Bill Bruford is likely best known for his drumming skills with King Crimson and Yes. Both of which were cutting edge Prog Rock bands. However his true love is Jazz. Earthworks is one of the best modern Jazz ensembles around. Earthworks consists of Bill Bruford on drums, and a very large assortment of other musicians that seem to come and go as the mood takes them. The DVD covers live performances in 2001, 2002, and 2005. The one mainstay and co-writer that shares the Earthworks ethos is Steve Hamilton on Piano. His playing style is unique, you could spot it a mile off even if you are tone deaf.
By its very nature, Jazz is a music form that creates fluidity both in the music and the performers. It is great to see Bill Bruford work with so many different line ups and create so many varied sounds.
As a composer Bill has found his perfect place, he has a real talent in the Jazz world. Many people think of a drummer as ‘just the guy that keeps rhythm’, Bill is far more than that, and if you take this DVD out for a test drive you will agree.
Bill Bruford’s Earthworks – Video Anthology is available from MVD.
Simon Barrett
2 users commented in " DVD Review: Bill Bruford’s Earthworks – Video Anthology "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI’ve now watched over 40 minutes of this and seen Bill’s drumming about 3 minutes. Who the hell edits this stuff…HELLO, IT’S A BILL BRUFORD ANTHOLOGY. Well, to my valued drumming brethren, if you like to see constant up-close shots of the sax and trumpet players straining the blood out of their cheeks, then this DVD is for you. Even sax players won’t be able to see much fingering/technique etc. What a shame. In this one Bill is using such a cool set-up too. I’m not kidding…you won’t see his playing at all basically. I have an Elvin Jones vhs that is the same way…guess the title: yep, ELVIN JONES: ANTHOLOGY. That one mostly shows narrowly cued facials of the bassist. Wow.
Bill Bruford and Elvin Jones are the 2 most original drummers to date, imho. Thank you both. Are there ‘BILL-CAM’ outtakes on the cutting room floor somewhere? Now THAT would be fitting. I should add, there IS a drum solo that smokes on this compilation btw.
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