BILL CONNORS
Jazz Rock/Fusion • United States
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Born 1949-09-24 in Los Angeles, USA
Bill Connors is known in fusion circles primarily for being the guitarist with RETURN TO FOREVER on their groundbreaking "Hymn Of The Seventh Galaxy" album in 1973. While that was his breakthrough into the jazz and fusion recording industry, he quit the band after the single album and tour, due to creative differences.
Since then, he has gone on to a successful solo career, as well as sitting in with other jazz giants, such as Stanley Clarke, Jan Garbarek and Paul Bley. In recent years, he has even performed again with the revived RETURN TO FOREVER.
See also: ECM page
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BILL CONNORS discography
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BILL CONNORS top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
4.07 | 6 ratings
Theme To The Gaurdian 1975 |
4.00 | 5 ratings
Of Mist And Melting 1978 |
3.16 | 6 ratings
Swimming With A Hole In My Body 1980 |
4.00 | 6 ratings
Step It 1984 |
4.00 | 5 ratings
Double Up 1986 |
3.97 | 7 ratings
Assembler 1987 |
3.88 | 5 ratings
Return 2004 |
BILL CONNORS Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
BILL CONNORS Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)
BILL CONNORS Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
BILL CONNORS Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)
BILL CONNORS Reviews
Showing last 10 reviews only
Bill Connors Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
Matti
Prog Reviewer
I'm continuing my expedition with less reviewed jazz/fusion artists in our database. American jazz guitarist BILL CONNORS (b. 1949) played on just one [ Chick Corea's ] RETURN TO FOREVER album, Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (1973), before going his own way and Al Di Meola becoming RTF's guitarist. Debuting in the legendary ECM label with Theme to the Gaurdian (1975), he made a bunch of albums in the seventies and the eighties, up to Assembler (1987). Then a long break. Aptly titled Return (2004) is still his latest album. It seems he never quite received the status he definitely would have deserved, and that's underlined by the fact he's still usually referred as a one-timer Return To Forever member.
This music is very much the kind of jazz/fusion that I wholeheartedly enjoy. The guitar is sonically comparable to PAT METHENY, my fave jazz artist, and other instruments of the quintet playing on this album are acoustic piano, bass, drums and percussion. The co-musicians are no familiar names to me, but I really enjoy their fresh and mellow sound. Bill O'Connell's elegant piano fits brilliantly together with the guitar and is very equal with it, too.
Pieces such as 'On the Edge' and 'Mind Over Matter' are very charming compositions full of life. The virtuosity never becomes self-indulgent, not even in the most complex and fast moments, there's always the fluent flow in music. In the beginning of 'Mr. Cool' Lincoln Goines on bass gets the spotlight. The slightly slower piece 'McMinor' brings valuable variety in the mood, although it could have been more openly romantic. After nine pieces composed by Bill Connors the album is closed by a mellow, beautiful version of John Coltrane's 'Brasilia'.
Return is a finely written, played and produced, post-bop oriented jazz album very easy to enjoy if you like e.g. Pat Metheny. There may not be absolute superb highlights that really move you emotionally, but no weak or boring moments either. A perfect balance between melodic mellowness and energetic vitality and virtuosity. In a word: excellent!
Bill Connors Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by JazzFusionGuy
Bill Connors Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by JazzFusionGuy
Bill Connors Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
"A Pedal" opens with bass and drums as we get some atmosphere. I like this a lot. The bass and drumming really impress. The guitar starts to solo after 2 minutes then a calm with bass leading. Another guitar solo before 5 minutes and again the drumming is outstanding but then so is the bass and guitar. Players! "Step It" has some surprisingly heavy guitar as the drums and bass support. The guitar turn clean and man the drumming really blows me away on this one. There's some other good tunes like "Twinkle" with that long guitar solo or that high pitched tone to the guitar on "Titan" early on as the bass and drums crush it as usual. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I like this album and it's 1984!
Bill Connors Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
Bill Connors Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
Evolver
Special Collaborator Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams
His sound here is somewhere between Pat Metheny (just about every fusion guitarist at that time had to try to imitate his sound) and Allan Holdsworth (Connors' fluidity and ability to solo around the most complex chord patterns always bring him to mind). Bassist Tom Kennedy (later known for his work with Planet X) simply astounds with some of his crisp bass lines. And drummer Dave Weckl is always workmanlike whenever I've heard him.
So this is another worthy fusion album from this Return To Forever alumnus.
Bill Connors Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
Evolver
Special Collaborator Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams
The trio plays exceptional high energy fusion, mostly improvised around Connors' loose compositions. And it's the looseness, or lack of many composed sections that is this albums only real drawback. Because there is so much improvisation, and so little melodic sections, the album tends to have a sameness from start to finish. But at only 35 minutes, it's not much of a drawback, as the listener doesn't tire of the sounds, as the performances are so good.
Bill Connors Jazz Rock/Fusion
Review by
Evolver
Special Collaborator Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams
The Holdsworth references aside, this is a pretty good album. The bass and drum playing is sharp all the way through, and the music has lots of twists and turns, keeping it interesting throughout.
My only complaint is that all of the songs are mostly jamming. There seems to be very little of the band playing written parts, just solos over the complex chord progressions.
Still, 4 stars.