Colours

From 1975 to 1981, the German bassist and composer Eberhard Weber led a quartet, Colours, which created a brand of classically tinged Euro-jazz that was highly melodic, harmonically rich, and rhythmically flexible. This set includes three albums: *Yellow Fields* (originally released in 1976), *Silent Feet* (1978), and *Little Movements* (1980). Weber, keyboardist Rainer Bruninghaus, and saxophonist Charlie Mariano appear on all three discs; Jon Christensen is the drummer on *Yellow Fields*, and ex-Soft Machine member John Marshall drums on the other two releases. Weber, who uses a customized 5-string electro-acoustic instrument, has a highly distinctive sound, and his bass lines are consistently inventive. Mariano, an American who played with Charlie Mingus and Stan Kenton, is best known as an alto player, but here he mostly sticks to soprano. (He also plays flute, and two Indian double-reed instruments, shenai and nagaswaram.) Bruninghaus is equally tasteful on electric keyboards and piano, and both drummers can drive the band or paint delicate textures. An excellent collection.