Ralph Towner
Ralph Towner | |
|---|---|
percussion, trumpet, french horn | |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Labels | ECM |
| Website | www |
Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940)
Biography
Towner was born into a musical family in
Vienna Academy of Music with Karl Scheit from 1963 to 1964 and 1967–68.[1]
He joined world music pioneer
Along with bandmates
ECM record label, which has released virtually all of his non-Oregon recordings since his 1973 debut as a leader Trios / Solos.[1]
Towner appeared as a sideman on Weather Report's 1972 album I Sing the Body Electric.[1] His 1975 album Solstice, which featured a popular track called "Nimbus", demonstrated his skill and versatility to the full using a 12-string guitar.[6]
Since the early 1990s, Towner has lived in Italy, first in Palermo and then in Rome.[7]
Technique
Towner plays only acoustic guitars, using six-string nylon-string and 12-string steel-string guitars. As a result, he tends to avoid high-volume musical environments, preferring small groups of mostly acoustic instruments that emphasize dynamics and group interplay. Towner obtains a percussive effect (e.g., "Donkey Jamboree" from Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synthesizer extensively,[10] but has since de-emphasized his synthesizer and piano playing in favor of guitar.
Honors
Two
Discography
As leader
- Trios / Solos with Glen Moore (ECM, 1973)
- Diary (ECM, 1974)
- Solstice(ECM, 1975)
- Matchbook with Gary Burton (ECM, 1975)
- Sargasso Sea with John Abercrombie (ECM, 1976)
- Solstice/Sound and Shadows(ECM, 1977)
- Batik (ECM, 1978)
- Old Friends, New Friends (ECM, 1979)
- Solo Concert(ECM, 1980)
- Five Years Later with John Abercrombie (ECM, 1982)
- Blue Sun (ECM, 1983)
- Slide Show with Gary Burton (ECM, 1986)
- City of Eyes (ECM, 1989)
- Open Letter (ECM, 1992)
- If You Look Far Enough with Nana Vasconcelos(ECM, 1993)
- Oracle with Gary Peacock (ECM, 1994)
- Lost and Found (ECM, 1996)
- Ana (ECM, 1997)
- A Closer View with Gary Peacock (ECM, 1998)
- Verso with Maria Pia De Vito (Provocateur, 2000)
- Anthem (ECM, 2001)
- Time Line (ECM, 2006)
- From a Dream with Wolfgang Muthspiel and Slava Grigoryan (Material, 2008)
- Chiaroscuro (ECM, 2009)
- Travel Guide with Wolfgang Muthspiel, Slava Grigoryan (ECM, 2013)
- My Foolish Heart (ECM, 2017)
- At First Light (ECM, 2023)
As group
Atmosphere
- Atmospheres Featuring Clive Stevens & Friends (Capitol, 1974)
- Voyage to Uranus (Capitol, 1974)
- Music of Another Present Era (Vanguard, 1972)
- Distant Hills (Vanguard, 1973)
- Winter Light (Vanguard, 1974)
- In Concert (Vanguard, 1975)
- Together (Vanguard, 1976)
- Friends (Vanguard, 1977)
- Out of the Woods (Elektra, 1978)
- Violin (Vanguard, 1978)
- Roots in the Sky (Elektra, 1979)
- Moon and Mind (Vanguard, 1979)
- In Performance (BGO, 1980)
- Our First Record (Vanguard, 1980)
- Oregon (ECM, 1983)
- Crossing (ECM, 1985)
- Ecotopia (ECM, 1987)
- 45th Parallel (Portrait, 1989)
- Always, Never, and Forever (veraBra, 1991)
- Troika (veraBra, 1994)
- Beyond Words (Chesky, 1995)
- Northwest Passage (ECM, 1997)
- Music for a Midsummer Night's Dream (Oregon Music, 1998)
- Oregon in Moscow (ECM, 2000)
- Live at Yoshi's (ECM, 2002)
- Prime (C.A.M. Jazz, 2005)
- 1000 Kilometers (C.A.M. Jazz, 2007)
- In Stride (C.A.M. Jazz, 2010)
- Family Tree (C.A.M. Jazz, 2012)
- Live in New Orleans (Hi Hat, 2016)
- Lantern (C.A.M. Jazz, 2017)
- Road (A&M, 1970)
- Icarus (Epic, 1972)
- Earthdance (A&M, 1977)
As sideman or guest
With Horacee Arnold
- Tribe (Columbia, 1973)
- Tales of the Exonerated Flea (Columbia, 1974)
With Jerry Granelli
- Koputai (ITM Pacific, 1990)
- One Day at a Time (ITM Pacific, 1990)
With Vince Mendoza
- Start Here (World Pacific, 1990)
- Instructions Inside (Manhattan, 1991)
With Maria Pia De Vito
- Nel Respiro (Provocateur, 2002)
- Moresche e Altre Invenzioni (Parco Della Musica, 2018)
With others
- Azimuth, Départ (ECM, 1980) – recorded in 1979
- Bill Bruford, If Summer Had Its Ghosts (Discipline Global, 1997)
- Gary Burton, Six Pack (GRP, 1992)
- Larry Coryell, The Restful Mind (Vanguard, 1975)
- Pino Daniele, Che Dio Ti Benedica (CGD, 1993)
- Cyrus Faryar, Cyrus (Collectors' Choice Music, 2006)
- Robben Ford, Blues Connotation (ITM Pacific, 1997)
- David Friesen, Waterfall Rainbow (Inner City, 1977)
- Jan Garbarek, Dis (ECM, 1977) – recorded in 1976
- Sol Do Meio Dia(ECM, 1978) – recorded in 1977
- Gerri Granger, Add a Little Love (United Artists, 1972)
- Trilok Gurtu, Usfret (CMP, 1988)
- Charlie Haden, Helium Tears (NewEdition, 2005)
- Tim Hardin, Bird on a Wire (Columbia, 1971)
- Keith Jarrett, In the Light (ECM, 1974) – recorded in 1973
- Maria Joao, Fabula (Verve, 1996)
- Joseph LoDuca, Glisten (Cornucopia, 1982)
- Andy Middleton, Nomad's Notebook (Intuition, 1999)
- Duke Pearson, I Don't Care Who Knows It (Blue Note, 1996) – recorded in 1968–70
- Terry Plumeri, Ongoing (Airborne, 1978)
- Michel Portal, Musiques De Cinemas (Label Bleu, 1995)
- Weather Report, I Sing the Body Electric (Columbia, 1972)
- Kenny Wheeler, Deer Wan (ECM, 1978) – recorded in 1977
References
- ^ ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ "Biography". Ralphtowner.com. 1940-03-01. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ "Oregon ComposersWatch: Homer Keller". Composerswatch.proscenia.net. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
- OCLC 123233012.
- ^ "Ralph Towner | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
- ^ Cline, Nels (2017). "Focused: An appreciation of the genre-bending guitar work of Ralph Towner". Fretboard Journal. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ "Ralph Towner: The Accidental Guitarist". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
- ^ Dale Turner. "Ralph Towner's Nylon and 12-String Craftsmanship". Guitarworld.com. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
- ^ "Diary - Ralph Towner". Ecmrecords.com. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
- ^ Grillo, Tyran (2011-12-20). "Ralph Towner: Blue Sun (ECM 1250)". Ecmreviews.com. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
- ^ "The Consort". Paulwinter.com. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
- ^ "Now he's over the moon about Icarus". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2002-11-25. Retrieved 2019-08-11.
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