interview]
* [http://www.jazzchicago.net/reviews/johnaber.html Review of the Third Quartet at JazzChicago.net]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15121704 John Abercrombie at NPR Music]