This is a dream album for admirers of both Burton and Weber, combining as it does the former’s dulcet precision and the latter’s lush arrangements, and is therefore well worth tracking down (a CD-reissue is long overdue). Burton’s ability to carry a tune to fruition is only enhanced by Gibbs’s affected settings, which hardly make a dent in their emotional reserves. If jazz is about discovering the integrity of every lifted voice, then certainly Seven Songs rises from its murky waters with just a few of many unheard treasures. - ecmreviews
Tracks
1. Nocturne Vulgaire/Arise, Her Eyes (M. Gibbs, S. Swallow)
2. Throb (M. Gibbs)
3. By Way Of A Preface (M. Gibbs)
4. Phases (M. Gibbs)
5. The Rain Before It Falls (M. Gibbs)
6. Three (M. Gibbs)
GARY BURTON vibraharp
MICK GOODRICK guitar
STEVE SWALLOW bass
TED SEIBS drums
NDR - Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg
Michael Gibbs conductor
Recorded December 1973 in Hamburg
ECM 1040
1. Nocturne Vulgaire/Arise, Her Eyes (M. Gibbs, S. Swallow)
2. Throb (M. Gibbs)
3. By Way Of A Preface (M. Gibbs)
4. Phases (M. Gibbs)
5. The Rain Before It Falls (M. Gibbs)
6. Three (M. Gibbs)
GARY BURTON vibraharp
MICK GOODRICK guitar
STEVE SWALLOW bass
TED SEIBS drums
NDR - Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg
Michael Gibbs conductor
Recorded December 1973 in Hamburg
ECM 1040