Bill Bruford's Earthworks - Footloose and Fancy Free

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Anyone know this? It's startlingly good, relatively straight (not even all that fusion-y) jazz (pno, sax, bass, drums) with a lot of angular rhythmic things like time changes (which may be the only prog connection) but really solid playing and writing, really pretty and grooving.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Sunday, 23 November 2003 18:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Have not heard it but saw them live a couple of times and they were excellent. More compositional than a lot of jazz but still jazz, not prog/fusion as you say. More impressed with Bruford's drumming than I expected to be, very authoritative and precise as you'd expect but lots of subtlety as well.

― ArfArf, Sunday, 23 November 2003 19:50 (twenty-two years ago)

get his 70's band 'Bruford' ! its great/funny/funky

― Pablo Cruise (chaki), Sunday, 23 November 2003 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Footloose and Fancy Free - such an appropriate title for an album by a drummer who lacks any ability to keep a solid tempo.

― bahtology, Sunday, 23 November 2003 21:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Good god -- a criticism of Bruford as unable to "keep a solid tempo"? This guy is a phenomenal drummer, and he's fortunate enough to play with musicians who don't need a metronomic backbeat with the snare on two and four in order to play their music. The idea of drummer as "timekeeper" went out in jazz in the '50's , and even though rock (and, I guess, country) have perpetuated the idea that the drummer is a glorified click track who's permitted to proffer a fill at the end of a verse, it's a pretty circumscribed conception of what a drummer is and/or is supposed to do.

If you don't like his style or choice of collaborators, fair enough, but his rhythmic sense is beyond reproach. And I'm not a prog apologist -- I thought that he was just a talented rock drummer until i saw him live with his band doing "Max Roach's "The Drum Also Waltzes", which requires the drummer to keep a different rhythm with each foot and play a counter-rhythm on snare and toms.

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Sunday, 23 November 2003 22:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Have you even heard this album, bahthology? I don't even know where you're coming from. Where does his tempo slip?

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Sunday, 23 November 2003 23:15 (twenty-two years ago)

I willingly admit complete ignorance to this particular album. I was only commenting on the title in relation to his past offenses.

My opinion here counts for nothing, but I thought that Bruford sounded like an amateur back in the seventies with Yes and Crimson. Definite chops to spare, and obviously he can cut it in the pseudo-jazz style that he presently adheres to. But he is woefully lacking in regard to the basics and neccessities of drumming in the modern age.
He did a decent enough job with the eighties KC lineup and was extremely experimental in his application of tuned percussion and electronics. But the guy really can not or, more likely, does not bother to keep a consistent tempo through a song. He utterly lacks any sense of groove and is unwilling to perform in a professional manner when it comes to giving the song what is required.
Fripp concurred with my opinion when I first spoke with him in 92. He told me that he planned to never work with Bruford again, but then relented to the good natured prodding of the other musicians that he needed to reform Crimson, Adrian Belew and Tony Levin. But the condition was that he could return only if there were another drummer to perform the professional duty of being able to keep solid timekeeping (Pat Mastelotto).

― bahtology, Monday, 24 November 2003 03:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Robert Fripp is a douche bag

― Pablo Cruise (chaki), Monday, 24 November 2003 05:23 (twenty-two years ago)

five years pass...

bruford's autobiography coming out soon, supposed to be funny from what i hear

― velko, Thursday, 19 March 2009 04:23 (seventeen years ago)

It's out -- got my copy at a bigger (US) Borders store a couple weeks ago, so the usual sources should have it. Haven't started it yet.

― Jeff Wright, Thursday, 19 March 2009 16:26 (seventeen years ago)

i haven't listened to it in years but i loved this particular album.

― i'm grand like auto theft 3 (Jordan), Thursday, 19 March 2009 16:37 (seventeen years ago)

one year passes...

Bill will be at the Guitar Center on 14th st in NY this week. Screening his documentary or something. Not sure if he will be playing live.

― calstars, Friday, 26 November 2010 18:46 (fifteen years ago)

twelve years pass...

Saw this on the John Wetton thread, thought it deserved to be posted on a Bruford-titled thread:

https://www.loudersound.com/news/bill-bruford-surprises-fans-with-live-performance-at-john-wetton-tribute-show

Really surprised by this. Bruford wisely retired at the age when one’s drumming abilities are only in decline. I wonder how well he was able to pound the tubs this time at the age of 74.

― Melomane, Sunday, 6 August 2023 20:12 (two years ago)

Unless he's suffering from real physical degeneration, playing "Let's Stick Together" for a few minutes shouldn't tax his abilities.

― Halfway there but for you, Sunday, 6 August 2023 21:23 (two years ago)

I'd be more worried about him trying to spontaneously play "Close to the Edge" or "Fracture".

― Halfway there but for you, Sunday, 6 August 2023 21:25 (two years ago)

That is surprising! He always says he doesn't play/practice anymore and has no desire to, but this is a simple rock song among friends, so I'm sure it would be no big deal if he was feeling the spirit.

― Random Restaurateur (Jordan), Sunday, 6 August 2023 21:40 (two years ago)

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