Steve Tibbetts - Natural Causes

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2010
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 44:08
Size: 101,9 MB
Art: Front

(1:34)  1. Sitavana
(6:27)  2. Padre-Yaga
(5:51)  3. Attahasa
(4:27)  4. Chandogra
(3:10)  5. Sangchen Rolpa
(6:11)  6. Lakshmivana
(2:15)  7. Manikarnika
(0:52)  8. Ishvaravana
(5:05)  9. Gulezian
(1:23) 10. Kili-ki Drok
(1:33) 11. Kuladzokpa
(2:58) 12. Lament
(2:16) 13. Threnody

Alongside Stephan Micus, Steve Tibbetts occupies a somewhat rare position in ECM's roster of longstanding musical collaborators. Like the German composer/multi-instrumentalist, this "Zen Guitarist" defies ECM's general rule of two days to record, one day to mix (with minimal editing and overdubbing); instead, Tibbetts has, with rare exception, recorded his music from a home base in St. Paul, Minneapolis again like Micus, sometimes taking years between recordings and with minimal label intervention. Unlike Micus, however, who produces his albums in isolation, Tibbetts regularly collaborates with others, most notably percussionist Marc Anderson a constant companion since the guitarist's ECM debut, Northern Song (1982). Despite Tibbetts' recruitment of others engendering a certain spontaneity absent in Micus' carefully constructed work, his similarly multi-tracked music does rely on texturally expansive but sonically detailed soundscapes. Like 1994's career milestone, The Fall of Us All (1994), A Man About a Horse (2002) was a deceptively ambitious collection of largely calming but still unequivocally deep performances, calling upon a larger cast of characters. Natural Causes's return to the relative simplicity of a duo with Anderson last heard on Northern Song (1982) still stands out amongst Tibbetts' ECM discography for its all-acoustic nature. Simpler in premise, perhaps, but comparisons with Northern Song only demonstrate just how far Tibbetts has come. His predilection, here, for 12-string acoustic guitar might draw superficial comparison to label mate Ralph Towner, but Tibbetts eschews the Oregon cofounder's detailed, change-heavy compositional constructs; relying, instead, on miniature orchestration built from relatively diminutive instrumentation. Tibbetts layers over 20 guitar tracks on "Gulezian" co-written with guitarist Michael Gulezian and the only piece not written solely by Tibbetts without ever feeling overcrowded. Its overt folksiness reflects the perennially undervalued Gulezian's biggest touchstone acoustic guitar icons like Leo Kottke and John Fahey but with Tibbetts at the helm it retains, unsurprisingly, an episodic sense of evolution, as miniature moments of serenity and near-silence contrast with rhythmic passages driven only occasionally by Anderson's economy of sound and pulse. Tibbetts' piano and kalimba underpin tracks like the hypnotically propulsive "Chandogra," while Anderson's steel drum engenders additional timbral diversity on "Lakshmivana." Still, it's Tibbetts' resonant 12-string imbued in phrasing and serpentine linearity by the guitarist's longstanding Far East interests in general, and the work, here, of Sultan Khan in particular that's Natural Causes' defining voice. All-acoustic it may be, but Tibbetts' still employs some studio wizardry to create lush sonic backdrops, as he does at the end of "Lakshmivanam." Billed as a duo recording, Natural Causes' multifaceted nature, continually revealing layers and trance-inducing sonorities make clear that there's a silent third partner: the studio itself. Natural Causes couldn't have been created outside the confines of the recording studio but in its organic holism and absolutely timeless nature feels as though it were made in some remote outdoor locale. Natural Causes' vivid imagery makes it, in fact, the ideal companion to Norwegian pianist Acker Bilk's similarly cinematic but utterly different Remembrance, also released in North American by ECM, on the same day. ~ John Kelman https://www.allaboutjazz.com/natural-causes-steve-tibbetts-ecm-records-review-by-john-kelman.php

Personnel: Steve Tibbetts: guitars, piano, kalimba, bouzouki; Marc Anderson: percussion, steel drum; gongs.

Natural Causes

---

Steve Tibbetts - Exploded View

Styles: Guitar Jazz, Fusion
Year: 1986
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 38:06
Size: 88,4 MB
Art: Front

(5:37)  1. Name Everything
(3:36)  2. Another Year
(5:17)  3. A Clear Day And No Memories
(4:31)  4. Your Cat
(1:59)  5. Forget
(4:56)  6. Drawing Down The Moon
(2:28)  7. The X Festival
(4:03)  8. Metal Summer
(5:35)  9. Assembly Field

Opening with a bang that builds to a thunderstorm, Exploded View is the definitive Steve Tibbets album. His electric guitar howls defiantly without a lot of power chords or convention, and his musicianship is top-notch, perhaps an Adrian Belew without the pop, plus a nod toward world music in production value. Tibbets scrapes and tears through the sky ("Name Everything," "Your Cat") with jaw-dropping intensity, but it would all be too much if there weren't such rich texture and softness folded into the disc as well. "Drawing Down the Moon" is a comparatively restrained piece with acoustic guitars, shakers, kalimba, congas, and a mixed bag of other percussives. A sort of unsettling warmth pulses throughout the track to pull the listener in and carry them along for a midnight desert drive. Another thing that sets this piece apart is its consistency in dynamics. On other tracks, the musicians run up and down the spectrum, but this one seems to be much more linear. Depending on your tastes, this could either be the best track on the album, or it may be the tame contradiction to the earthquake of music happening all around it. Either way, it's a welcome breather. The album is also a great showcase for Marc Anderson, a fantastic percussionist who shines here. He really understands the musical dialogue going on between himself and Tibbets' guitar. It's rare for one of them to lead or accompany the other  the symbiosis is such that you couldn't pry them apart with a crowbar, and any sheet music would still show their separate parts blurred together. The final minute of "A Clear Day and No Memories" is the only time Anderson leaves the room (probably to mop the sweat from his brow), and the tenderness of the acoustic guitar blooms like a single flower in a minefield. Songs like "The X Festival" give Anderson the almost impossible task of keeping up with himself, switching tempos, dynamics, and instruments repeatedly in a mere two-and-a-half minutes. The sweet harmonics of the tabla and the pounding waves of the bigger drums swell with urgency until the whole thing breaks apart with curious and unsettling abandon. Somewhere on the perimeter, Bob Hughes lays down the bass, but his contributions may be felt more than heard as he participates in the mix rather than adding anything new to it. Several moments have the feel of a tribal circle, accentuated by Claudia Schmidt, Bruce Henry, and Jan Reimer talented vocalists providing wordless chants and passionate upswells. Schmidt is an especially good match in aesthetics; she shows up again in 1994's The Fall of Us All, which really came the closest to recapturing the spirit of this album. Look for it. ~ Glenn Swan https://www.allmusic.com/album/exploded-view-mw0000188744

Personnel: Steve Tibbetts (guitar, kalimba, tapes); Claudia Schmidt, Bruce Henry, Jan Reimer (vocals); Bob Hughes (bass); Marc Anderson (congas, steel drum, percussion, berimbau); Marcus Wise (tabla).               

Exploded View

---