Timeless (John Abercrombie album)

Last updated

Timeless
TimelessJohnAbercrombie.jpg
Studio album by
Released1975
RecordedJune 21–22, 1974
Studio Generation Sound
New York City
Genre Jazz fusion
Length43:34
Label ECM 1047 ST
Producer Manfred Eicher
John Abercrombie chronology
Timeless
(1975)
Gateway
(1976)

Timeless is the debut album by American jazz guitarist John Abercrombie, recorded over two days in June 1974 and released on ECM Records the following year. The album features a trio with Abercrombie alongside organist Jan Hammer and drummer Jack DeJohnette. [1]

Contents

The ECM website praises the album by remarking that "This evergreen stands tall in the ECM forest. There is no sense of competition, only mutual reveling in a distinctly nuclear sound. One could easily call it fusion, but if anything it is fused with itself, for it has created every element it seeks to combine. Timeless indeed." [2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow called the album "thought-provoking and occasionally exciting music that generally defies categorization." [3]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz noted, "There's more filigree than flash on the early Timeless and it's left to DeJohnette and the underrated Hammer to give the set the propulsion it calls for... this is a session that has grown in stature with familiarity, an altogether tougher and more resilient label debut than anyone remembers." [4]

The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide said, "Hammer especially plays with astounding fire and grace on this session, some of the finest organ playing he's recorded." [5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Abercrombie except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Lungs" Jan Hammer 12:10
2."Love Song" 4:35
3."Ralph's Piano Waltz" 4:55
4."Red and Orange"Hammer5:24
5."Remembering" 4:33
6."Timeless" 11:57

Personnel

References

  1. "ECM 1047". Ecmrecords.com. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  2. Grillo, Tyran (March 22, 2010). "John Abercrombie: Timeless (ECM 1047)". Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Scott Yanow. "Timeless - John Abercrombie | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). London: Penguin. p.  2. ISBN   978-0-141-02327-4.
  5. 1 2 Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . US: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp.  3. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.