Search - Ralph Burton, Gary Towner :: Slide Show

Slide Show - Match Book

Jazzcat | Genoa, Italy Italy | 06/05/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The collaboration between Gary Burton and Ralph Towner is nothing less than exceptional. It lasted two albums, "Slide Show" and "Match Book" so I decided to review them together. Infact the music in the two albums can form a sort of a unique opera in a sense. If you love one, you can't do nothing but love the other. I think that Gary's vibe added something precious to Ralph's music and integrated very well with that. A sort of a richer rhythmic variety, a more complex music in the end, but still very enjoyable. It's the main thing to me. I have to say that I don't like "The donkey jamboree" from Slide Show. I have to say this. It is a composition that personally I find irritating. With that carrebean rhythmn and that childish melodies. It goes in the vein o St Thomas from Sonny Rollins, ... but if I can tolerate St Thomas, I can't with this donkey. Sorry. But it's one tune in two albums, I can live with that. I consider that an occasional error, a distraction in an opera very coherent and elegant generally speaking. =)) One simple consideration that one can make is that these two together seem a full orchestra because their counterpoint is phenomenal so they managed to sound a lot more than two people playing. In terms of tones, the two instruments, the acoustic guitar and the vibes, blend very well together in the hands of these two masters. The music is not "simple" as one may suppose: it is very deep rhytmically, melodically and armonically in the classical Ralph Towner's way. To me it's a very interesting and refreshing listening."