The 56 year old guitarist Abercrombie was a major star of the 1970s and 1980s whose adventuress playing and open minded approach signified much of what was intriguing about Jazz Fusion at its beginnings. Abercrombie worked as a sideman for a number of diverse artists in the late 1960s including blues singer John Hammond, Jr, and pianist Chico Hamilton, before setting out on his own. His playing ranges from Hard Bop, to burning Fusion, to an almost ambient chamber jazz sound that is indicative of a lot of his work for the influential ECM label. He has influenced numerous younger players from Leni Stern to Bill Frisell.
