Bassist Eberhard Weber is another veteran of the ECM Records stable, having appeared on countless albums over the years, including some with artists such as Ralph Towner, Jan Garbarek, Gary Burton, and many others. Perhaps his most important contribution to the label's legacy however were the three albums featuring his band Colours-Yellow Fields (1975), Silent Feet (1977), and Little Movements (1980), all wonderful collections of daring jazz fusion. Though closer in scope to what Weather Report were doing rather than The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, or Tony Williams Lifetime, Colours still featured plenty of virtuosity, but in a more controlled and airy environment. The line-up consisted of Weber and his electric double bass, Charlie Mariano on sax & flute, keyboard player Rainer Bruninghaus, and drummers Jon Christensen (on Yellow Fields) and Jon Marshall (on the final two albums), who many will recognize as the famed drummer of Soft Machine and Nucleus. ECM has culled all three release (which have been out of print for a while) into one 3CD box set appropriately titled Colours as part of their 'Old & New Masters' series. The box set comes with all three CDs in their own cardboard sleeve, and a great 34 page booklet accompanies the set featuring a huge essay on Weber and the band, info on the albums, and photos.
The music...well, it's magical. Yellow Fields will be a joy to anyone into that 70's fusion sound, yet the music breathes more and is certainly more jazzy than some of the other bands of the era who had more of a rock vibe. Weber's silky smooth, almost fretless sound permeates the lush "Sand-Glass" as Mariano soars overhead, while the majestic "Left Lane" features some wonderful piano lines from Bruninghaus which intermingle with Weber's elastic, yearning bass passages. For those into more uptempo material, the red hot title track blisters from start to finish, with Christensen flailing like mad on his kit and Bruninghaus' layers of keys taking flight.
Silent Feet is composed of just three epic tracks, and drum legend Marshall joins the cast on this one. Piano and melodic bass lines lead in the dreamy "Seriously Deep", and you can already tell how Marshall's more textured playing has crept into the band's sound. On this expansive piece, you also get a wild solo from Weber, as well as some passionate melodies & explosive solos from Mariano, making for quite an exciting near 18-minute ride. The grand title track follows, another classy slice of atmospheric jazz that allows Bruninghaus and his electric piano to really sine. Here, Marshall picks up the pace a bit, driving the rest of the band to an eventual crescendo of melodic bliss. The dark & somber "Eyes That Can See in the Dark" closes out this album, a more laid back piece than we've yet to hear from this ensemble, that shows that restraint is just as effective as fury.
The last CD in this set is from 1980, and it was to be the last release from the band. Things here are even darker and more atmospheric than on Silent Feet, kicking off with the ominous "The Last Stage of a Long Journey", a chilling number featuring haunting passages from Mariano, and deep rumbles from Weber as Bruninghaus & Marshall tinker on the rhythms. The impressive "Bali" starts off with some yearning melodies before the whole band crashes in for a wild, upbeat fusion romp of grand proportions. "A Dark Spell" sees Weber's elastic bass grooves playing off some gorgeous acoustic piano melodies from Bruninghaus, and the title track is an odd, somewhat dissonant number that lets Marshall run amok over a repeated piano pattern from Bruninghaus. It's almost classic jazz-meets-free jazz until the more melodic, fusion oriented finale. The charming " "No Trees? He Said" closes things out here, a melodic & upbeat number that hints at some of the lighter, more commercial sounding fare that we would see throughout the jazz world in the 80's and beyond.
Each of these albums is a joy to listen to, and each one has unique characteristics that sets them apart from their siblings, but as a whole, Colours is a landmark collection of three classic albums that, sadly, probably never got the credit they deserved when compared to some of the other, more popular releases from the era. Not only should Weber be mentioned as one of the world's unsung bass heroes, but his band Colours were certainly a jazz-fusion ensemble that should be explored and cherished by those who have yet to do so.
Track Listing
CD1 (Yellow Fields):
1) Touch
2) Sand-Glass
3) Yellow Fields
4) Left Lane
CD2 (Silent Feet):
1) Seriously Deep
2) Silent Feet
3) Eyes That Can See in the Dark
CD3 (Little Movements)
1) The Last Stage of a Long Journey
2) Bali
3) A Dark Spell
4) Little Movements
5) "No Trees? He Said
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