John Abercrombie

Peter Brendler and guitarist John Abercrombie have developed their playing partnership over a number of years, but The Angle Below is their first duo recording. Brendler—"the guy on the bass" as he's described in Neil Tesser's sleeve notes—is the nominal leader but he refers to the album as a collaboration. He's not wrong. He may be the driving force behind the project, the man who sorted out the studio, booked the dates, contacted the press and made the coffees, but as soon as the bass and guitar open "Downhill Runner" it's clear that this is a joint venture—a very successful joint…

Guitarist Abercrombie’s alliance with violinist Mark Feldman has proven to be an enduringly creative musical association: they have been playing and recording together for more than a decade now, starting with the “Open Land” sextet of 1998, and following with the quartet albums “Cat’n’Mouse”, “Class Trio “ and “The Third Quartet”. With “Wait Till You See Her” (named for the old Rogers & Hart show tune that Abercrombie plays so tenderly), the line-up of the quartet is adjusted to admit the excellent young bassist Thomas Morgan, whose adroit playing reveals a LaFaro-esque invention. As ever, the core team of Abercrombie, Feldman, and drummer Joey Baron play subtle, elegant and profound jazz.