Homecoming

John Abercrombie & Gateway: Open Conversation at Lugano

Filmed live at the Lugano Jazz Festival, “Homecoming” captures John Abercrombie in a setting that feels open, unhurried, and deeply conversational. The outdoor atmosphere seems to infuse the trio’s interplay with a natural ease, allowing the music to breathe without technical or stylistic boundaries. Abercrombie’s signature tone—warm, round, and rich with reverb—sounds less like a guitar and more like a voice, shaped by decades of collaboration and mutual understanding with his esteemed bandmates, Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland. It is a performance that feels profoundly lived-in, where the emphasis shifts entirely away from dazzling individual technique and toward the shared, telepathic connection that defines the Gateway Trio. His playing is melodic and searching, using space and decay as much as notes to paint a sparse yet emotionally resonant picture.

This is a masterclass in modern jazz trio dynamics. Dave Holland’s bass provides an authoritative, woody foundation, yet he constantly shifts the rhythmic landscape, challenging the groove established by Jack DeJohnette, who is dynamic and textural on the drums. The performance showcases their collective strength: the ability to simultaneously anchor the composition and engage in intricate, spontaneous dialogue. On “Homecoming,” the musicians demonstrate that true virtuosity lies not just in speed or complexity, but in the maturity required to let the music unfold organically in real time. The result is a performance that embodies the high art of ECM’s aesthetic—cerebral, beautiful, and utterly compelling.

Performance Details