A Unique Choice of Instrument
The soft yet persistent tone so readily associated with John Abercrombie is more often obtained through use of
a solid-body guitar than a semi-acoustic or full-bodied archtop. That shouldn’t be so surprising, though, since
the modern solid-body has undergone a considerable degree of scientific analysis and artistic endeavor,
resulting in a number of instruments that are more playable and more accommodating than their predecessors.
Abercrombie’s choice, then, is a Brian Moore DC1. "Basically, it’s a Les Paul style of guitar," he says. "I
tend toward a solid-body, Les Paul sort of sound, anyway. I have an Ibanez solid-body, too, and a Tele-style
guitar by Roger Sadowsky."
He still loves a good archtop, though, as is clear from his descriptions of two key instruments: "I have an
old Gibson ES-175 from the late '50s. It needs serious work, but it’s definitely the guitar I’ll never sell.
I also have one made by Jim Mapson, out in California. It’s a little, shallow archtop, and that guitar is
probably one of the most amazing ones I own. I can’t play it real loud—there’s a limit to how far it will go--but
it has one of the fattest sounds I’ve ever heard."
About the Music
If Abercrombie’s sound and touch succeed in evoking a sense of place, then the music he plays is equally a
part of that success. With Abercrombie there is no discussion of a particular piece being assembled simply
for the purpose of giving the players "a chance to show off their chops." Despite his easy affability, there
exists in Abercrombie a fierce drive to explore the inner environs of his imagination. After all, this isn’t
kid stuff. This isn’t guitar for the sake of itself, in which the instrument’s make and model matter as much
as anything else.
Asked whether he’d describe himself as primarily a guitarist or composer, Abercrombie says, "I’m a little bit
of both, really. Jim Hall once said he was ‘a musician who happened to play the guitar.’ I feel that way, too.
But he’d agree that we’re all still guitarists. I think you have to work at it, to a certain extent."
The pull of jazz and its harmonic vocabulary is such that it leads Abercrombie to say, "I’d love to do an album
of standards and play them kind of straight." But he could easily go that route, having demonstrated his facility
with chord melodies in the trio format. Still, his personal mode of expression isn't so traditional. "When I
compose, I don’t create music that’s straight. I have to follow my train of thought. Ultimately, I look at it
as a positive thing, ‘cause I can go in any direction I want. Other guitarists might say, "Oh, that’s Abercrombie.
He’s crazy, so he can just go with what he feels like doing." That doesn’t mean there’s any less work involved,
since I have to try and follow my own creative impulse rather than rely on what has come before."
A Personal Ethic
Given the very personal nature of Abercrombie’s music, one might expect him to shy away from requests to share
his knowledge. Actually, though, he teaches guitar at the college level. To Abercrombie it’s really more about
the mind of the musician. And in the long run it's more practical than what you'd get from a school of hot licks.
"I don’t have any specific goal when I teach, really," he confesses. "You know, I try to give my students things
that are helpful, encouraging or even disillusioning. I try to get them to play a little more like what they really
hear, which means they have to play less. They have to think about the chords, not the scales. That lets them hear
the music regardless of the changes in key.
"Playing less is actually very hard for the students to do, because they’re often too busy thinking about scales.
That kind of habit can get you into big trouble. I find that rock players can use the scales more than jazz players,
‘cause they’re not playing through different keys. They’re thinking in terms of modes. But in jazz, if you start
playing the notes of the scale, it sounds kind of funny. You have to go back and start thinking about the chords."
All in the Wrist
An understanding of chords and their implied movements is certainly apparent in Abercrombie’s playing. Few other
guitarists can delineate the structure of a piece with such admirable economy, and fewer still can give it such
a beautiful sense of nuance. In his playing nothing is wasted, nor is there any allegiance to lounge riffs and
pentatonic fluff. Instead you'll find a sense of melody that enhances the perception of harmony and dynamics.
His vibrato is certainly part of that. As much a classical rubato as the thumb-hinged grasp of blues origin, it’s
remarkably fluid and personal. Added to that is a technique of relaxing the note from a whole-step bend or even a
minor third. All this serves as a form of sonic signature, expressing his reverence for emotion.
So, what makes Abercrombie’s playing so approachable despite its depth and sonority? How is it possible to make a
single note linger in memory for years? Perhaps it’s the patience that is so evident in his approach. Here the
listener can readily sense the infinitesimal offset between the right and left hands, which, following on the slight
muting of notes as they’re fretted, makes every sound one that’s eagerly anticipated.
"I think many musicians are aware that they have to be entertainers. So, with fusion stuff and the music that came
later, there was an element of athleticism involved. There’s less of that in jazz music, or at least certain forms
of it. Jazz playing in general requires a level of interaction, but a good fusion player wouldn’t necessarily have
to do that. You could have blazing technique but not have to interact with the drummer. But with jazz, it becomes
really obvious if you can’t relate to the rest of the band."
The Point of Arrival
He may downplay his own technique, but there is a wealth of wisdom in Abercrombie’s playing. What’s apparent is
that the knowledge of chords, the ability to compose and other skills acquired during his years in school have been
refined over the course of a career as one of the finest guitarists in modern jazz. Abercrombie has managed to
transcend the traditional approach to his idiom and reached a point where the physicality of playing the guitar
becomes transparent.
"I’ve always gravitated toward horizontal playing," he explains. "That’s how you can get places and play more
melodically. I think of the guitar as a voice from bottom note to top. I was always taught based on positions,
but I realized early on that alternate picking wasn't the way I should go. I practice scales a lot, and I have
a way of sliding between positions in the same scale without a lot of effort. So, you can learn where all the
notes are on all the strings, but when you improvise on a chord progression using only one or two strings you
can play more melodically without having to move across all the strings."
The concept says a lot about the Abercrombie began his musical life as a guitarist rather than moving from another
instrument, as so many others have done. Listening to those lines, which can burn in the mind yet just as readily
elude the hands, it’s clear that the notes are meaningful as individual events and as components in a chord
structure. It’s a quality that sets his guitar apart from other instruments.
"The only time I think more like a piano player is when I play chordally, as when I comp by using my fingers
to pluck all the notes at once. Actually, I think of counterpoint more in terms of question-and-answer. I’ll
play a phrase and then answer it with another phrase or line. They’re contrapuntal, but they’re not happening
at the same time."
It’s abundantly clear to John Abercrombie that to play well the guitarist should listen to the conversation going
on between the other instruments in the group. Don’t play too much, he says. Stay off the soapbox until the time
is right. Still, you have to be ready to do it. Remember, you’re playing for people who might be casual listeners
at best, and at any rate many of them won't be musicians.
Abercrombie needn’t preach his talents, nor should he play with any less of the economy for which he's known.
Like a Japanese fan once told me, "Basically . . . his music is best." One need only interpret this to mean that
Abercrombie has the brains and good sense to play from the heart. It means he always plays what’s right for the
moment. There’s no better testament than that.
Author's Note
Larry Payne is a professional writer whose work has been featured in Guitar Player, Guitar for the Practicing
Musician, Guitar Extra, Virgin Records' Dogma, Music Connection and many others. He's also a fluent guitarist
and occasional collector of vintage instruments. Among his current favorites are an early '60s Eko Model 200
small-bodied archtop, a 1984 Yamaha SBG1300TS through-body unit, his custom-made ESP Craft House Superstrat,
and his new Eastwood Sidejack.
(End of Part 3) |
