JOHN ABERCROMBIE - Animato (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Animato is not so much John Abercrombie's date simply because his name is listed first alphabetically. It is much more the music of Vince Mendoza, who composed six of the eight selections, and whose work on synthesizer is the dominant voice on this set of ethereal progressive instrumental music. Drummer Jon Christensen takes no backseat in urging the music forward with a subtle presence that represents a distinct primal and tribal jazz element. What electric guitarist Abercrombie does is link with Mendoza, merging his own synthesized blends of earth, sky and space to create beautiful textures and soundscapes in tandem with Mendoza's conceptual arrangements and expanded color palates. In "First Light" and "Last Light," the trio has touched on a theoretical circadian cycle, beginning in darkness, peace, serenity, and quietude, merging to darting guitar lines, bright steel drum samples, complex and dense activity, with Christensen's drum work a steadying and balanced influence. There's a hymnal quality in the airy "Single Moon" and the thin, dim "For Hope of Hope" with Mendoza's organ assimilations. "Right Now" is a space spiritual sped into animated bop mode with just Abercrombie's spare guitar and Christensen's fleet Euro swing, while "Ollie Mention" is a little waltz with tiny notes, the most tuneful of these pieces, with Mendoza's keyboards traipsing in dark, sacred, enchanted woodlands. Whooshing, vortex sounds akin to the Fairlight synthesizer identify the core of Abercrombie's lone composition in a somewhat playful fashion, while "Agitato" is clearly nestled in the new age style, a minimalist piece with hard drum accents buoying Abercrombie's individualist hypothesis. An unusual but beautiful item in John Abercrombie's discography, and a coming out for Mendoza, Animato signals a different direction for the ECM label, enabling electronic sounds in a way they had never fully embraced prior. by Michael G. Nastos  
Tracklist :
1     Right Now 7:32
John Abercrombie / Jon Christensen
2     Single Moon 4:20
Vince Mendoza
3     Agitato 5:06
Vince Mendoza
4     First Light 1:35
Vince Mendoza
5     Last Light 4:06
Vince Mendoza
6     For Hope of Hope 8:52
Vince Mendoza
7     Bright Reign 5:11
John Abercrombie
8     Ollie Mention 7:34
Vince Mendoza
Credits :
Synthesizer [Synthesizers] – Vince Mendoza
Drums, Percussion – Jon Christensen
Guitar, Guitar Synthesizer – John Abercrombie
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Programmed By [Synthesizer Programming], Electronic Valve Instrument [EVI] – Judd Miller

CHARLIE HADEN WITH MICHAEL BRECKER - American Dreams (2002) APE (image+.cue), lossless

This overly long quartet-plus-strings session is Charlie Haden's paean to an ideal America, made during a time that was ripe for such reflections. The band, with Haden on bass, Michael Brecker on tenor, Brad Mehldau on piano, and Brian Blade on drums, is unassailably strong. But listeners could have lived without the ear-candy sheen provided by the 34-piece orchestra, arranged primarily by Alan Broadbent, with additional contributions from Jeremy Lubbock and Vince Mendoza. (Broadbent and Mendoza also penned charts for Jane Monheit's In the Sun, released two weeks earlier.) Aside from outright banalities like "America the Beautiful" and "It Might Be You" (yes, the Stephen Bishop lite-radio hit), there are some saving graces, like Keith Jarrett's "Prism" and "No Lonely Nights," Mehldau's "Ron's Place," and Haden's two originals, "American Dreams" and "Nightfall." But Pat Metheny's "Travels" goes soggy without its Midwestern guitar twang, and Ornette Coleman's "Bird Food," one of only three tracks not to feature the orchestra, is so wildly out of place that its impact is somehow diminished -- notwithstanding a vivid pedal-point interlude about six minutes in. by David R. Adler  
Tracklist:
1 American Dreams 4:50
Arranged By – Alan Broadbent, Charlie Haden
Conductor – Alan Broadbent
Written-By – Charlie Haden
2 Travels 6:44
Arranged By, Conductor – Vince Mendoza
Programmed By [EVI, Synthesizer] – Judd Miller
Written-By – Lyle Mays, Pat Metheny
3 No Lovely Nights 5:16
Arranged By, Conductor – Alan Broadbent
Written-By – Keith Jarrett
4 It Might Be You 4:52
Arranged By, Conductor – Jeremy Lubbock
Written-By – Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Dave Grusin
5 Prism 5:19
Arranged By – Charlie Haden
Written-By – Keith Jarrett
6 America The Beautiful 5:21
Arranged By, Conductor – Alan Broadbent
Written-By – Katharine Lee Bates, Samuel Augustus Ward
7 Nightfall 5:06
Arranged By, Conductor – Jeremy Lubbock
Written-By – Charlie Haden
8 Ron's Place 7:27
Arranged By – Charlie Haden
Written-By – Brad Mehldau
9 Bittersweet 6:43
Arranged By, Conductor – Alan Broadbent
Written-By – Don Sebesky
10 Young And Foolish 5:36
Arranged By, Conductor – Alan Broadbent
Written-By – Albert Hague, Arnold B. Horwitt
11 Bird Food 7:29
Arranged By – Charlie Haden
Written-By – Ornette Coleman
12 Sotto Voce 5:10
Programmed By [EVI, Synthesizer] – Judd Miller
Written-By, Arranged By, Conductor – Vince Mendoza
13 Love Like Ours 4:25
Arranged By, Conductor – Jeremy Lubbock
Written-By – Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Dave Grusin
Credits:
Bass – Charlie Haden
Cello – Anne Karam (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Daniel Smith (4) (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Ernie Ehrhardt (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Jerome Kessler (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Jodi Burnett (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Larry Corbett (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Suzie Katayama (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13)
Concertmaster – Joel Dearouin (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Murray Adler (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13)
Contractor [Strings] – Jules Chaikin (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13)
Double Bass – Charles Berghofer (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Edward Meares (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Norman Ludwin (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Putter Smith (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13)
Drums – Brian Blade
Harp – Gayle Levant (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13)
Piano – Brad Mehldau
Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker (tracks: 2 to 13)
Text By [Poems By] – Mattie J.T. Stepanek
Viola – Carole Mukogawa (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Denyse Buffum (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Harry Shirinian (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), James Ross (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Marilyn Baker (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Ray Tischer (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13)
Violin – Armen Garabedian (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Berj Garabedian (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Bruce Dukov (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Charles Everett (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Darius Campo (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Joel Dearouin (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), John Wittenberg (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Kirsten Fife (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Mari Tsumura (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Maurice Dicterow (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Murray Adler (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Joe Ketendjian (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Patricia Johnson (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Peter Kent (2) (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Pip Clarke-Ling (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Shari Zippert (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13), Susan Chatman (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13)