The striking cover image of an abandoned swing illuminated against a field of glittering stars makes a compelling visual metaphor for the music on Close. “Music is a twilight language,” Steve Tibbetts confirms. “The job is to translate some shadow into sound.”

On his 11th ECM release the Minnesotan guitarist resumes the quest, slowly developing his yearning improvised melodies over layered loops and drones and darkly rumbling percussion.

If the sound colors, including distorted electric guitar and sparkling 12 string acoustic, make this music of the west, its gradual, almost hypnotic unfolding continues to suggest eastern affinities. “I am still reaching for the evocative sound of Sultan Khan,” says Tibbetts, speaking of the late Indian sarangi master whose playing has long been among his major influences.

1. We Begin, Part 1 [1:10]
2. We Begin, Part 2 [7:44]
3. We Begin, Part 3 [3:01]
4. Away, Part 1 [04:54]
5. Away, Part 2 [00:58]
6. Away, Part 3[1:14]
7. Remember, Part 1 [9:46]
8. Remember, Part 2 [1:57]
9. Somewhere, Part 1 [00:35]
10. Somewhere, Part 2 [00:52]
11. Somewhere, Part 3 [6:26]
12. Anywhere [1:19]
13. Everywhere, Part 1 [1:00]
14. Everywhere, Part 2 [1:21]
15. Everywhere, Part 3 [00:44]
16. Everywhere, Part 4 [7:07]
17. Everywhere, Part 5 [1:15]
18. Remember and [2:38]
19. Remember and Wish [3:51]
20. We End [1:33]

Recorded between 2021-2024 in St. Paul, Minnesota, the album opens on the haunting We Begin, Part 1, the organic Part 2 and the stoic Part 3, and then we are gifted the atmospheric Away, Part 1, the effective Part 2 and the resplendent Part 3, and they are backed by a stillness that surges within Remember, Part 1 and the veritably crystalline nature of Part 2.

Along next is the lucid Somewhere, Part 1, the tactile Part 2 and the strident fare of Part 3, which is followed seamlessly by the emotive Anywhere, then we get the quintet of Everywhere: which opens on the glistening Part 1 and the soulful Part 2 and then comes the ethereal Part 3, the confident Part 4 and a quietly sweeping Part 5, the new set closing on the elegance of Remember and, the comfortable ambiance of Remember and Wish and the effervescent, yet willingly so We End.

Official Purchase Link

www.stevetibbetts.com