Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Ralph Towner (guitar, piano), Jan Garbarek (saxes, flute), Eberhard Weber (bass, cello), Jon Christensen (drums, percussion)

What would be my answer to the question, "So, what, in your opinion, was the greatest European jazz quartet ever?"

4 comments:

Commander Zaius said...

This one is beyond my pay-grade.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Now that I think about it, double b, I believe that Mr. Towner may in fact be American.

Dervish Sanders said...

Ralph Towner was born in 1940 in Chehalis, Washington (that is the United States). Not that I care, as I don't listen to jazz. According to Wikipedia, one of the styles Mr. Towner is known for is "avant-garde jazz-influenced free improvisation". In other words, the worst kind of jazz (*puke*).

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I'm not sure that I agree with Wikipedia's characterization, wd. At least in the '70s, Mr. Towner's work wasn't at all like "free jazz" (you know, the Ornette Coleman type stuff). Yes, being that it was in fact jazz, there was indeed SOME improvization, but it wasn't of the chaotic free jazz nature.