Eberhard Weber

In the 1960s, he began recording and released his first album, The Colours of Chloe (ECM 1042) as a leader in 1973. He was also a TV and theater director for many years. He designed an electric-acoustic basse with an additional C-string. His music is often melancholic and follows simple ground patterns (often ostinatos). However, it is well-organized in its colouring, attention to detail, and organisation. Weber was an early advocate of the solid-body electric bass, which he played every day since the 1970s. His closest musical connection was with Wolfgang Dauner, from the 1960s through the 1970s. They had many mutual projects, ranging from mainstream jazz to jazz-rock Fusion to avant-garde sound experimentation to their mutual music. He recorded and played with, among others, pianists Hampton Hawes, Mal Waldron, Joe Pass, Baden Powell de Aquino, and Joe Pass. He has since released 10 records under his own name on ECM, starting with The Colours of Chloe. ECM also allowed him to collaborate with other ECM recording artists like Gary Burton (Ring 1974; Passengers 1976), Ralph Towner (1975; Solstice/Sound and Shadows 1977), Pat Metheny (1977), and Jan Garbarek (ten recordings, 1978-1998). He formed Colours in the mid-1970s with Charlie Mariano (soprano, flutes), Rainer Bruninghaus (“piano, synthesizer”), and Jon Christensen (“drums”). Christensen was fired after their first recording, Yellow Fields (1975). John Marshall replaced him. After extensive touring, the group recorded two more records, Silent Feet (1977), and Little Movements (1980), before being disbanded. Weber has been collaborating with Kate Bush since the 1980s. Weber played on four of her five last studio albums, The Dreaming, 1982, Hounds of love, 1985, The Sensual World (1989), and Aerial (2005). Weber was a member of Barbara Thompson’s jazz group Paraphernalia during the 1980s. His recording and performing activity has declined significantly since the 1990s. He has only released two recordings under his own name in 1990. His 2001 album “Endless Days”, a fusion of jazz, classical and jazz that is truly exemplary of chamber jazz, is a great example of this. He was a Jan Garbarek Group regular during this time. Stages of a Long Journey was his 2008 release. It is a live recording that he made in March 2005 to celebrate his 65th birthday. The recording features collaborations with Gary Burton and Wolfgang Dauner. ECM also released his three albums with Colours – Yellow Fields and Silent Feet in 2009 as a 3-CD collection. According to reports, Weber had suffered a stroke in June 2007 and is unable perform at the moment. Weber spoke out about his current medical condition and plans for the future in a January 2010 interview with Die Welt. Weber received the Albert Mangelsdorff–Preis in November 2009. ECM Records released a box set of Weber’s 1970’s work with Colours that same month. bio from Wikipedia

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