As a recording artist and performer, John cleverly fused jazz with other musical influences. In doing so,
he opened the door to a new way of approaching jazz guitar, developing his own very personal musical
language in the process. His work inspired countless musicians to pursue the instrument, including
contemporary guitar greats Bill Frisell B.M.'77 "17H and Nels Cline.

John was also a natural comic, and he never stopped making people laugh with his wit and his flawless
impressions. This was another essential part of what he brought to his craft. He effortlessly created an
environment that put everyone at ease so they could relax and play at their best. Whether you were a
colleague, musician, student, friend, or relative, being with John was as good as it gets.

Lastly, John played to learn. That was his philosophy and it's what made him such an inspiring teacher
and mentor. He set out to always bring his best to each and every playing situation. When you listen
to any track or composition by John, you can hear that the music and the man are one. The way he
played was exactly the way he was. His discography consists of more than 240 recordings as a leader,
composer, or sideman. I'm so proud and grateful to call him my brother-in-law and life-long friend. His
music and this body of work will no doubt stand as part of the legacy of one of the great jazz artists of
our time.

John Abercrombie
‘ T John Abercrombie '67 played on more than fifty sessions with the ECM label,

; both as a leader and a highly creative contributor to recordings with Charles

Lloyd, Kenny Wheeler, Jan Garbarek, Collin Walcott, Jack DeJohnette, and many

more. Along the way his playing evolved, becoming, he once said, both freer

and more traditional, without ever renouncing experimentation.

Bornin 1944 in Port Chester, New York, Abercrombie grew up in Greenwich,
Connecticut, where he began playing the guitar atage 14. He started out
imitating Chuck Berry licks, but the bluesy music of Barney Kessel soon attracted
him to jazz. After studying at Berklee College of Musicin the mid-'60s, Abercrombie went to New York,
where he quickly became one of the city's most in-demand session players, recording with Gil Evans,
Gato Barbieri, and Barry Miles, among others.

 

In 1975 Abercrombie released his first solo album, Timeless, in which he was joined by organist Jan
Hammer and drummer Jack DeJohnette. That same year he also recorded in the cooperative trio
Gateway with DeJohnette and bassist Dave Holland. At the end of the '70s Abercrombie formed his
first quartet, recording three albums—Arcade, Abercrombie Quartet, and M-with pianist Richie Beirach,
bassist George Mraz and drummer Peter Donald. It was with this group that the guitarist began moving
away from a jazz-rock period into more spacious and impressionistic music. A subsequent trio with
bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Peter Erskine incorporated experiments with the guitar synthesizer
and what Abercrombie called “louder, more open music."

Abercrombie went on to forge collaborations with guitarist, pianist, and composer Ralph Towner; and
with a quartet featuring Johnson, violinist Mark Feldman, and drummer Joey Baron. Throughout the
last decade Abercrombie worked with Baron, pianist Marc Copland, and double bassist Drew Gress in a
quartet that often performed lyrical jazz compositions in a more traditional setting. The quartet's final
album, Up and Coming, received widespread acclaim. Abercrombie passed away in 2017.