Class Trip (album)

Class Trip
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 26, 2004
RecordedFebruary 2003
StudioAvatar, New York City
GenreJazz
Length71:56
LabelECM
ECM 1846
ProducerManfred Eicher
John Abercrombie chronology
Cat 'n' Mouse
(2002)
Class Trip
(2004)
Structures
(2006)

Class Trip is an album by American jazz guitarist John Abercrombie recorded in February 2003 and released by ECM on April 26th, 2004. The quartet features violinist Mark Feldman and rhythm section Marc Johnson and Joey Baron.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz[2]
AllMusic[3]
The Guardian[4]
Penguin Guide to Jazz[5]

John Kelman of All About Jazz commented, "His latest quartet release, Class Trip, delivers on that promise with an album that raises the bar even further, and never fails to make the leap."[2]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "Class Trip is quiet, thoughtful and about as remote from the current axis of American jazz guitar."[5]

The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states:

On Class Trip, the bandmembers come together fully and build on that concept with such beauty and grace that they sound as if they've been playing together all their lives. The sheer subtle intuition that guides these proceedings is breathtaking.... This band is concerned only with the articulation and expression of a musicality that lies not in the obviousness of its contributors' considerable musical gifts as jazz improvisers, but in the sheer nuanced elegance of an ensemble whose blurring of traditions under the rubric of improvisation makes the group not only compelling but brilliant. Abercrombie's compositions for this band are the most adventurous and graceful of his long career; as a unit, the quartet is a band without peers that plays a music whose challenge is only eclipsed by its accessibility and singular language.[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Abercrombie, except as noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dansir" 9:31
2."Risky Business" 7:38
3."Descending Grace" 8:56
4."Illinoise"
  • Abercrombie
  • Baron
  • Feldman
  • Johnson
5:35
5."Cat Walk" 7:55
6."Excuse My Shoes" 8:28
7."Swirls" 6:06
8."Jack and Betty" 3:39
9."Class Trip" 7:29
10."Soldier's Song"Béla Bartók3:02
11."Epilogue"
  • Abercrombie
  • Baron
  • Feldman
  • Johnson
3:37

Personnel

References

  1. ^ ECM discography Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine accessed October 25, 2011
  2. ^ a b Kelman, John (April 24, 2004). "John Abercrombie: Class Trip album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed October 25, 2011
  4. ^ Fordham, John (30 April 2004). "CD: John Abercrombie, Class Trip". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). London: Penguin. pp. 4. ISBN 978-0-141-02327-4.