An arrestingly different album from Steve Tibbetts, Zen-guitarist of Minnesota, accompanied by his musical partner of many years, percussionist Marc Anderson. 'Natural Causes', the first ECM Tibbetts disc since 'A Man About A Horse was issued eight years ago', is a primarily acoustic album, but an unconventional one. Austerity was part of the original plan, "saying more with less".
The principal instrument heard is an old Martin 12 string guitar which has a mellow, aged sound. One of the conceptual references was the playing of Indian sarangi (bowed lute) master Sultan Khan, whom Tibbetts saw in concert in the mid-90s: "Since then I have taken the singing voice-like quality of the sarangi as my example". Gamelan-inspired gong cycles, influenced by Tibbetts' travels through Indonesia, are also part of the music, with fine detail also supplied by kalimba and bouzouki. The track "Gulezian" is a tribute to another fine guitar player: it's loosely based upon Michael Gulezian's "Arcosanti".
One of the odd-men-out at ECM, Steve Tibbetts has produced almost all his own albums, painstakingly building up layers of sound for his electric guitar to fly above and dive through. In this manner some great albums have been made, including 'Big Map Idea' and 'Exploded View', but here the acoustic emphasis marks a change. Its reflective character testifies to the fact that it was recorded when Steve was re-evaluating his musical progress, studying piano and music theory. Days spent "studying Bach and Bartók from the inside" did not leave him predisposed to blasting away on electric guitar at night... but the album has its own quiet charm.
Percussionist Marc Anderson has worked with Tibbetts since 1977 and is featured on all of his ECM discs. He's played with Don Cherry, Taj Mahal, Prince, Robert Fripp and David Sylvian, made in-depth studies of African drumming, and appeared on over 150 albums, including his own as a leader.
Personnel: Steve Tibbetts (guitars, piano, kalimba, bouzouki), Marc Anderson (percussion, steel drum, gongs)