The Friday song (on a Sunday): ‘Svev’ by Ralph Towner, Arild Andersen and Naná Vasconcelos

Everyone who read last week’s article will have heard of Bob Weir, whose passing I commemorated. Possibly not the same perhaps for Ralph Towner, who died this week.

Towner was equally proficient a pianist as he was a guitarist and on the latter instrument, was as much a master of the 12-string acoustic as he was of the nylon six-string, “classical” guitar. He turned all three into improvisational jazz instruments, using his classical education and compositional structure as a springboard.

He played other things too. When Towner added synthesizer to his instrument palette, it was all texture and no “cheesiness”, and while he usually deferred to others in the studio, he was no slouch as a trumpeter or French horn player either.

He started out his folk and jazz life as a pianist, then guitarist in the Paul Winter Consort, where he learnt his way around a 12-string, although it hammered his fingernails. Then came a one-track turn on Weather Report’s second album before forming Oregon, with whom he recorded 30 albums and toured extensively, playing a mixture of acoustic fusion jazz, folk and classical Indian forms for well over four decades.

From Oregon to ECM, with strings as an orchestra

Simultaneously, Towner began a longstanding relationship as a recording artist for ECM Records, with whom he released a couple of dozen albums as leader and many more as collaborator.

His jumping-off point was often the classical compositions of the Renaissance era, from where he would transition into jazz, playing shimmering 12-string explorations and pensive six-string voicings, treating the guitar like something of a solo ensemble instrument. Towner’s capacity and facility as both a composer and player, moving between classical and jazz forms, is probably unsurpassed.

To choose today’s song, I listened to Ralph Towner in many contexts, from his early Consort/Oregon days, to solo, live and studio albums and as a partner or collaborator. While tempted to choose Icarus, his best-known composition, I went in a different direction.

Hovering, soaring, and saying goodbye

Some of Towner’s best work has been with bass players, including Norwegian Arild Andersen, and a track from his album If You Look Far Enough is where I settled.

Anyone familiar with the Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays Wichita Falls album will know the rhythmic and atmospheric impact made by Brazilian percussionist/vocalist Naná Vasconcelos on the title track. He reprises that role in a similar way on Svev, today’s song, creating a rhythmic bed with shakers while allowing his vocal and a rain stick to break the hypnotic effect.

Percussion is the perfect foil for Andersen’s warm, tuneful bass notes and gives Towner a chance to hover and soar (“svev” means “soar” and “hover”) between the rhythm on his 12-string, creating rhythmic counterpoints to Vasconcelos’ bed, darting about and hinting at melodies, before setting off on a high-jinks improvisation, tapping out harmonics, snapping pull-offs and starting and resolving runs, before providing colour behind the bass solo. It’s a driving track, with each instrument perfectly audible and perfectly in sync and for me, a happy but sad farewell to a guitar great.

Listen to Svev on Spotify here and Apple Music here.

I started a music WhatsApp group in 2023. I send one song a week on a Friday, with links to both Apple and Spotify, and an accompanying narrative/capsule piece. If you want to engage about a song, get a playlist or just get in touch, email me at markgrosin@gmail.com.

For more of Mark’s excellent picks, go here.

_{Top image: Currency collage.}