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Eberhard Weber

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Eberhard Weber
Eberhard Weber in Lucerne, Switzerland
Eberhard Weber in Lucerne, Switzerland
Background information
Born (1940-01-22) 22 January 1940 (age 85)
Stuttgart, Germany
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Bassist, composer
Instrument(s)Electric upright bass
Double bass, cello
Years active1962–present
LabelsECM
WebsiteEberhard Weber on ECM

Eberhard Weber is a German double bassist and composer.[1] As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing.[2] Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, minimalism and ambient music, and are regarded as characteristic examples of the ECM Records sound.

Early Life

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Weber was born on January 22nd 1940, in Stuttgart Germany. His father was a music teacher which meant that Weber received classical music training growing up, beginning on the cello at 6 years old. He began to play the double bass in high school when he was 16 years old. His music teacher wanted someone to play the bass and Weber volunteered.[3]

Early on in Weber’s musical journey, he met pianist Wolfgang Dauner with whom he would work for many years throughout his career. They met while both were playing at the Dusseldorf Amateur Jazz Festival.[3]

Career

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Eberhard Weber - Portrait by Gert Chesi

Weber began recording in the early 1960s, and released The Colours of Chloë (ECM 1042), his first record under his own name, in 1973.[1] In addition to his career as a musician, he also worked for many years as a television and theater director.

Weber joined the band Spectrum alongside musician Dave Pike and Volker Kriegel. He left the band soon after joining because he was "becoming dissatisfied with the rock-oriented direction of the band." He also wanted to experiment with the solid-body electric double bass that he had started playing. He was an early proponent of the instrument, adding a fifth string, which he has played regularly since the early 1970s.

From the early 1960s to the early 1970s, Weber's closest musical association was with pianist Wolfgang Dauner. Their many mutual projects were diverse, from mainstream jazz to jazz-rock fusion to avant-garde sound experiments. During this period, Weber also played and recorded with pianists Hampton Hawes and Mal Waldron, guitarists Baden Powell de Aquino and Joe Pass, The Mike Gibbs Orchestra, violinist Stephane Grappelli, and many others.

Starting with The Colours of Chloë, Weber has released 13 more records under his own name, all on ECM. The ECM association also led to collaborations with other ECM recording artists such as Gary Burton (Ring, 1974; Passengers, 1976),[1] Ralph Towner (Solstice, 1975;[1] Solstice/Sound and Shadows, 1977), Pat Metheny (Watercolors, 1977), and Jan Garbarek (10 recordings between 1978 and 1998).

In the mid-1970s Weber formed his own group, Colours, with Charlie Mariano (soprano saxophone, flutes), Rainer Brüninghaus (piano, synthesizer) and Jon Christensen (drums).[1] After their first recording, Yellow Fields (1975), Christensen left and was replaced by John Marshall. The group toured extensively and recorded two further records, Silent Feet (1977) and Little Movements (1980), before disbanding.

Since the early 1980s, Weber has regularly collaborated with the British singer-songwriter Kate Bush, playing on four of her last six studio albums (The Dreaming, 1982; Hounds of Love, 1985; The Sensual World, 1989; Aerial, 2005).

During the 1980s, Weber toured with Barbara Thompson's jazz ensemble Paraphernalia.

Since 1990, Weber's touring has been limited, and he has had only two new recordings under his own name: The 2001 release Endless Days is an elemental fusion of jazz and classical music flavors, fitting well the moniker chamber jazz. His main touring activity during that period was as a regular member of the Jan Garbarek Group. On the occasion of his 65th birthday, in March, 2005 he recorded Stages of a Long Journey, a live concert with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and featuring Gary Burton, Wolfgang Dauner and Jan Garbarek. In 2009 ECM also re-released his albums Yellow Fields, Silent Feet and Little Movements as a 3-CD collection titled "Colours".

Medical Issues

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On April 23rd, 2007, Weber suffered a stroke while on tour with the Jan Garbarek Group of which he had been a part of for 25 years. Weber stated that he had felt “something indefinable going on”[4] Weber called his manager and paramedics to examine him in his hotel room and they found nothing of significance to be wrong. Weber continued on to his soundcheck and cites “unusual intonation problems”[4] This leads Weber to go to the hospital to be examined again. Weber recounts his experience in his autobiography[4] saying that the hospital lost power multiple times during his stay and that he was unable to get an MRI until the following day due to safety concerns caused by the unstable power. The MRI revealed that he had suffered a stroke.

Weber writes about his experience immediately following his stroke recounting his physical therapy and saying that he thought he would be healthy and able to play again for the upcoming leg of the tour however this unfortunately was not the case and Weber has not been able to play the bass since. He was replaced in the Jan Garbarek Group by Yuri Daniel in the spring of 2007. [4]

In a January 2010 interview with Die Welt, he spoke about his medical condition and future projects.[5]

Post-Stroke Career

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Weber was awarded the prestigious Albert Mangelsdorff-Preis in November 2009. A box set of his 1970s works was released by ECM Records the same month.

Weber's latest albums, Résumé (2012) and Encore (2015) comprise solos from his performances worldwide with The Jan Garbarek Group, overdubbed with keyboards/treatments by Weber, sax by Garbarek, and flügelhorn by Ack Van Rooyen.

His autobiography, Résumé, was published in 2015.[6] An English translation by Heidi Kirk - Eberhard Weber: A German Jazz Story - was published in October 2021.[4]

In 2021, the 13-minute recording Eberhard by the late Lyle Mays was posthumously released, revised from a 2009 composition debuted at Lawrence University and written as a tribute to Weber's influential compositional style. [7] It was awarded a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 2022.

Discography

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As leader

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Compilation albums

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  • Works (ECM, 1985)
  • Rarum: Selected Recordings (ECM, 2004)
  • Colours (ECM, 2010) (reissue compiling Yellow Fields, Silent Feet and Little Movements)

As sideman

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With Gary Burton

With Kate Bush

With Jan Garbarek

With Pat Metheny

With Ralph Towner

With Mal Waldron

With others

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See "External Links" below for a complete discography

Literary connections

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Weber has, on at least five occasions, drawn on text from the book Watership Down (by Richard Adams) for the names of his compositions and albums. Examples include "Silent Feet" and "Eyes That Can See in the Dark" from the Silent Feet album; "Often in the Open" from the Later That Evening album; and "Quiet Departures" and "Fluid Rustle" on the Fluid Rustle album.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 1239/40. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  2. ^ "Endless Days". PopMatters.com. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  3. ^ a b Leigh Ann DeRemer (April 18, 2003). Contemporary Musicians Volume 41. Gale Research Inc. pp. 218–219. ISBN 978-0787667948.
  4. ^ a b c d e Eberhard Weber: A German Jazz Story, Equinox Publishing ISBN 978-1800500839
  5. ^ "ECM Records". Ecmrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  6. ^ Résumé. Eine deutsche Jazz-Geschichte, Stuttgart 2015, sagas.edition ISBN 978-3944660042
  7. ^ Mays, Lyle, Eberhard, CD liner notes by Steve Rodby, OCLC 1268938957, retrieved 2022-01-29
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