Miroslav Vitous Returns with First ECM Album as Leader in a Decade, “Mountain Call”
Miroslav Vitous has returned with his first ECM album as a leader in a decade. Mountain Call features the bassist, known for founding the fusion band Weather Report, in varying ensemble configurations for a work that the label calls an artist self-portrait.
“It persuasively brings together several tendencies and streams in his work, and bears testimony to his multiple skills as dynamic improviser, jazz composer, arranger and creative sampling pioneer,” a press release states. “The flow of the album balances in-the-moment improvisation with sequences in which studio technology is harnessed to shape new settings for the players.”
A bulk of the album features Vitous’s double bass paired with two masters who have since passed on: French clarinetist Michel Portal and American drummer Jack DeJohnette. His history with DeJohnette goes back to the late ’70s, when they each came to ECM in a trio with Terje Rypdal. The chemistry is still there on Mountain Call and serves as the center of music.
Other guests include Bob Mintzer, Gary Campbell, Gerald Cleaver, and Esperanza Spalding, who uses her voice rather than her bass on the five-part suite, “Rhapsody.”
Hear Vitous, Spalding, Campbell, and Cleaver on “Rhapsody: Fun & Games”:
Mountain Call is out now on CD, vinyl and as a digital download (Apple Music, and Amazon Music).
Mountain Call Track List:
- New Energy
- Second Touch
- On the Way
- Unexpected Solutions
- Tribal Dance
- Rehearsal in Theatre
- Discussion
- Epilog
- Delusion
- Evolution: Path Begins
- Evolution: Nature Opening
- Evolution: Fulfillment
- Rhapsody: In You
- Rhapsody: Fun & Games
- Rhapsody: Africa
- Rhapsody: In Me
- Rhapsody: Lullaby
- Mountain Call
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
