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Ralph Towner

Musical innovation is no easy feat. It not only requires an innate talent, but also a devotion to the art that is not blinded by the commercial glare of the popular culture. Ralph Towner is such an innovator on the modern musical landscape, his ideas ever fresh, though they span a career of more than forty years.

Best known as the lead composer, guitarist, and keyboardist for the acoustic jazz ensemble "Oregon", Towner has also had a rich and varied solo career that has seen fruitful and memorable musical collaboration with such great modern musicians as Gary Burton, John Abercrombie, Egberto Gismonti, Larry Coryell, Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, and Gary Peacock.

Towner was born in Chehalis, Washington on March 1st, 1940 into a musical family, his mother a piano teacher and his father a trumpet player. Towner and his siblings were raised in a nurturing and empowering environment that encouraged free musical experimentation and expression. In 1958, Towner enrolled in the University of Oregon as an art major, later changing his major to composition. He soon thereafter met bassist Glen Moore who would become a lifelong musical partner in the band Oregon.

It was about this time that Towner discovered the early LPs of Bill Evans, whom Towner emulated and whose influence he began to incorporate into his own piano style and composition. It was not much longer until Towner also bought a classical guitar on a lark and became entranced enough with the instrument that the early 1960s saw him heading to Vienna to study classical guitar with Karl Scheit. In 1968 Towner moved to New York City and immersed himself in the New York jazz scene, eventually landing a position with the Paul Winter Consort where the friendships and musical partnering with Glen Moore, Paul McCandless, and Collin Walcott were forged, a musical chemistry which was destined to alchemize into the band Oregon. Paul Winter also bestowed Towner with his first 12-string guitar. Towner has since coaxed the 12-string into imbuing his work with such a characteristic uniqueness that most jazz fans, given the two keywords "12-string" and "jazz" would immediately blurt the name Ralph Towner.

Towner’s working relationship with producer Manfred Eicher of ECM Records began in 1972 and would provide a forum for his growth as a leader and collaborator with other jazz giants, all while concomitantly breaking open musical frontiers with Oregon throughout the intervening years. ECM’s roster of low-volume acts was decidedly contrary to the amplified popular zeitgeist of the era, and provided Towner an opportunity to connect and create with some of the more iconoclastic and innovative artists of the musical culture in the 1970s. Towner’s ECM years also saw his most minimalist, yet most bold, endeavor. "Solo Concert", released in 1980 on ECM, was conceptually elemental, a solo live guitar recital. Yet, no one to date had ever synthesized classical contrapuntal composition with improvisational and oddly-metered jazz like this before, especially in such a risky arena as a live performance. Such solo work would later become Towner’s signature on recordings such as "Ana" and "Anthem", or augmented only by Gary Peacock’s bass on "Oracle" and "A Closer View".

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Play This!

Ralph Towner: Winter Solstice

Read "Ralph Towner: Winter Solstice" reviewed by Geno Thackara


It's a thoughtful, pastoral yet playful album--an early touchstone of the ECM label's sound, for good reason--and right in the middle, Ralph Towner decides to take a breather a bit more sparse than the rest. The quartet lineup drops to just a duo, and he and Jan Garbarek spin a cozy little tone poem evoking the season's quiet while keeping a fun skip in their step. The darkest day of the year doesn't mean there isn't still a little space ...

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Liner Notes

Bill Bruford: The Summerfold Collection 1987-2008

Read "Bill Bruford: The Summerfold Collection 1987-2008" reviewed by John Kelman


Intrepid percussionist/composer/bandleader Bill Bruford began his career in the late '60s art-rock arena with Yes and, later, King Crimson, but jazz has always moved underneath, like an eddying current. His early recordings, well documented on the companion Winterfold Collection, may not speak the language of jazz, but they possess its spirit. By 1986, Bruford was looking for a new path. Crimson had again dissolved, the 1981-'84 incarnation having provided him with the opportunity to explore nascent electronic drum ...

Album Review

Ralph Towner: At First Light

Read "At First Light" reviewed by Mario Calvitti


A 83 anni appena compiuti, il chitarrista americano Ralph Towner è ancora attivo, e la sua discografia si arricchisce di un nuovo album a 6 anni di distanza dal precedente My Foolish Heart, e a 50 anni esatti dalla registrazione del suo primo disco solo, Diary, che sarebbe stato pubblicato l'anno seguente su etichetta ECM, come tutti i suoi lavori successivi. Nelle note di copertina il chitarrista sembra stupirsi di essere stato legato a una stessa label per così tanto ...

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Album Review

Ralph Towner: At First Light

Read "At First Light" reviewed by Cary Tenenbaum


If you love the sound of the acoustic guitar, do yourself a favour and listen to this recording. Place the record on the turntable, slip the CD in the tray, press play on your streaming service, turn up the volume one notch higher than you might usually and close your eyes. As if by magic, guitarist Ralph Towner is in your home playing the songs from At First Light for you. This is a beautifully recorded and wonderfully played solo ...

Album Review

Oregon: 1974

Read "1974" reviewed by Mario Calvitti


Tra le numerosissime pubblicazioni di materiale inedito che emerge dagli archivi rischia di passare inosservata questa preziosissima gemma, che riporta alla luce un concerto tenuto in Germania nel 1974 dagli Oregon, uno dei gruppi musicali più importanti dell'ultimo mezzo secolo per il loro approccio rivoluzionario a una concezione della musica senza confini o barriere create da categorizzazioni dovute più a esigenze di mercato che espressive. La loro musica fonde in maniera pressoché perfetta elementi jazzistici, classici, folkloristici ed etnici attraverso ...

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Live From New York

Ava Mendoza, Nels Cline & Ralph Towner

Read "Ava Mendoza, Nels Cline & Ralph Towner" reviewed by Martin Longley


Ava Mendoza & Nels Cline National Sawdust March 27, 2019 Since its old space closed its doors, John Zorn has been spreading The Stone out into other locations, besides its current main home at The New School. One of these alternative platforms is at National Sawdust, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where Zorn programmes a monthly commissioning series, inviting artists to present specially penned works. This guitaring bill opened with a solo set from ...

Live Review

Ralph Towner al Parco della Musica, Roma

Read "Ralph Towner al Parco della Musica, Roma" reviewed by Mario Calvitti


Ralph Towner Parco della Musica Roma 18.05.2018 Ralph Towner è un chitarrista dallo stile completamente unico e inconfondibile, sviluppato e affinato negli anni fino a un livello di assoluta maestria che fonde la tecnica classica con l'improvvisazione jazzistica, aggiungendo occasionalmente un tocco di Brasile. Nato come pianista nel segno di Bill Evans, Towner ha successivamente adottato la chitarra classica come strumento principale, trasferendo sulle sei corde le tecniche di armonizzazione introdotte da Evans sul ...

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Video / DVD

Larry Coryell and Ralph Towner: First Videos

Larry Coryell and Ralph Towner: First Videos

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Late yesterday afternoon, I heard from Kristian St. Clair, a filmmaker whose work includes This Is Gary McFarland, a superb documentary on the composer-arranger (more here and here). Kristian tells me he is busy on a new film project about Seattle jazz multi-instrumentalist Chuck Mahaffay. In the process, he said, he came across what he says are likely the earliest known videos and first gigs of guitarists Larry Coryell and Ralph Towner in the early 1960s. Given the hacking cough ...

Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: Mike Stern & Kimberly Thompson, George Sams, Ralph Towner, Ikue Mori & Nate Wooley, Russell Gunn, and more

Jazz this week: Mike Stern & Kimberly Thompson, George Sams, Ralph Towner, Ikue Mori & Nate Wooley, Russell Gunn, and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

As you might be able to deduce from looking at the headline for this post, it's very busy week for jazz and creative music in St. Louis. Over the next few days, there will be a plethora of visiting performers on local stages, plus the opening of a play about one of the most famous jazz singers ever, free master classes from two guitar greats, and more. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, February 15 Guitarist Mike Stern performs for ...

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Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Ralph Towner

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Ralph Towner

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring guitarist Ralph Towner, who's coming to St. Louis to perform in a concert presented by Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series on Saturday, February 18 at the 560 Music Center. Towner this week released a new album of solo guitar, My Foolish Heart. It's his 29th recording for the ECM label, which has put out all of his solo material since 1973. Recorded last Feburary in Lugano, Switzerland under the ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Ralph Towner, Sto Jazz Orchestra, Sherman Irby, Clayton Brothers Quintet, Rebirth Brass Band, and More

Jazz This Week: Ralph Towner, Sto Jazz Orchestra, Sherman Irby, Clayton Brothers Quintet, Rebirth Brass Band, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Along with Halloween and the conclusion of baseball's World Series, there's a whole lot of jazz and creative music happening in St. Louis over the next few days. So, without further ado, let's go straight to the highlights: On Thursday, Ralph Towner, known for his work with the Paul Winter Consort and Oregon as well as his own recordings, will perform a free solo guitar concert for the Jazz at Holmes series at Washington University. Also on Thursday, Robbie's House ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz at Holmes to Present Free Concert by Ralph Towner on Thursday, October 27

Jazz at Holmes to Present Free Concert by Ralph Towner on Thursday, October 27

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Washington University's Jazz at Holmes series today announced that they will present a free solo concert by guitarist Ralph Towner (pictured) at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, October 27 in Holmes Lounge in Ridgley Hall on the Wash U campus. The concert by Towner replaces the previously announced performance by guitarist Scott Jones. Towner is known mainly as an acoustic guitarist, but also plays trumpet, synthesizer and percussion and is a conservatory trained pianist. He first gained wide public attention in the ...

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Recording

Time for an ECM Two-Fer: Paul Motion Trio and Ralph Towner/Paolo Fresu (2010)

Time for an ECM Two-Fer: Paul Motion Trio and Ralph Towner/Paolo Fresu (2010)

Source: Something Else!

By PicoLast month ECM put on sale new offerings by two of their oldest stalwarts: drummer Paul Motian and Ralph Towner. Motian has been discussed on this site probably more than any other drummer, no doubt due to his long association with Bill Evans and his more recent contributions as both a leader and sideman. He began his association with this fabled label early on, in 1972, an association that continues today that was only interrupted from the ...

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Event

Oregon Live Interview with Dave Schroeder at Barnes & Noble (NYC) on Friday, February 5th at 4:00 P.M.

Oregon Live Interview with Dave Schroeder at Barnes & Noble (NYC) on Friday, February 5th at 4:00 P.M.

Source: Michael Ricci

Oregon Live Interview with Dave Schroeder at Barnes & Noble (NYC) on Friday, February 5th at 4:00 p.m. Join us this Friday, February 5th, for an in-store Barnes & Noble interview with the members of the legendary ensemble Oregon. Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm Barnes and Noble 150 East 86th Street New York, NY 10028 About Oregon For over three decades OREGON has inspired audiences in renowned concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Berlin Philharmonic Hall, ...

Lisa Rich
vocals
Matt Snyder
clarinet
Oscar Penas
guitar
Christian Doering
guitar, electric
Gary Kelly
bass, electric
Samuel Bonnet
guitar, acoustic
Chris Trinidad
multi-instrumentalist
Pavel Jany
guitar
l'Oumigmag
guitar, acoustic
Yosef Gutman Levitt
bass, acoustic
Art Boffi
guitar
The Burnt Pines
band / ensemble / orchestra
Camilo Carrara
guitar, acoustic
Gerhard Daum
composer / conductor

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

At First Light

ECM Records
2023

buy

1974

Moosicus Gmbh
2021

buy

My Foolish Heart

ECM Records
2017

buy

Ralph Towner...

ECM Records
2015

buy

Five Years Later

ECM Records
2014

buy

Travel Guide

ECM Records
2013

buy

Fat Foot

From: At First Light
By Ralph Towner

Videos

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