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Eberhard Weber
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Eberhard Weber is a German double bassist and composer, born in 1940 in Stuttgart. His father was a music teacher, so he received a classical training from an early age. He began on the cello at six and at sixteen, at secondary school, he took up the double bass, because his music teacher was looking for someone to play bass and he volunteered. At the amateur jazz festival in Düsseldorf he met the pianist Wolfgang Dauner, with whom he collaborated for years, from mainstream jazz to jazz rock and avant-garde experiments.
Music and breakthrough
Weber began recording in the early 1960s. His first record under his own name, The Colours of Chloë, was released in 1973 on ECM. Thirteen albums under his own name followed, all on ECM. He also played in Spectrum with Dave Pike and Volker Kriegel, but left the group because he found its direction too rock-oriented. He was one of the first to use the solid-body electric upright bass, to which he added a fifth string. At ECM he worked with Gary Burton, Ralph Towner, Pat Metheny and Jan Garbarek, with whom he made ten recordings between 1978 and 1998. Alongside his music he worked for years as a television and theatre director.
Influence
Weber's compositions combine chamber jazz, European classical music, minimalism and ambient, and are regarded as typical of the ECM sound. His bass has a recognisable tone and phrasing, often singing and with a great deal of space. He showed that the bass can also be a leading melodic voice.
Listening
The Colours of Chloë · Eberhard Weber, 1973
Discography
Studio albums
- 1969Wolfgang Dauner – Eberhard Weber – Jürgen Karg – Fred Braceful
- 1971The Call
- 1974Ring
- 1974The Colours of Chloë
- 1976Islands
- 1976Yellow Fields
- 1977Passengers
- 1977The Following Morning
- 1979Fluid Rustle
- 1982Later That Evening
- 1982Paths, Prints
- 1983Reflections
- 1985Chorus
- 1988Orchestra
- 1993Pendulum
- 2001Endless Days
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- After Hours: Session 3NL Reader
Mentioned in other articles
- ECM sound Genre
European musicians such as the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek and the German bassist Eberhard Weber appeared on ECM, but also Americans such as Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny.