Rare JAZZ LP Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie, Terry Plumeri “ONGOING” 1978 Sealed

“ONGOING”

TERRY PLUMERI

JOHN ABERCROMBIE

RALPH TOWNER

MICHAEL SMITH

MARC COHEN

NATIONAL SYMPHONY 

STRING QUARTET

SEALED

SUPER RARE

12” [VINYL] LP

AIRBORNE RECORDING COMPANY

WASHINGTON, DC

?1978 

It was with great sorrow we read about the murder in Florida of this wonderful and talented musician, conductor and composer. There can be no rational explanation for the taking of Terry’s life. 

Thank you for viewing my sale for a very rare and still sealed, new old stock (NOS) copy of Terry Plumeri, “Ongoing.” This is the original vinyl record that was re-released on CD as Water Garden years later and sold very well in Japan. This LP is nearly impossible to find in brand new condition, much less still in the original shrink-wrap. Please read reviews at the bottom of this ad.

CONDITION: 

Still sealed and unplayed new old stock, preserved in my time vault storage. Both the record and the cover rate as New, with perfect corners and perhaps the very slightest of shelfwear. Please review extra-large pictures (of a representative copy) at top left, which is considered part of description. 

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PACKAGING: Our records are professionally packed in sturdy cardboard record mailers that well protect the corners & are clearly labeled FRAGILE. To date, we have not experienced damage in transit.

SHIPPING: USPS Media Mail. 

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QUESTIONS: We are happy to answer any queation you may have BEFORE placeing a bid or making a purchase!

All vinyl records are properly stored and well kept in a PET-FREE / SMOKE-FREE storage environment.

REVIEWS:

Plumeri is one of the most highly regarded young bass players in America. He is equally at home with jazz and classical bass and also performs with the National Symphony. In fact, the National Symphony String Quintet is featured on this album, along with nationally recognized guitarists John Abercrombie and Ralph Towner and Plumeri's constant local companions, drummer Mike Smith and pianist Marc Cohen. There are two things that allow "Water Garden: to rise head and shoulders above most other recent jazz offerings. The most immediate is the sterling quality of the recording (done at Bias in Falls Church), with immaculate attention paid to highs and lows and featuring a clearly empathetic mix. It is a quality equivalent to Manfred Eicher's work at ECM; Bill McElroy's engineering, already highly praised in local music circles, has never been better. The second distinctive quality in Plumeri's work is his obvious dedication to composition. With exceptions like Ellington and Mingus, most composers working in the jazz idiom do little more than delineate melodies or sets of changes, leaving the hard work to capable soloists. Plumeri is more intense and in control; he builds carefully, leaving some breathing room but always certain of his voicings and shadings, always definite in his intentions. For example, "Bornless One", the opening composition, is built upon Michael Smith's marvelously fluid and rhythmic kalimba, and African thumb piano. Behind this celebration, Plumeri and Copeland set down sparse, mostly percussive, rather than melodic, statements. In addition, Plumeri's wordless vocals, mixed way back, give the piece an eerie, ghostly effect. It is a stunning cut one that a listener is drawn back to time and time again. On several numbers, including the title cut, Plumeri accents his bowed-bass technique, eloquent in establishing a plaintive or contemplative mood. "Water Garden moves from a tightly defined structure to some spirited free playing and eventually into a straightahead jazz mode, complete with walking bass line. "Laura Rose", which could almost be a sound track, plays the ethereal acoustic guitar of Ralph Towner against John Abercrombie's electric, but unusual subtle voicings. Plumeri, both as a composer and player, never overextends his abilities or overpowers with mere technique. The constantly empathetic work of his players - all of whom obviously understand his intentions - leads to a very high level of music all around. 

   Richard Harrington - The Washington Post

With the compelling, largely free-blowing 1971 session He Who Lives In Many Places, Water Garden rights a similar wrong for Terry Plumeri, an overlooked bassist if ever there was one. Recorded five years later, Water Garden was an even more ambitious date that brought back guitarist John Abercrombie and percussionist Michael Smith, but also features enlists Ralph Towner and, in one of his earliest date, pianist Marc Copland. Plumeri's career has since occupied jazz and classical spheres both directly and in the personal nexus point between the two. Water Garden is a terrific introduction to Plumeri, whose stunning arco work elevates him above many of jazz's better-known bassists. Plumeri's fine, two-movement suite for string quartet and contrabass closes this 45-minute set on a more overtly classical note, but it's Water Garden's other five compositions that make it such an essential listen. Taking place, as it does, during the height of ECM label's groundbreaking emergence; it similarly expands the purview of jazz into previously uncharted territories. That two of Plumeri's cohorts were ECM artists (then and now) needn't suggest Water Garden would (or should) have had a home on the venerable German label, but its inherent eclecticism and boundary-busting approach would certainly possess similar appeal to its fans. Smith's kalimba lends "Bornless One" a Gamelan feel, its repetitive nature and pulse also referencing Steve Reich; but with its languid melody and Plumeri's ethereal, overdubbed singing, it's darker in tone. Copland has since emerged as a distinctive pianist with a deeply impressionistic bent; on the strength of his intro to "Ongoing," it's clear that this has been his disposition all along. Opening with Plumeri's arco soaring, fugue-like, over Abercrombie and Copland's contrapuntal parts, "Ongoing" gradually resolves into a vivid, harmonically abstruse piano solo. Abercrombie's modal workout is a highlight amongst highlights as Plumeri proves he can swing with the best of them, before dissolving into a final arco feature for the bassist, this time more lyrically poignant, as he once again ascends in lead-in to the final iteration of the song's contrapuntal core. "Gypsy" is another hard-swinging modal exercise; Copland's accompaniment nearly supplants Abercrombie's attention-grabbing solo, while Plumeri's arco is even more charismatic. It's revealing to hear the normally more reticent Copland play with such fiery intensity, before Plumeri takes a lithe solo that rivals ex-Weather Report bassist {Miroslav Vitous's strength of tone and conceptual confidence. "Laura Rose" links Water Garden's more improv-centric material with the classicism of "Two Poems for Dance." Combining string quartet with Plumeri, Smith, Abercrombie and Towner on classical guitar, the two guitarists' interaction provides an alternate perspective on their already deep chemistry, heard on their duet record, Sargasso Sea (ECM, 1976). On the strength of Water Garden, Plumeri is an artist for whom, had the stars aligned differently, greater visibility would have been assured and deserved. As it stands, this long overdue CD release of Water Garden goes some ways towards righting a three decade-old wrong. Personnel: Terry Plumeri: acoustic bass (1-5), voices (1, 4); Michael Smith: kalimba (1), percussion (1), drums (2-5); Marc Copland: piano (1-4); John Abercrombie: electric guitar (2-5); Ralph Towner: classical guitar (5); James Carter: 1st violin (5); Jacqueline Anderson: 2nd violin (5); Carlos Quinan: viola (5); Fred Zenon: violoncello (5); Richard Webster: contrabass (5-7); Miran Kojian: 1st violin (6, 7); Virginia Harpham: 2nd violin (6, 7); Richard Parnas: viola (6, 7)

   John Kelman - Allaboutjazz.com