John Abercrombie
The Third Quartet
ECM


There really aren’t many “supergroups” around anymore, but this has to be one of those endangered species. Guitarist John Abercrombie’s 3rd release with violinist Mark Feldman, bassist Marc Johnson, and drummer Joey Baron may be their best yet. Spacious, empathetic, and sublimely intricate, it delivers the best parts of group interplay and intellectual soloing. In Feldman, Abercrombie has found the perfect counterpart. On a song like “Number 9”, the abstract melody is harmonically explored by the two in completely different means: the violin spins around Abercrombie’s guitar like a spinning top. They take a tune like Bill Evan’s “Epilogue” and serve it with pathos and reflection. Open and spacious playing, as on Ornette Coleman’s “Round Trip”, turns to taking the melody meticulously apart, strand by strand, until all that is left is a memory of the song. Fascinating work by a true team.


-George W. Harris