2015 · Album
Hommage à Eberhard Weber
Recorded 2015, Stuttgart (SWR) · ECM · Produced by Not specified in provided sources
A Room Full of Respect for Weber
Weber watched from the audience, moved by what his music had become in others' hands.
In 2015, the SWR brought together a room of musicians who had spent decades engaging with Eberhard Weber's music—Pat Metheny, Jan Garbarek, Gary Burton, Scott Colley, Danny Gottlieb, Paul McCandless—along with the SWR Big Band, arranged by Michael Gibbs and Helge Sunde. The session was structured around Weber's compositions drawn from across his entire career, each piece reimagined for the ensemble and guest soloists. What made this different from standard tribute territory was the presence of Weber himself, seated in the audience, experiencing his own work refracted through the ears of musicians he'd influenced. He wasn't conducting or steering; he was witnessing.
AllMusic reviewer Thom Jurek heard something rare in the recording: an exception to the by-the-numbers tribute formula, one that felt like a genuine creative extension of Weber's world rather than an exercise in reverence. The session also captured something unusual for a live recording—archival video of Weber himself projected on a screen above the stage, so audiences could see him perform while the ensemble interpreted his legacy around him. It's a clever bit of production that acknowledges Weber as both subject and presence.
This isn't a peak performance in Burton's discography or a landmark moment in jazz history. It's a solid, well-executed evening that works because the musicians involved actually knew the material and respected it enough to reshape it. The fact that Weber left moved rather than merely pleased suggests the arrangers and soloists found something genuine to say about his compositions.
Who's playing
Scott Colleydouble bass
Decebal Badilabass
Pat Methenyguitar
Klaus-Peter Schöpferguitar
Jan Garbareksolo, soprano saxophone
Ian Cummingtrombone
Marc Godfroidtrombone
Danny Gottliebdrums, solo
Where next?
More by Gary Burton
All 42 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
