By Josef Woodard | Published December 2021
Aside from its inherent strengths, quiet beauties and technical assurance, veteran bassist Marc Johnson’s new solo bass project assumes its place in a lofty — and necessarily deep-toned — label legacy. ECM, under the leadership of Manfred Eicher, originally a double bassist himself, has championed the rare solo bass art form, from Dave Holland’s 1978 Emerald Tears through bold recent entries from Barre Phillips, Larry Grenadier and now Johnson.
Johnson takes to the format with remarkable, fluid ease. On Overpass, recorded in Sao Paulo in 2018, the warm, real-time/real-wood physicality of ambience is enhanced by the occasional sound of Johnson’s breathing, in time with the music. He wisely paces and diversifies his palette, in repertoire, tempo and degrees of spaciousness. Touchstones from his resume appear, from his seminal work with Bill Evans, on “Nardis,” to the slinky wiles of “Samurai Fly,” a clever rework of “Samurai Hee-Haw,” from Johnson’s 1986 ECM album Bass Desires.
Johnson flexes technical firepower and invention on the uptempo opener, “Freedom Jazz Dance,” and originals “And Strike Each Tuneful String” and the aptly named “Whorled Whirled World.” His balladic sensitivity emerges on his contemplative “Yin And Yang,” and lends fresh, memorable luster to “Love Theme From Spartacus,” another Evans songbook set-piece. “Spartacus” may, in fact, be this album’s expressive apex, as Johnson artfully reworks the standard and spotlights its poignant shift from minor to major.
The population of ECM’s subcategory of important solo-based albums has grown by one.
Overpass: Freedom Jazz Dance; Nardis; Samurai Fly; Love Theme From Spartacus; Life Of Pai; And Strike Each Tuneful String; Yin And Yang; Whorled Whirled World. (43:26)
Personnel: Marc Johnson, double bass.
Ordering Info: ecmrecords.com
