At First Light

ECMと共に歩み続けて50年!今年83歳になるアメリカの重鎮ギタリスト、ラルフ・タウナーの最新ソロ・アルバム。

ソロ・アーティストとしての音楽的キャリアのすべてをECMのアーティストとして過ごし、レーベルへの録音でユニークな作品群を作り上げてきたラルフ・タウナーのデビュー50周年となる記念すべき2022年に録音された最新作。

デビュー・アルバム『Diary』から50年、本作もこの偉大な伝統を引き継ぎ、幅広い音楽からインスピレーションを得ている。ジョージ・ガーシュウィン、ジョン・コルトレーン、ジョン・ダウランド、ビル・エヴァンスなどからの影響を挙げながら、「私のソロ・アルバムには常に、私を魅了した多くの作曲家や音楽家の要素を取り入れた自作曲が含まれている」とセルフ・ライナーノーツに記している。

自身のオリジナル新曲のほか、ホーギー・カーマイケルの 「リトル・オールド・レディ」、ジュール・スタインの 「メイク・サムワン・ハッピー」、人気トラッド「ダニー・ボーイ」などの曲もタウナー自身の作品として取り上げている。また、自身のバンド、オレゴンの "Guitarra Picante"も再び取り上げている。

The creative working relationship between guitarist Ralph Towner and producer/ECM boss Manfred Eicher is 50 years old. Diary, Towners first solo album, was recorded in 1973. Though he has recorded with other labels, ECM has been his home since the beginning. At First Light is the guitarists first release since 2017s wonderful My Foolish Heart. He only plays a nylon-string classical instrument here; his 12-string, piano, and Prophet-5 have been sent to their rooms. His music, whether original compositions or canny covers, is influential. In 2021, Italian guitar master Adriano Sebastiani issued Ralph Towner: Music for Solo Guitar on Brilliant Classics. The 11 tracks on At First Light offer eight originals, two readings of Broadway songs, and Towners interpretation of "Danny Boy." At 83, his playing remains at a pinnacle. A conservatory-trained pianist, he treats the nylon-string instrument like a keyboard, offering crystalline chord voicings amid punchy bass notes and poignant single-string runs and counterpoint. The suite-like opener, "Flow," juxtaposes the pastoral with the improvisational as Towner "explores" jazz. "Strait" seamlessly bridges post-bop with classical, as arpeggios bite and turn amid extrapolated harmonic chords. "Ubi Sunt" moves from shadow to light and back with its bittersweet melody creating a sense of reverie before giving way to an open exploration in the middle section, and framed by the anchoring pulse of a bass note. "Guitarra Piccante" was originally recorded with Oregon for 1991s Always, Never, And Forever. Jaunty and rhythmic, its lithe melody is nearly hummable as Towner transforms jump blues into captivating swing. "Fat Foot" is meaty; its rhythmic mid-register vamp is framed in spacious syncopation and is almost funky. Jule Stynes "Make Someone Happy" is from Do Re Mi (Towners influence Bill Evans liked to play the tune as well). Its melody is indelible, even as Towner changes tempos. The song is reflective until the bridge, when the guitarist cuts loose with flurries of single-string runs, bassy counterpoint, and luscious, expansive harmonic chords as he evolves the tune into a work of exploratory jazz, complete with lush high notes that caress its movement. Hoagy Carmichaels "Little Old Lady" (from The Show Is On) is also a delight. Its infectious swing stacks bass notes directly alongside the melody, as Towner swings the chords hard, buoying them. Closer "Empty Stage" is poignant and athletic. He offers a dialogue of queries and answers between the instruments lower, middle, and upper strings, then executes them in the lower or middle registers. He investigates the harmonic links between timbres and chromatics, as syncopated rhythmic ideas drawn from flamenco, blues, fado, and the classical tradition underscore them. At First Light is at once meditative and intimate. It is, as usual, intricately played, offering listeners a statement that is equal parts soulful reflection and masterful, swinging precision. ~ Thom Jurek

ラルフ・タウナー、ECMデビュー50年目を迎え、昨年録音された新譜がリリースされた。"At First Light"。意味は夜明けだが、Lightには様々な意味があり、Firstの意味を乱反射する。だからこのギター・ソロのアルバムは、回顧的な響きがするし、何かに向かう新たな決意も感じる。ビル・エヴァンス・トリオに刺激されピアノを弾いていた彼がギターにもピアノと同じ可能性を感じ専念し始めた頃から彼の頭の中にあった響きが、ここにあるのだろう。オリジナルに加えて、3曲のスタンダードが取り上げられている。《Danny Boy》を爪弾く、彼の指は確かにピアニストのよう。終曲が《Empty Stage》と題され、切なさが滲む。
intoxicate (C)高見一樹