Jazz pioneer to provide unique blend

It's easy to think of such a musical innovator as John Abercrombie in the role of the iconoclast, breaking rules with radical abandon. While it is true that he sometimes does (he was one of the first jazz guitarists to use rock sounds and techniques), he also sees himself as a torchbearer. \n"Carrying the tradition of jazz guitar from Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt to the present day is a very important aspect of my music," Abercrombie said in a press release. Keeping sight of the guitar's history while pushing the envelope in his own compositions has always been a priority for Abercrombie, as shown by his innovative recordings.\nJazz aficionados in Bloomington will get a chance to hear this unique blend of old and new when the John Abercrombie Quartet plays tonight at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. with opening band Freesome.\nThe 56-year-old guitarist came on the international scene in the early 1970s as a member of such seminal groups as the Gil Evans band and Billy Cobham's Mahavishnu Orchestra. With Cobham's ensemble, Abercrombie opened for rock groups such as the Doobie Brothers in arenas many times the size of the small urban clubs in which he started his career.\n"One night we appeared at the Spectrum in Philadelphia," he said. "I thought, 'What am I doing here?'"\nA few years later, Abercrombie began his association with ECM Records, the German-based company known for its distinctive musical amalgam of acoustic and electric jazz, European folk music and Asian/Indian influences. Since the mid-1970s, he has recorded more than two dozen albums for ECM with drummer Jack DeJohnette, including "Timeless" and "Gateway."\nKevin Beauchamp, information services manager for Classical Film and Music, where advance tickets to the concert are available, said local interest in Abercrombie's music has picked up in recent weeks.\n"Every time you have an artist come to town, people tend to take notice, and that's reflected in our sales," he said. "Abercrombie has been around for a long time, so he's an established player who is bound to create a buzz. We've sold a lot of tickets so far; I think this is going to be a big event."\nAbercrombie's latest release, Open Land, represents another dichotomy. It is a step forward for the guitarist in that it contains his most diverse range of material, but is also a return to working with two longtime collaborators and friends, tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler. They are joined by violinist Mark Feldman, organist Dan Wall and drummer Adam Nussbaum.\n"Joe has such a warm, wet sound on the tenor," Abercrombie said. "I knew it could blend really well with the organ."\nWhile all of the songs on Open Land are original compositions, "Just In Tune" is an older piece not written specifically for the album. "It's one I've had for a while," the guitarist said. "It sounds perhaps more like a standard than the other tunes -- a pretty song."\nThe rest of the material ranges from a delicate ballad named after one of Abercrombie's cats ("Spring Song") to the western-tinged "That's For Sure," which he tried out at a Washington gig.\n"It is what it is, which is a little oddball," he said. "There's a bar of six/four that recurs and gives it just a little twist, makes it a little off-center. The overall feel is like a country jam session."\nBloomington is one stop on the guitarist's tour in support of Open Land. His manager and booking agent, Mitch Goldfeld of MAGI Productions, said it will be a fairly short string of dates in intimate venues.\n"John will be playing mostly smaller theaters and university auditoriums, 500 to 700-seat halls that can provide more of a club-like setting," he said. "It's a 10-day tour of the Midwest and Albuquerque and will focus mainly on college towns. John will also be doing a few clinics"