John Laird Abercrombie was born on December 16, 1944, and passed away on August 22, 2017. He was an American jazz guitarist who played music in styles such as jazz fusion, free jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Abercrombie attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He was recognized for his simple and calm style, as well as his performances with organ trios.

Career

John Abercrombie was born on December 16, 1944, in Port Chester, New York. He grew up in the 1950s in Greenwich, Connecticut, and was influenced by rock and roll musicians like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and Bill Haley and the Comets. He also enjoyed the music of jazz guitarist Mickey Baker, who performed with the vocal duo Mickey and Silvia. Two friends who were musicians introduced him to jazz albums by Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis. The first jazz guitar album he heard was by Barney Kessel.

At age 10, he took guitar lessons and asked his teacher to teach him how to play the style of Barney Kessel. After high school, he studied at Berklee College of Music. At Berklee, he was inspired by the music of Jim Hall, the 1962 album The Bridge by Sonny Rollins, and Wes Montgomery’s albums The Wes Montgomery Trio (1959) and Boss Guitar (1963). He said George Benson and Pat Martino were important influences. He often played with other students at Paul’s Mall, a jazz club in Boston connected to a larger club called Jazz Workshop. Performing there led to meetings with musicians Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, and organist Johnny Hammond Smith, who invited him to tour.

Abercrombie graduated from Berklee in 1967 and attended North Texas State University before moving to New York City in 1969. Before becoming a popular session musician, he joined Monty Stark’s band, Stark Reality, in 1969 and recorded several albums, including Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy Carmichael’s Music Shop. He later recorded with Gato Barbieri in 1971, Barry Miles in 1972, and Gil Evans in 1974. In 1969, he joined the Brecker Brothers in the jazz-rock fusion band Dreams. He continued to play fusion music in Billy Cobham’s band but disliked the band’s focus on rock over jazz. However, his reputation grew with the popularity of Cobham and Dreams. The band shared billing with acts like the Doobie Brothers, but Abercrombie felt his career was moving in an unwanted direction. He said, “One night we appeared at the Spectrum in Philadelphia and I thought, ‘What am I doing here?’ It just didn’t compute.”

An invitation from drummer Jack DeJohnette helped Abercrombie join a jazz-oriented ensemble, which was what he wanted. Around the same time, record producer Manfred Eicher, founder of ECM Records, invited him to record an album. He recorded his first solo album, Timeless, with DeJohnette and keyboardist Jan Hammer, who had been his roommate in the 1960s. In 1975, he formed the band Gateway with DeJohnette and bassist Dave Holland, recording the albums Gateway (1976) and Gateway 2 (1978). Though he recorded for other labels later, ECM Records became his main recording company, and his association with the label lasted for the rest of his career.

The Gateway band played songs written by all three members in a free jazz style. After his work with the Gateway trio, Abercrombie shifted to a more traditional style, recording three albums for ECM: Arcade (1979), Abercrombie Quartet (1979), and M (1981). These albums featured a quartet with pianist Richie Beirach, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Peter Donald. Abercrombie said, “It was extremely important to have that group… it was my first opportunity to really be a leader and write consistently for the same group of musicians.” During the mid-1970s and into the 1980s, he performed with DeJohnette and other ECM ensembles, sometimes playing electric mandolin. He toured with guitarist Ralph Towner, recording two albums: Sargasso Sea (1976) and Five Years Later (1981). In the mid-1980s, he played standards with bassist George Mraz and performed in a bop duo with guitarist John Scofield. He also appeared on many ECM releases with other artists on the label.

Between 1984 and 1990, Abercrombie experimented with a guitar synthesizer. He first used the instrument in 1984 in a trio with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Peter Erskine, as well as with pianist Paul Bley in a free jazz group. The synthesizer allowed him to play what he called “louder, more open music.” His trio with Johnson and Erskine released three albums during this time: Current Events (1986), Getting There (1988, with Michael Brecker), and a live album, John Abercrombie / Marc Johnson / Peter Erskine (1989).

The 1990s and 2000s brought many new collaborations. In 1992, Abercrombie, drummer Adam Nussbaum, and Hammond organist Jeff Palmer made a free-jazz album. He then started a trio with Nussbaum and organist Dan Wall, releasing While We’re Young (1992), Speak of the Devil (1994), and Tactics (1997). He added trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, violinist Mark Feldman, and saxophonist Joe Lovano to the trio to record Open Land (1999). The Gateway band reunited for the albums Homecoming (1995) and In the Moment (1996).

Abercrombie continued to tour and record until his death. He also released albums on the ECM label, an association that lasted over 40 years. He said in an interview, “I’d like people to perceive me as having a direct connection to the history of jazz guitar, while expanding some musical boundaries.”

In 2017, Abercrombie died of heart failure in Cortlandt Manor, New York, at the age of 72.

Discography

• Timeless (ECM, 1975) with Jan Hammer, Jack DeJohnette
• Sargasso Sea (ECM, 1976) with Ralph Towner
• Characters (ECM, 1978)
• Arcade (ECM, 1979) as John Abercrombie Quartet with Richie Beirach, George Mraz, Peter Donald
• Abercrombie Quartet (ECM, 1980) as John Abercrombie Quartet with Richie Beirach, George Mraz, Peter Donald
• Straight Flight (Jam, 1980) as John Abercrombie Trio with George Mraz, Peter Donald
• M (ECM, 1981) as John Abercrombie Quartet with Richie Beirach, George Mraz, Peter Donald
• Route Two (Landslide, 1981) with David Earle Johnson, Dan Wall
• Five Years Later (ECM, 1982) with Ralph Towner
• The Midweek Blues (Plug, 1983) with David Earle Johnson, Jan Hammer
• Night (ECM, 1984) with Michael Brecker, Jan Hammer, Jack DeJohnette
• Drum Strum (1750 Arch, 1984) with George Marsh
• Solar (Palo Alto, 1984) with John Scofield
• Current Events (ECM, 1986) with Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine
• All Strings Attached (Verve, 1987) with Tal Farlow, Larry Carlton, Larry Coryell, John Scofield, John Patitucci, Billy Hart
• Emerald City (Pathfinder, 1987) with Richie Beirach
• Getting There (ECM, 1988) with Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine, Michael Brecker
• My Foolish Heart (Jazz City, 1988) with Marc Cohen, Gary Peacock, Jeff Hirshfield
• John Abercrombie / Marc Johnson / Peter Erskine (ECM, 1989)
• Upon a Time (New Albion, 1989) with Mel Graves, George Marsh
• Animato (ECM, 1989) with Vince Mendoza, Jon Christensen
• Abracadabra (Soul Note, 1990) with Jeff Palmer, David Liebman, Adam Nussbaum
• Double Variations (Justin Time, 1990) with Tim Brady
• Secret Obsession (Nabel, 1991) with Uli Beckerhoff, Arild Andersen, John Marshall
• Witchcraft (Justin Time, 1991) with Don Thompson
• Yesterday's Tomorrow (European Music Productions, 1991) with Ron McClure, Aldo Romano
• The Toronto Concert (Maracatu, 1992) with Chris Minh Doky, Niels Lan Doky, Adam Nussbaum
• Ease On (AudioQuest Music, 1993) with Jeff Palmer, Arthur Blythe, Victor Lewis
• Farewell (Musidisc, 1993) with Andy LaVerne, George Mraz, Adam Nussbaum
• November (ECM, 1993) with John Surman, Marc Johnson, Peter Erskine
• While We're Young (ECM, 1993) with Dan Wall, Adam Nussbaum
• Speak of the Devil (ECM, 1994) as John Abercrombie Trio with Dan Wall, Adam Nussbaum
• Tactics (ECM, 1997) with Adam Nussbaum, Dan Wall
• Standard Transmission (GOWI Records, 1997) with Jacek Kochan, Pat LaBarbera, Jim Vivian
• Open Land (ECM, 1999) with Kenny Wheeler, Joe Lovano, Mark Feldman, Dan Wall, Adam Nussbaum
• Speak Easy (Starling, 1999) with Jarek Śmietana, Harvie Swartz, Adam Czerwiński
• The Hudson Project (Stretch, 2000) with Peter Erskine, Bob Mintzer, John Patitucci
• Burn'in The Blues (Consolidated Artists Productions, 2001) with Jeff Palmer, Vincent Herring, Bob Leto
• That's for Sure (Challenge, 2002) with Marc Copland, Kenny Wheeler
• Cat 'n' Mouse (ECM, 2002) with Mark Feldman, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron
• Noisy Old Men (Jam, 2002) with Mick Goodrick, Steve Swallow, Gary Chaffee
• Three Guitars (Chesky, 2003) with Larry Coryell, Badi Assad
• Animations (Underhill Jazz, 2003) with John Basile
• Class Trip (ECM, 2004) with Mark Feldman, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron
• Alone Together (Acoustic Music, 2004) with Frank Haunschild
• Brand New (Challenge, 2004) with Marc Copland, Kenny Wheeler
• Echoes (Alessa, 2005) with Arthur Blythe, Terri Lyne Carrington, Anthony Cox, Mark Feldman, Gust Tsilis
• Structures (Chesky, 2006) with Eddie Gomez, Gene Jackson
• The Third Quartet (ECM, 2007) with Mark Feldman, Marc Johnson, Joey Baron

In an interview with Jason Crane, Abercrombie