The O'Zone | Timeless Spectrum: A Tale of Two Debut Albums
This time in the O’Zone, we examine two exceptional debut recordings, evergreens in the fusion forest of the 1970s: Timeless by virtuoso guitarist John Abercrombie made in June 1974 in a two day session for esoteric label ECM, and Spectrum by innovative powerhouse drummer Billy Cobham on good ol’ Atlantic Records.
On the surface, it looks like two very dissimilar recordings are the subject of our examination, starting with the record labels. Atlantic Records was founded in 1948 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson with a reputation for jazz, soul, and R&B, and eventually rock with artists varying from Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Mary Lou Williams, and Led Zeppelin. ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) was founded in 1969 in Munich by Manfred Eicher, largely known for jazz, although many of its artists eschew genres and labels, including artists like Mal Waldron, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, and Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Atlantic is a meat and potatoes label: essential, integral, significant, and vital. ECM is a torte or mousse with its plastic record sleeves and glossy abstract landscapes for covers: elegant, graceful, esoteric, abstract and thoughtful.
They are as different as can be, just like the two artists I mentioned previously and their inaugural recordings. However, two noticeable similarities are the striking album covers both utilizing contemporary art and the fact that both albums are simplifiably called “fusion”.
Deeper similarities are the respective presence of drum dynamos Jack DeJohnette (on Timeless) and Billy Cobham (on Spectrum). Also, they are both guitar dominated recordings featuring (respectively) John Abercrombie: an archetypical jazz fusion and classical guitarist
Here is a song Abercrombie wrote for fellow guitarist Ralph Towner from the band Oregon.
You might notice the bassline by Leland Sklar was sampled by Massive Attack on their hit “Safe From Harm.”
Conversely, Tommy Bolin may have defined jazz rock guitar insomuch as his primary influence, Jeff Beck, was in turn influenced by the youthful James Gang and Deep Purple guitar hero Bolin.
Then, we come to the very obvious similarity: both feature Jan Hammer on keyboard instruments. In both cases, the special sauce was Hammer’s keyboard inventiveness, although his mastery has been apparent since his stints with Elvin Jones and Mahavishnu Orchestra. His playing is instantly recognizable. Jan was always down with applying his sound in such a way that it became intrinsic to the project at hand.
Fun fact: Abercrombie and Cobham played together with the Brecker Brothers in a band called Dreams.
Here’s one from their debut,
Abercrombie has also worked as a sideman on several of Cobham's albums. In fact, both Cobham and Abercrombie can boast an extensive collection of sideman dates on their resumes but Spectrum and Timeless helped to get that started.
When asked why he left the Mahavishnu Orchestra, a very popular and lucrative gig, Cobham responded:
“I didn’t quit, I was fired!”
He got a bounced check and a note from band management informing him that he was no longer in the band. Before his firing in late 1973, Cobham went to Electric Lady studios in New York with two sets of musicians. Bassist Leland Sklar said that all the cuts were first or second takes and within less than a week in May 1973 Spectrum was set for its October 1973 release.
There had been difficulty between John McLaughlin and Cobham and this writer speculates that the release of a popular debut album may have contributed to the separation. Cobham has mentioned that the original Mahavishnu Orchestra found they had very little in common aside from the musical connection, and John McLaughlin reformed the band with all new members almost immediately. Cobham had a great album that was nearly universally acclaimed. But ultimately, it’s not unusual for a band to dissolve, so you move on.
Spectrum had two very different vibes because it utilized two distinct units. The more straight ahead band featured
Joe Farrell - soprano and alto saxes, flute
Jimmy Owens - trumpet and flugelhorn
John Tropea - guitar on “Le Lis”
Ron Carter - acoustic bass
Ray Barretto - congas
and Jan Hammer - keyboards.
“Le Les” is quite a chill song in comparison to the very rowdy “Quadrant 4”. Cobham and Hammer open with 121 beats per minute (FAST!) Tommy Bolin and Leland Sklar jump in to increase dynamics. Hammer’s synth work is outstanding and Bolin blows it up on his Fender Stratocaster with the use of a device called an echoplex. Bolin was perhaps the best on the device with the exception of Herbie Hancock who used it in more subtle ways. Suffice to say, THIS IS FIRE!
Although John Tropea (who was touring with Deodato) plays on one song, Cobham had met Bolin when he was playing with the Colorado band Zephyr and noted the young rock guitarist's skills and mentioned he wanted a rock player to do just what he did.
Every guitarist I knew had this album and played the tracks with Tommy a lot.
Timeless was recorded on two days in June 1974 and released in 1975. I recall hearing it for the first time on a winter afternoon in Montana, the snow drifting down and the meditative title track a soundtrack for snow on the pines. It was almost 12 minutes long but it seemed longer to unfold yet when it ended, I needed to hear it again.
The trio of John Abercrombie on guitar, Jan Hammer on keyboards and Jack DeJohnette on drums all seemed to be playing using the same musical mind. I got my hands on a copy (my first ECM recording) and played it almost constantly for a year and I still play it frequently…easily on my top ten records list of all time.
It begins with a sustained E minor pedal tone with Abercrombie’s delicate guitar fills for almost five minutes, before an Aeolian modal progression sets up Abercrombie’s quiet lightning lines on his Les Paul using E minor Pentatonic scales giving it a rock element. Following that comes Hammer’s intense and quiet synth lines, all the while Jack DeJohnette’s chill snare filigree drives the piece.
The album is equal parts hypnotic and driving.
Here is an Organ trio masterpiece that is decidedly not a Chicken Shack Organ vibe but more a Fusion Fire using the tried and true Organ/Guitar/Drums instrumentation.
These two recordings remain benchmarks that are still in many musicians' record collections, debuts that led to many more amazing recordings.
And finally, here is a poem for the radio hero that showed me the wonders of these two recordings. I can’t play either one without hearing his voice.
Linnard Scott
I still feel the loss
Radio griot and spirit voice
Preach and teach without wagging a finger
to be around him was to learn
To hear his laugh was clouds over a parched land
at the record store he was a mentor
Father and son and brother
Opened the door to the rest of my life
His broadcasts were a libation
musical liberation
collage artist historian
however, he was just a man
a shy, great man
a Eulipion
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