Earthworks | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 March 1987 [1] | |||
Recorded | October 1986 | |||
Studio | Terminal 24 Studios, London, England | |||
Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
Length | 43:55 | |||
Label | EG | |||
Producer | Dave Stewart, Bill Bruford | |||
Bill Bruford's Earthworks chronology | ||||
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Earthworks is the first album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, a jazz fusion band led by drummer Bill Bruford with keyboardist and trumpeter Django Bates, saxophonist Iain Ballamy, and acoustic bassist Mick Hutton. [2] It was released in 1987 on EG Records and reissued on Summerforld in 2005. The album was co-produced by Bruford's former bandmate Dave Stewart. [2]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Moving the River | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
At AllMusic, critic Chris Kelsey gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five. [3] He wrote, "The best thing about this band is its refreshing ingenuousness; they make intelligent, sophisticated instrumental pop music that doesn't pander in the least." [3]
Writing for All About Jazz, John Kelman noted that "Bruford's attraction to the juncture of strict form and freer improvisation, took a giant leap forward with Earthworks," and commented that the group "was unquestionably an improvising band; more than just a soloist playing over a fixed rhythm section, Earthworks has always been a looser affair, as much about interplay as adhering to any compositional form." [6]
A reviewer for Moving the River wrote: "Some musicians have a unique touch – you can identify them within a few notes. In Bill Bruford's case, his snare drum is his main audio imprint. But he also always had a highly-original composing style before his retirement in 2009, and both are very much in evidence on the excellent Earthworks album." [5]
Source: [7]
William Scott Bruford is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and touring with King Crimson (1972–1974), Roy Harper (1975), and U.K. (1978), as well as touring with Genesis (1976). In 1978, he formed his own group, Bruford, which was active until 1980.
Django Bates is a British jazz musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, band leader and educator. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. Bates has been described as "one of the most talented musicians Britain has produced... his work covers the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz through to bebop and free jazz to jazz-rock fusion."
Loose Tubes were a British jazz big band/orchestra active during the mid-to-late 1980s. Critically and popularly acclaimed, the band was considered to be the focal point of a 1980s renaissance in British jazz. It was the main launchpad for the careers of many future leading British jazz players including Django Bates, Iain Ballamy, Eddie Parker, Julian and Steve Argüelles, Mark Lockheart, Steve Berry, Tim Whitehead, Ashley Slater. In 2015, the band reformed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band's formation, with concerts at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Brecon Jazz Festival and a sold out week at Ronnie Scott's.
Human Chain is a British jazz quartet led by composer and keyboard virtuoso Django Bates. The band has been Bates's main musical outlet since 1990 and has performed on most of his albums.
Iain Ballamy is a British composer and saxophonist. He is considered one of the 25 greatest jazz saxophonists of all time and was featured as one of the world's all-time greats in BBC Music Magazine's "100 Jazz Legends". The Guardian described him as "one of the world's distinctive saxophone voices". One of his closest musical collaborators is Django Bates.
Bill Bruford's Earthworks were a British jazz band led by drummer Bill Bruford. The band recorded several albums for Editions EG, Discipline Global Mobile and Summerfold Records.
Delightful Precipice is a 19-piece British jazz big band/orchestra led by Django Bates.
Feels Good to Me is the only solo studio album by former Yes and King Crimson drummer Bill Bruford. The band Bruford grew out of the line-up assembled for this album. The album features guitarist Allan Holdsworth, bassist Jeff Berlin, keyboardist Dave Stewart, and ECM stalwart Kenny Wheeler on fluegelhorn. Bruford also enlisted singer-songwriter Annette Peacock and Brand X guitarist John Goodsall. Dave Stewart was a pivotal figure in the music of the Canterbury scene with groups like Egg, Hatfield and the North and National Health, but despite his strong playing presence, the album does not sound much like the Canterbury bands, and is instead closer to contemporaries Brand X.
Stamping Ground is an album of 1992 live recordings at various venues by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, released on EG Records in 1994. It was the final Earthworks album to feature Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Tim Harries. Four years later, Bruford would form a new version of Earthworks in a more traditional acoustic jazz vein.
Dig? is the second album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, featuring Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and fretless bass guitarist Tim Harries. It was released on EG Records in 1989.
All Heaven Broke Loose is the third album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, featuring Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Tim Harries. It was released on EG Records in 1991. It was co-produced by experimental guitarist David Torn, with whom Bruford had played extensively in the 1980s (and would go on to do again in Bruford Levin Upper Extremities in 1998-2000.
Balloon Man is the debut album by English saxophonist Iain Ballamy, with Django Bates, Steve Watts and Martin France. It was released on the EG label in 1989.
Open Letter is the third album by English big band Loose Tubes, that was released on the EG label in 1988.
Quiet Nights is an album by English multi-instrumentalist and composer, Django Bates. It was released on the Screwgun label in 1998.
Flags is a 1985 album by the duo of keyboardist Patrick Moraz and drummer Bill Bruford. Unlike their debut Music for Piano and Drums, which featured only the two instruments in the album's title, this recording expanded their musical palette by incorporating Kurzweil 250 synthesizer and Simmons electronic percussion. During the recording of this album, Moraz was a member of The Moody Blues, while Bruford's band King Crimson had just begun a hiatus that would last for ten years. Flags features ten original instrumentals, mostly derived from the duo improvising or working with sketches. There is also a drum solo Bruford based on Max Roach's "The Drum Also Waltzes".
First House was a British jazz quartet that was active between 1983 and 1990. Founded and led by saxophonist and composer Ken Stubbs, the group also consisted of Django Bates on piano, Mick Hutton on acoustic bass and Martin France on drum kit and percussion.
Summer Fruits (and Unrest) is an album led by composer, multi-instrumentalist and band leader Django Bates which was recorded in 1993 and released on the JMT label.
Winter Truce (and Homes Blaze) is an album led by composer, multi-instrumentalist and band leader Django Bates which was recorded in 1995 and released on the JMT label.
Mick Hutton is a British jazz bassist and composer.
If Summer Had Its Ghosts is an album by drummer Bill Bruford on which he is joined by guitarist Ralph Towner and bassist Eddie Gómez. It was recorded in West Shokan, New York, in February 1997, and was released later that year by Discipline Global Mobile.