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Characters (John Abercrombie album)

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Characters
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1978[1]
RecordedNovember 1977
StudioTalent Studios
Oslo, Norway
GenreJazz
Length44:54
LabelECM 1117
ProducerManfred Eicher
John Abercrombie chronology
Sargasso Sea
(1976)
Characters
(1978)
Arcade
(1979)

Characters is a solo album by guitarist John Abercrombie, recorded in May 1977 and released on ECM Records in May of the following year.[2]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[4]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[5]

The AllMusic review by Robert Taylor stated: "Abercrombie makes excellent use of space within both his compositions and solos. Upon the first listen there may not appear to be very much here; however, this music needs to be absorbed over several listens to appreciate Abercrombie's brilliance."[3]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz gave the album 3½ stars, stating, "Characters was Abercrombie's most overt manifesto and calling-card, a demonstration of styles and moods and, even at this point in his career, influences too."[4]

The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide called the album "a tremendous solo display of Abercrombie's acoustic/electric guitar and mandolin playing."[5]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by John Abercrombie

No.TitleLength
1."Parable"10:40
2."Memoir"3:13
3."Telegram"4:35
4."Backward Glance"4:37
5."Ghost Dance"7:01
6."Paramour"3:51
7."After Thoughts"3:22
8."Evensong"7:35

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ "Characters". ECM.
  2. ^ ECM discography Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine accessed September 12, 2011
  3. ^ a b Taylor, R. AllMusic Review accessed September 12, 2011
  4. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). London: Penguin. pp. 2. ISBN 978-0-141-02327-4.
  5. ^ a b Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. US: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 3. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.