''Sargasso Sea'' is an album by American jazz guitarists John Abercrombie and

Ralph Towner Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet and French horn. Biography Towner was born i ...

, recorded in May 1976 and released on ECM later that year.ECM discography
accessed September 7, 2011

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review by Michael G. Nastos gave the album 3 stars, stating, "An uneven recording for many listeners and critics, ''Sargasso Sea'' deserves a second chance, not as an absolutely flawed, imperfect, or unbalanced effort. Like a tale of two cities, it stands as a unique project, perhaps deserving a more refined approach."Nastos, M. G
Allmusic Review
accessed September 6, 2011 ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' gave the album 3 stars, calling it, "a winsome, diffident affair on which only the timbral variation of Towner's 12-string and piano figures sustains interest... it's less than representative of Abercrombie's real strengths." ''

The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' said, "The alternately pensive and vibrant electric/acoustic interplay between these two master guitarists makes this a classic album of guitar duets."

Track listing

Personnel

* John Abercrombie – electric guitar, acoustic guitar *

–

twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 string (music), strings in six Course (music), courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lo ...

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

, piano

References

{{Authority control ECM Records albums Ralph Towner albums John Abercrombie (guitarist) albums 1976 collaborative albums Albums produced by Manfred Eicher