New Film Documents Putnam Valley Guitarist John Abercrombie

It’s been just over a year since we lost the amazing John Abercormbie. The highly influential Putnam Valley jazz guitarist, who was well known to fans for his solo music as well as the music he made for the ECM label with Jan Hammer and Hudson Valley locals Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland. Recently, ECM released Open Land: Meeting John Abercrombie, a superb documentary about the late musician on DVD.

With a wistful, moody feel that mirror’s Abercrombie’s musical approach, Open Land (named for the guitarist’s 1999 album for the label) is a dream-like, 90-minute portrait of the late master. Produced by Arno Oehri and Oliver Primus, the film follows Abercrombie as he performs on tour; records with fellow area players Rob Scheps, Eliot Zigmund, and David Kingworth; mentors students at SUNY Purchase; and speaks about his life and music.

Here’s the trailer:

Open Land: Meeting John Abercrombie is out now on ECM Records and available at Amazon.com and other outlets. For more information, visit https://www.ecmrecords.com/home.

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