Bill Bruford's Earthworks | |
|---|---|
| Origin | England |
| Genres | Jazz fusion |
| Years active | 1986–2009 |
| Labels | E.G., Discipline Global Mobile, Summerfold |
| Past members | List of past members |
Bill Bruford's Earthworks were a British jazz band led by drummer Bill Bruford. The band recorded several albums for Editions EG, Discipline Global Mobile and Summerfold Records.
Earthworks went through several line-ups: in addition to the band's accomplishments as a unit, Earthworks was a training ground for Django Bates, Iain Ballamy, Patrick Clahar, Mark Hodgson, Steve Hamilton and Gwilym Simcock. The final band line-up featured previously established jazz musicians in the form of Chick Corea sideman Tim Garland and veteran bass player Laurence Cottle. In interviews during the band's earlier years, Bruford sometimes compared his responsibilities within it as being similar to those of Art Blakey with the Jazz Messengers, in that he was providing an environment for young British jazz players to gain attention and experience before going on to become well-known players and bandleaders in their own right.
The initial version of Earthworks strongly stressed an acoustic/electronic jazz fusion style, balancing Bruford's electronic Simmons drums (frequently used for melodic or chordal parts) and Bates' synthesizer work against the traditional acoustic elements of Ballamy's saxophones and Bates' tenor horn. Although the band's initial formation featured double bass, the band subsequently used electric bass guitar until 1993. From 1998 onwards, Earthworks was predominantly an acoustic band, with double bass and piano rather than electric instruments and with Bruford returning to an acoustic drumkit. The band was formally disbanded in January 2009 when Bruford decided to retire.
History
Background
A professional musician since 1968, Bill Bruford had originally been a drum superstar in the British progressive rock movement. Initially becoming famous with the band Yes (with whom he spent five years), he recorded the landmark albums Fragile and Close To The Edge before quitting the band in 1972 on the verge of huge financial success. He went on to join King Crimson, with whom he cut several albums culminating in 1974's Red. By the late 1970s Bruford had also put in stints with Genesis, Gong, Roy Harper, National Health and U.K.
Bruford's drumming style and musical outlook had always strongly and sincerely referenced jazz. He began to explore this area more formally in Bruford, the jazz-rock fusion band he led between 1977 and 1980 and which (among others) featured future fusion superstars Allan Holdsworth and Jeff Berlin, as well as National Health keyboardist Dave Stewart. By 1984 (and while coming off the end of a four-year King Crimson reunion) Bruford's interest in playing jazz had been revived by his improvising piano-and-drums partnership with Patrick Moraz. By now a firm advocate and endorser of the Simmons electronic drumkit, Bruford began to explore how this instrument could be introduced into a creative jazz context.
Earthworks mark 1 (1986-1993)
Foundation (1986)
Bruford initially established Earthworks in 1986 as The Bill Bruford Quartet with a line-up of himself on acoustic and Simmons drums, Django Bates on keyboards, tenor horn and trumpet, Iain Ballamy on saxophone and Mick Hutton on double bass. Both Ballamy and Bates were continuing members of the legendary British big band Loose Tubes, while Hutton had previously collaborated with Bates in the latter's band Humans (later Human Chain) and was also playing with both Ballamy and Bates in the quartet First House (led by alto saxophonist Ken Stubbs). In 1986, all three had been playing together in a putative Ballamy-led band when Bruford got in touch. Ballamy would comment in 2003 that Bruford had in effect joined Ballamy's band rather than setting up his own from scratch, although admitting