Eberhard Weber (born 22 January 1940, in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German double bassist and composer.[1] As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing.[2] Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, minimalism and ambient music, and are regarded as characteristic examples of the ECM Records sound.
Weber began recording in the early 1960s, and released The Colours of Chloë (ECM 1042), his first record under his own name, in 1973.[1] In addition to his career as a musician, he also worked for many years as a television and theater director. He has designed an electric-acoustic bass with an additional string tuned to C.
Weber's music, often in a melancholic tone, frequently utilizes ostinatos, yet is highly organized in its colouring and attention to detail. He was an early proponent of the solid-body electric double bass, which he has played regularly since the early 1970s.
From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, Weber's closest musical association was with pianist Wolfgang Dauner. Their many mutual projects were diverse, from mainstream jazz to jazz-rock fusion to avant-garde sound experiments. During this period, Weber also played and recorded with pianists Hampton Hawes and Mal Waldron, guitarists Baden Powell de Aquino and Joe Pass, The Mike Gibbs Orchestra, violinist Stephane Grappelli, and many others.
Starting with The Colours of Chloë, Weber has released 13 more records under his own name, all on ECM. The ECM association also led to collaborations with other ECM recording artists such as Gary Burton (Ring, 1974; Passengers, 1976),[1]Ralph Towner (Solstice, 1975;[1]Solstice/Sound and Shadows, 1977), Pat Metheny (Watercolors, 1977), and Jan Garbarek (10 recordings between 1978 and 1998).
In the mid-1970s Weber formed his own group, Colours, with Charlie Mariano (soprano saxophone, flutes), Rainer Brüninghaus (piano, synthesizer) and Jon Christensen (drums).[1] After their first recording, Yellow Fields (1975), Christensen left and was replaced by John Marshall. The group toured extensively and recorded two further records, Silent Feet (1977) and Little Movements (1980), before disbanding.
During the 1980s, Weber toured with Barbara Thompson's jazz ensemble Paraphernalia.
Since 1990, Weber's touring has been limited, and he has had only two new recordings under his own name: The 2001 release Endless Days is an elemental fusion of jazz and classical music flavors, fitting well the moniker chamber jazz. His main touring activity during that period was as a regular member of the Jan Garbarek Group. On the occasion of his 65th birthday, in March, 2005 he recorded Stages of a Long Journey, a live concert with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and featuring Gary Burton, Wolfgang Dauner and Jan Garbarek. In 2009 ECM also re-released his albums Yellow Fields, Silent Feet and Little Movements as a 3-CD collection titled "Colours".
In 2007, Weber suffered a stroke and was subsequently unable to perform.[3] In a January 2010 interview with Die Welt, he spoke about his medical condition and future projects.[4]
Weber was awarded the prestigious Albert Mangelsdorff-Preis in November 2009. A box set of his 1970s works was released by ECM Records the same month.
Weber's latest albums, Résumé (2012) and Encore (2015) comprise solos from his performances worldwide with The Jan Garbarek Group, overdubbed with keyboards/treatments by Weber, sax by Garbarek, and flügelhorn by Ack Van Rooyen.
His autobiography, Résumé, was published in 2015.[5] An English translation by Heidi Kirk - Eberhard Weber: A German Jazz Story - was published in October 2021.[6]
In 2021, the 13-minute recording Eberhard by the late Lyle Mays was posthumously released, revised from a 2009 composition debuted at Lawrence University and written as a tribute to Weber's influential compositional style. [7] It was awarded a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 2022.
Weber has, on at least five occasions, drawn on text from the book Watership Down (by Richard Adams) for the names of his compositions and albums. Examples include "Silent Feet" and "Eyes That Can See in the Dark" from the Silent Feet album; "Often in the Open" from the Later That Evening album; and "Quiet Departures" and "Fluid Rustle" on the Fluid Rustle album.
Jon Ivar Christensen was a Norwegian jazz drummer. He was married to actress, minister, and theater director Ellen Horn, and was the father of singer and actress Emilie Stoesen Christensen.
Rainer Brüninghaus is a German jazz pianist, composer and university teacher.
Photo with Blue Sky, White Cloud, Wires, Windows and a Red Roof is an album by the Jan Garbarek Group. It was recorded on December 20, 1978, and released on ECM the following year. The quintet features rhythm section Bill Connors, John Taylor, Eberhard Weber and Jon Christensen.
It's OK to Listen to the Gray Voice is an album by the Jan Garbarek Group recorded in December 1984 and released on ECM September the following year. The quartet features rhythm section David Torn, Eberhard Weber and Michael Di Pasqua.
I Took Up the Runes is an album by Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek recorded August 1990 and released on ECM later that year. The quintet features pianist Rainer Brüninghaus, bassist Eberhard Weber, percussionist Nana Vasconcelos and drummer Manu Katché, with keyboardist Bugge Wesseltoft and singer Ingor Ánte Áilo Gaup.
Solstice is an album by American jazz guitarist Ralph Towner recorded in December 1974 and released on ECM the following year. The Solstic quartet features saxophonist Jan Garbarek and rhythm section Eberhard Weber and Jon Christensen.
Sound and Shadows is an album by American jazz guitarist Ralph Towner, recorded in February 1977 and released on ECM later that year, Towner's second album with his Solstice quartet, featuring saxophonist Jan Garbarek and rhythm section Eberhard Weber and Jon Christensen.
Legend of the Seven Dreams is an album by Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek recorded in July 1988 and released on ECM October later that year.
Wayfarer is an album by the Jan Garbarek Group recorded in March 1983 and released on ECM September that year. The quartet features guitarist Bill Frisell and rhythm section Eberhard Weber and Michael Di Pasqua.
Arbour Zena is an orchestral work composed by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett which was recorded in October 1975 and released by ECM the following year. The trio features saxophonist Jan Garbarek and bassist Charlie Haden backed by members of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mladen Gutesha.
The Colours of Chloë is the debut album by German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber, recorded in December 1973 and released on ECM the following year.
Silent Feet is an album by German double bassist Eberhard Weber & Colours recorded in November 1977 and released on ECM the following year. Weber's Colours Quartet features saxophonist Charlie Mariano, pianist Rainer Brüninghaus, and drummer John Marshall.
Fluid Rustle is an album by German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber recorded in January 1979 and released on ECM May that same year. The quintet features guitarist Bill Frisell—his first recording for the label—vibraphonist Gary Burton, and singers Bonnie Herman and Norma Winstone.
Paths, Prints is an album by Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek, recorded in December 1981 and released on ECM September 6, 1982. The quartet features rhythm section Bill Frisell, Eberhard Weber and Jon Christensen.
Chorus is an album by German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber recorded in September 1984 and released on ECM the following year. The quintet features saxophonist Jan Garbarek and drummer Ralf-R. Hübner, backed by woodwind players Manfred Hoffbauer and Martin Künstner.
Twelve Moons is an album by the Jan Garbarek Group recorded in September 1992 and released on ECM the following year. The septet features rhythm section Rainer Brüninghaus, Eberhard Weber and Manu Katché, percussionist Marilyn Mazur and singers Agnes Buen Garnås and Mari Boine.
Rites is a double album by Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek recorded in March 1998 and released on ECM later that year.
Stages of a Long Journey is a live album by German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber recorded at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart in March 2005 and released on ECM in 2007.
Résumé is a live album by German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber recorded at various locations between 1990 and 2007 and released on the ECM label.
Hommage à Eberhard Weber is a live tribute album celebrating German double bassist and composer Eberhard Weber's 75th birthday recorded by the German public broadcaster SWR in Stuttgart in 2015 featuring Pat Metheny, Jan Garbarek, Gary Burton, Scott Colley, Danny Gottlieb, Paul McCandless, with Michael Gibbs and Helge Sunde conducting the SWR Big Band which was released on the ECM label.
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