Earthworks (album)
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| Earthworks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 16 March 1987[1] | |||
| Recorded | October 1986 | |||
| Studio | Terminal 24 Studios, London, England | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 43:55 | |||
| Label | EG | |||
| Producer | Dave Stewart, Bill Bruford | |||
| Bill Bruford's Earthworks chronology | ||||
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Earthworks is the first album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, a jazz fusion band led by drummer Bill Bruford with keyboardist and trumpeter Django Bates, saxophonist Iain Ballamy, and acoustic bassist Mick Hutton.[2] It was released in 1987 on EG Records and reissued on Summerforld in 2005. The album was co-produced by Bruford's former bandmate Dave Stewart.[2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [4] |
| Moving the River |   [5] |
At AllMusic, critic Chris Kelsey gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five.[3] He wrote, "The best thing about this band is its refreshing ingenuousness; they make intelligent, sophisticated instrumental pop music that doesn't pander in the least."[3]
Writing for All About Jazz, John Kelman noted that "Bruford's attraction to the juncture of strict form and freer improvisation, took a giant leap forward with Earthworks," and commented that the group "was unquestionably an improvising band; more than just a soloist playing over a fixed rhythm section, Earthworks has always been a looser affair, as much about interplay as adhering to any compositional form."[6]
A reviewer for Moving the River wrote: "Some musicians have a unique touch – you can identify them within a few notes. In Bill Bruford's case, his snare drum is his main audio imprint. But he also always had a highly-original composing style before his retirement in 2009, and both are very much in evidence on the excellent Earthworks album."[5]
