Bill Bruford

Having already spent twenty years on the cutting edge of modern rock percussion, Bill Bruford (ex-King Crimson, Yes, UK a.m.m.) formed Earthworks in 1986, as a deliberate return to his roots in jazz. Availing himself of the brightest young talent on the burgeoning U.K. jazz scene, namely keyboardist and tenor horn player Django Bates, and saxophonist Iain Ballamy, both best known as frontrunners with the anarchic big band Loose Tubes, Bruford encouraged the use of rock technology with jazz sensibility - the hallmark of Earthwork's stylish approach. By letting in air and light, and adding a little wit and wisdom, they produced a particularly British antidote to the increasingly grotesque jazz fusion scene. The first LP for Editions EG, Earthworks, was a testament to their achievement.It sounds simple, but the band only found it's direction through serious live playing. No theoretical studio concoction here. Japan, Europe and the UK were all visited before the release of the first album.

Recorded live on the final night of the 1989 Anderson/Bruford/Wakeman/Howe tour, this two-CD set offers both oldies and improvements upon their new material. You'll probably find yourself listening only to the second CD, as the first CD largely consists of shaky solo medleys. Howe fares the best with delicate renditions of "Mood for a Day" and "The Clap." Anderson's guitar and vocal turn comes off like a coffeehouse gig - not bad, especially when he samples "Teakbois," but not riveting. Wakeman's "Merlin" and "Catherine Parr" solo trades speed for precision, and the crowd is unaccountably thrilled when he wrenches unimpressive blow-bottle sounds out of a keyboard. Bruford blows his solo yet again, just as in Yessongs; infatuated with electronic percussion, he produces a grating assortment of clanks and conks…

Bill Bruford's Earthworks - Footloose And Fancy Free (2002) {2CD Set, Discipline Global Mobile DGM0201}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 832 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 283 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 38 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2002 Discipline Global Mobile / Bill Bruford Prod. | DGM0201
Jazz / Fusion / Post Bop / Contemporary Jazz / Drums

While the music made by Bill Bruford's earlier Earthworks band was consistently more interesting, his current lineup continues to make great strides given its more traditional stance (post-bop acoustic piano/saxophone quartet verses ultra-modern Euro-jazz fusion). On the live Footloose and Fancy Free, the group exceeds its own studio performances with room to spare. The lovely ballad "Come to Dust" is a fine showcase for pianist Steve Hamilton, and Bruford's punchy drumming moves a complex "Triplicity." Even non-Earthworks tunes from Bruford's late-'90s collaborations with Tony Levin ("Original Sin") and Ralph Towner ("If Summer Had Its Ghosts") get inspiring interpretations as well, thanks to the well-seasoned playing of both tenor/alto saxophonist Patrick Calahar and Hamilton.

Bill Bruford - If Summer Had Its Ghosts (1997) {Discipline Global Mobile DGM9705}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 271 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 117 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1997 Discipline Global Mobile / Bill Bruford | DGM970
Jazz / Fusion / Modern Creative / Post Bop / Drums

On If Summer Had Its Ghosts, a primarily acoustic trio recording, drummer Bill Bruford, bassist Eddie Gómez, and pianist/guitarist Ralph Towner create some lush, wondrous, spontaneous and melodic music. It has jazz roots, improvisational branches, and elfin extensions. There's no gimmickry or pretension, although Bruford does add some sampled colors, and Towner overdubs his instruments as well as throwing in a pinch of electronic keyboards. What you basically hear is Bruford's newest and freshest music, interpreted and extrapolated upon by three virtuosos in mellifluous interactive conversation. At their most swinging, as on the lively, four/four, tick-tock, light rimshot, mid-tempo swing of the title track, they are telepathic, with Towner effortlessly switching from acoustic 12-string to piano and Gómez laying down soulful, full, deep bass punctuations.

Flags is a 1985 album by the duo Moraz and Bruford. Unlike their prior effort Music for Piano and Drums, which featured only an acoustic drum kit and grand piano, this recording expanded their musical palette by including a Kurzweil 250 synthesizer and electronic percussion…

In past incarnations of Bill Bruford's Earthworks, music often centered around the drummer's electronic sound sculptures using digital triggers and chordal drums. The approach yielded fine results, but Bruford up and changed everything when in 1995 he christened a new Earthworks. Ditching the technology in favor of a traditional jazz kit, his music began reaching back to cool, hard bop, and old-school fusion. In addition to now playing his kit in an unorthodox arrangement, Bruford moved the emphasis from nifty electronics to the kinetic energy generated by his impressive polyrhythmic work. On "Triplicity" his orchestration boasts a dizzying array of time changes, the tempo kept constant only by the hi-hat. It's an aural exercise (albeit a very enjoyable one) just keeping pace.

Bill Bruford is a retired English drummer, percussionist, songwriter, producer, and record label owner who first gained prominence as the original drummer of the rock band Yes, from 1968 to 1972. After his departure from Yes, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s playing in King Crimson, touring with Genesis and U.K., and forming his own group, Bruford.
A live N.Y.C. radio broadcast by Bill Bruford and his band in July 1979, The Bruford Tapes features material from his Feels Good to Me and One of a Kind albums. Although the mix is shaky, the playing is not. Bruford rules the roost with his inimitable "pong" rim-shot sound and droll stage patter, and Dave Stewart's keyboards especially benefit from a heavier, slightly overdriven stage sound…

This is intelligent fusion – intricately crafted, high energy, and technically impressive. Bill Bruford has distinguished himself from the majority of rock musicians with a consistent drive to experiment and challenge himself artistically. He composes innovative tunes with subtle rhythmic twists, often in odd meters, and his drumming is always musical and very precise. This is the third studio release of the fusion group that he assembled in 1977. Gradually Going Tornado attempted to further streamline the group's approach and introduced the vocal work of the brilliant electric bassist Jeff Berlin (heavily influenced by Jack Bruce and Jaco Pastorius).