Eberhard Weber on DeBaser: ECM moods, deep bass, and chilly skies

Eberhard Weber

Musician

Forecm devotees, jazz and chamber-jazz listeners, bass aficionados, and fans of atmospheric european jazz
4 Reviews 0 Definitions 1 Charts

The Profile

German jazz bassist and composer (born 1940, Stuttgart) closely associated with ECM Records. Known for a distinctive electric upright bass sound and for albums such as The Colours of Chloë, Yellow Fields, Silent Feet, and Later That Evening.

Longtime ECM artist and key collaborator with Jan Garbarek. Recognized for a distinctive electric upright bass timbre and an orchestral approach to composition and ensemble writing. Suffered a stroke in 2007 that ended his bass performing; later releases such as Résumé (2012) and Encore (2015) were built from live loops, and a 2015 tribute concert, Hommage À Eberhard Weber, honored his work.

Four DeBaser reviews trace Eberhard Weber’s ECM-era sound: lyrical, atmospheric, and steeped in his orchestral approach to bass. Writers highlight the chill beauty of Yellow Fields, the refined lyricism of Silent Feet, and the suite-driven drama of Later That Evening. The Colours of Chloë appears as a formative statement with hazy, chamber-jazz hues. Overall sentiment skews warmly positive toward Weber’s tone, writing, and ensembles.

Notable Quotes

❝ The great jazz bassists can be counted on one hand. Eberhard Weber is certainly one of them.

❝ Weber is a musician with solid classical foundations, and his "orchestral" vision is well present here, as in his other works.

❝ It has a tacit compactness, a soft and weighty texture, this first album by Eberhard Weber.

❝ The album is easily available, and I recommend always keeping it ready to cover those moments of mild depression that sometimes envelop us during these long dark November skies.