Ralph Towner
Solstice

Ralph Towner is one of the great musicians of our time.

First and foremost a great composer, but also an excellent multi-instrumentalist: piano, trumpet, French horn, and of course the classical guitar, his main expressive vehicle, have always been his bread and butter.

Having settled in New York in '69, he quickly began playing in Paul Winter's Winter Consort, a fundamental experience that led to the establishment of an important artistic partnership with the other members Collin Walcott, Glenn Moore, and Paul McCandless, with whom he created Oregon.

The music of this versatile group, endowed with its own immediately recognizable sonority, spanned across genres, predominantly leaning towards an immensely enjoyable and mature melodic folk-jazz, unhappily and summarily described by some as "world music" and "new age," free improvisations, and great work of melodic-percussive textures. And Towner's classical guitar was always one of the guiding voices of the group, leaving an indelible mark on the collective sound, and offering music lovers a new context in which to benefit from the sounds of a non-electric guitar.

Parallel to his decades-long participation in this magnificent group, Towner began as early as '72 to record a series of tracks for ECM, a meritorious Munich label that in that decade was a real talent factory. His solo production to this day is truly remarkable and has always maintained a high-quality standard.

This "Solstice" from '74 is one of the first examples of this collaboration (as well as one of the best albums in his vast discography), and is a perfect representation of the often-mentioned ECM-style, that is, a sound style where spaciousness, timbre, dynamics, and reverberations take center stage.

Accompanying Towner in this musical endeavor are stellar musicians: a young Jan Garbarek, the "inventor" at the time of a new and marvelous sound on the tenor sax, much copied by everyone; a "resonant" Eberhard Weber on cello and double bass, another name very present in the sessions of that decade, and a "polymorphic" Jon Christensen on drums, already a stable member of Keith Jarrett's European quartet.

The music of this album presents several analogies with that of Oregon, from the instrumentation and compositional style (a reflection of Towner's nature), the second especially evident in the ambiguity of a fairy tale-like melodicism punctually disturbed by veils of unease. What to less trained ears might sometimes seem like exoticisms and orientalisms are nothing but slight and automatic deviations from conventional lines and harmonies. It should not be overlooked that Towner's music (and that of Oregon), while not representing a break with the past, has been at least a new chapter in music, and the risk in wanting to judge these "silent revolutions" is sometimes that of trivialization.

The compositions, of excellent quality, are very varied in mood, rhythm, and instrumental interventions, and stand out among all the opening "Oceanus," fascinating and broad in scope, the alien surrealism of "Visitation?", and the fantastic, wonky funky groove of "Piscean Dreams," in which the absolute protagonist is a stunning Jon Christensen.

Throughout the album, Towner's magical fingers brush the strings (or piano keys) with mastery and delicacy, Garbarek's tenor or soprano sax (or flute) is at the height of expressiveness, and Weber's sometimes redundant sound integrates well with the background harmonies of the synthesizers, whose presence can undoubtedly raise eyebrows among many purists (myself included), but whose intelligent use does not make them particularly intrusive. Lastly, Jon Christensen deserves a "magna cum laude" for his great performance: without ever playing over himself or raising his voice too much, his accompaniments are always functional in ensuring the musical enhancement of the composition, as well as giving impetus and transport in the more intense moments.

A somewhat too anonymous and minimalist cover, typical of ECM's graphic taste, certainly does little justice to the richness of sounds present in the CD, so let no one be fooled!