Earthworks - Bill Bruford

Bill Bruford's Earthworks: Bill Bruford (acoustic & electronic drums, percussion); Iain Ballamy (soprano, alto & tenor saxophones); Django Bates (trumpet, Eb tenor horn, keyboards); Mick Hutton (acoustic bass).
Additional personnel: Dave Stewart (keyboards, samples).
Recorded at Terminal 24 Studios, London, England in October 1986. Includes liner notes by Simon Puxley.
Personnel: Bill Bruford (drums, percussion); Iain Ballamy (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Django Bates (trumpet, horns, tenor horn, keyboards); Dave Stewart (keyboards, sampler).
Liner Note Author: Simon Puxley.
Recording information: Terminal 24 Studios, London, England (10/1986).
EARTHWORKS is both the name of this album and of drummer Bill Bruford's contemporary quartet. Not unlike the famous groups of Ornette Coleman or Gerry Mulligan, this is a piano-less group, although the music produced here isn't want for anything. Indeed, the sound textures produced by Bruford and his men, including saxophonist Iain Ballamy, brass man Django Bates, and bassist Mick Hutton, are independently strong in both sound and structure.
Being a from a British group, of course, the music has more than a little of the European jazz sound that has come to be the valued cousin of American swing. To that end, the band employs a good deal of synthesized sounds; mostly stemming from Bruford's own sophisticated electronic percussion system along with the odd keyboard or two. Still, the focus is on the free-flowing performance of the quartet throughout the course of the nine original compositions. Though contemporary in sound, the group utilizes as much from the traditions of European chamber music as it does from American jazz. Fueled by Bruford's enigmatic drumming, this makes for an intriguing musical experience.

• Released: 1/1/1980
• Genre: Jazz
• Released: 01/01/1980
• Genre: Jazz
• Released: 1/1/1980
• Format: CD
• Format: CD