On January 18, 2026, Ralph Towner died aged 85. He was musician (guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet, and French horn), composer, arranger and bandleader. He was member of the bands Paul Winter Consort, Atmosphere, but was best known as founding member of Oregon. Towner has performed and recorded with Azimuth, Bill Bruford, Salvatore Bonafede, Horace Arnold, Jerry Granelli, Vince Mendoza, Maria Pia De Vito, Gary Burton, Larry Coryell, Pino Daniele, Cyrus Faryar, Robben Ford, David Friesen, Jan Garbarek, Charlie Haden, Egberto Gismonti, Gerri Granger, Trilok Gurtu, Tim Hardin, Keith Jarrett, Maria Joao, Joseph LoDuca, Andy Middleton, Duke Pearson, Terry Plumeri, Michael Portal, Kenny Wheeler and Weather Report. As leader he released 27 albums.
Tag Archives: David Friesen
Ted Curson: Jubilant Power
In December 1976, “Inner City” label released “Jubilant Power”, the eleventh Ted Curson album. It was recorded in October 1976, the live recordings were made at “Rittenhouse Square” in Philadelphia and the studio recordings were made at “Downtown Sound Studio” in New York City, and was produced by Irv Kratka.
Personnel:
- Ted Curson – trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, cowbells
- Chris Woods – flute, alto saxophone
- Nick Brignola – baritone saxophone, saxello
- Andy LaVerne – piano
- Jim McNeely – piano
- David Friesen – bass
- Steve McCall -drums
- Bob Merigliano – drums
- Sam Jacobs – congas
Track listing:
All tracks by Ted Curson.
- Reava’s Waltz
- Ted’s Tempo
- Song of the Lonely
- Airi’s Tune
- Searchin’ for the Blues
- Marjo
Joe Henderson: Black Narcissus
In January 1976, “Milestone” label released “Black Narcissus”, the 20th Joe Henderson album. It was recorded in October 1974, at “Studios Europa Sonor” in Paris, April 1975, at “Fantasy Studios” in Berkeley, California, and was produced by Orrin Keepnews and Joe Henderson.
Personnel:
- Joe Henderson – tenor sax
- Joachim Kühn – piano
- Patrick Gleeson – synthesizer, arranger
- David Friesen – bass
- Jean-François Jenny-Clark – bass
- Daniel Humair – drums, cover painting
- Jack DeJohnette – drums
- Bill Summers – congas, percussion
- Bruce Walford – engineer
- Claude Martenot – engineer
- Neil Schwartz – engineer
- Seth Dworkin – engineer
- Skip Shimmin – engineer
- David Turner – mastering
- Lance Anderson – design
Track listing:
All tracks by Joe Henderson, except where noted.
- Black Narcissus
- Hindsight and Forethought
- Power to the People
- Amoeba
- Good Morning Heartache – Irene Higginbotham, Ervin Drake, Dan Fisher
- The Other Side of Right
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