Arcade (John Abercrombie album)

Arcade
Studio album by the John Abercrombie Quartet
Released	1979
Recorded	December 1978
Studio	Talent Oslo, Norway
Genre	Jazz
Length	39:30
Label	ECM 1133
Producer	Manfred Eicher
John Abercrombie chronology
Characters (1978) Arcade (1979) Straight Flight (1979)

Arcade is an album by the John Abercrombie Quartet, recorded in December 1978 and released on ECM Records the following year. The quartet features pianist Richie Beirach and rhythm section George Mraz and Peter Donald. ^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[3]
DownBeat	[4]

The Globe and Mail noted that "there's a yearning feeling to [Abercrombie's] playing, a funny decay to his tone and a flitting rhythmic quality to his phrasing." ^[5]

DownBeat assigned 4.5 stars. ^[4] Reviewer Douglas Clark wrote, "Some people would call this music arty; I say it is artful. Sure, it’s overly precious sometimes, too poetic maybe, and a little more grit from the barroom floor might not hurt. But there is nothing false here. This, plus the high level of musicianship, makes the album a pleasure to listen to". ^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Arcade"	Abercrombie	9:41
2.	"Nightlake"	Beirach	5:35
3.	"Paramour"	Abercrombie	5:10
4.	"Neptune"	Beirach	7:34
5.	"Alchemy"	Beirach	11:30

Personnel

• John Abercrombie – guitar, electric mandolin
• Richie Beirach – piano
• George Mraz – double bass
• Peter Donald – drums

References

1. ECM discography Archived 2012-10-06 at the Wayback Machine accessed September 13, 2011
2. AllMusic Review accessed September 13, 2011
3. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. US: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 3. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
4. Clark, Douglas (June 21, 1979). "Record Reviews". DownBeat . 46 (12): 30.
5. Miller, Mark (July 21, 1979). "Arcade John Abercrombie Quartet". The Globe and Mail. p. F4.