It was May of 1976 and Spring was in the air in my hometown of Geneva, N.Y. I flung open the door and bounded up the stairs to my Cousin Al’s apartment on the third floor of an old building above the Noah’s Ark store on the corner of Castle and Exchange streets. My cousin Al, a year older, had started playing guitar the same time as myself right after the Beatles triumphant U.S. arrival in 1964. Although we had taken divergent musical paths, Al was now an accomplished musician and somewhat of a minor celebrity in the Finger Lakes area due to his original rock band, “The Checkers”.
Cousin Al’s apartment was a complex of adjoining rooms that once must have been office space. Al’s apartment led to a large adjoining space, used for rehearsals and jams and that led to another complex of rooms occupied by our mutual friend, Mike, who was a modern painter and photographer. The collection of rooms was known as “The Loft” or alternatively “The Complex.” It had become a gathering point for like minded artists and bohemians living in the area. The door was always open and there was always something artistically exciting happening. I visited as often as I could to participate in experimental music jams, political and philosophical discussions and other “forms of entertainment” the “Complex” might offer at any given moment.
As I walked into the front room, Cousin Al, our mutual friend Jeff and assorted girl friends were sitting around attentively listening to an LP entitled the Sargasso Sea on the ECM record label. It was a duo guitar recording by jazz guitarist, John Abercrombie and guitarist Ralph Towner. The music playing immediately struck me as something that was very different and astonishing. I was mesmerized by what I heard.
The actual Sargasso Sea sits in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean and is the only sea on Earth with no coastline. It is distinguished by is brown Sargassum seaweed and calm deep clear blue water. Throughout literary history, the Sargasso Sea often depicted as having mysterious qualities.
Abercrombie and Towner’s music on the Sargasso Sea record echo’s the sea’s characteristics. It is clear, atmospheric, mysterious and often painfully beautiful. Abercrombie and Towner weave acoustic and electric guitar improvisations within loose and floating harmonic and rhythmic parameters allowing the music to breath. These characteristics set this record apart from other guitar duos (e.g. Herb Ellis/Joe Pass) of the time. Caution! The impressionistic nature of the Sargasso Sea requires diligent listening to reap all the rewards it has to offer.
The Sargasso Sea was not an over whelming success when it was released in 1976 but like all great music it has stood the test of time. It has been forty years since being released but every time I listen to the Sargasso Sea, it still sounds fresh and timeless. There is always something new to hear.
The songs on the record are all original compositions by Abercrombie and Towner. Here is the track listing:
- “Fable” (Abercrombie)- 8:41
- “Avenue”(Abercrombie) – 5:19
- “Sargasso Sea” (John Abercrombie, Ralph Towner) – 4:01
- “Over and Gone”(Abercrombie) – 2:51
- “Elbow Room” (Abercrombie, Towner) -5:11
- “Staircase” (Towner) – 6:24
- “Romantic Descension” (Abercrombie) – 3:17
- “Parasol” (Towner) – 5:24
I still have the original ECM vinyl released but was overjoyed when ECM released it on Compact Disk several years ago and it is readily available. The Sargasso Sea wasn’t the only musical discovery I made while visiting the “Complex” but it was a lasting one. Thanks Cousin Al!