EBER HARD WEBER

Rip It Up, Issue 41, 1 December 1980, Page 4

EBER HARD WEBER

Duncan Campbell

Those who thrilled to the sound of Sam Rivers earlier this year will be eagerly awaiting the appearance here in the new year by West Germany’s Eberhard Weber. The tour is organised by Muchmore Associates with assitance from the West Germany based cultural foundation, the Goethe Institute.

Now 40 years old, Weber was born in Stuttgart, the son of a music teacher. His first instrument was the cello, but he switched to bass in his teens after becoming interested in jazz. He played in school dance bands and in local jazz groups, at weddings and parties. Weber's first major jazz gig was in a trio with pianist Wolfgang Dauner in the early 60’s. The trio recorded several albums for CBS. During the day, Weber worked as a commercial film maker and television writer, finally giving these up to devote himself to music. After leaving the Dauner trio in 1968, Weber worked with vibraphonist Dave Pike, and in the group Spectrum with guitarist Volker Kriegel and pianist Rainer Bruninghaus. He also did extensive session work, with the likes of Baden Powell, Hampton Hawes, Lucky Thompson and Mai Waldron. In later years, he played with Jean-Luc Ponty and Chick Corea. But he was rapidly getting sick of just holding down the backbeat,. or being “the rhythm slave”, as he calls it. He accepted an offer from ECM’s Manfred Eicher to record an album for the label. The result was the serenely beautiful Colours Of Chloe. which freed not only Weber personally from the established constrictions of bass playing, but gave the instrument itself a whole new means of expression. Weber found the double bass a limited instrument, and so designed his own, now commonly referred to as an ‘electrobass.' He used

an old Italian bass he found in an antique shop, remodelling it and fitting special electric pickups. The result is a peculiar five-stringed instrument, the same length as a double bass, but with a tiny sound box that is free of resonance. Weber says the sound is much cleaner and sharper than a standard electric bass. “I utilise the higher register more necessarily, because I compose my tunes considering the bassist as a melody player,” he explains. “Also, this is maybe one of my specialties to lead a band while playing. With a bass, you can't lead a band with just playing low notes; if you are not able to make really strong, high notes, with a kind of melody function, you cannot lead from your instrument. “When I play music with my band, I wouldn't consider myself as a conventional bass player. I would consider me as an instrumentalist, with a bass function sometimes, with a melody function sometimes whatever.” Weber has recorded three albums under his name for ECM, plus two each with Gary Burton and Ralph Towner, and one with Pat Metheny. His band, Colours, comprises Bruninghaus on piano and synthesiser, saxophonist Charlie Mariano and ex-Soft Machine drummer John Marshall. Don’t let Weber hear you refer to him as a jazz musician. The name in itself imposes limitations in people's minds. Weber doesn’t acknowledge limitations beyond his selfdiscipline, and expects the same of his audiences. “I don't care about these labels," he says. I’m simply making music music that I like.”