​​"Ximo is experimental, progressive and open to interesting revolutionary ideas." ​

Review CD "Eclipse" By Dick Crockett: Host of "Still Another Jazz Show"​



Eclipse is one of the Valencian guitarist’s most satisfying records in an already impressive discography

Ian Patterson / All About Jazz New York / January 2007​

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Spanish jazz guitarist Ximo Tebar is a restless explorer. Over the years he has experimented with the blues and organ/guitar/drum trios with the likes of Lou Bennet, Lonnie Liston Smith, and most notably Joey DeFrancesco, with whom Tebar led the pulsating band The Champs.​

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His excursions into pop (or Mediterranean Son, as Tebar himself has described it) have raised more than a few critical eyebrows, but genres aside, the constant in all of his records is his stylish guitar playing, with beautiful singing lines that have his personality stamped all over them. Eclipse is largely a straightahead affair of mostly Tebar originals which sit well alongside two Wayne Shorter tunes and one apiece by Joe Henderson and Oscar Pettiford.

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Any jazz police investigating “stolen” songs would find Tebar’s fingerprints everywhere on the four non-originals: his unflashy yet distinctive phrasing, his scatting mirroring his guitar lines or perhaps vice versa, and the very personal trademark punctuation that he gives his solos. For this reason, these four songs are very much the property of Ximo Tebar.The two Shorter compositions in particular—“ESP,” with a subtle Brazilian feel, and “Pinnocchio,” with Tebar’s vocal scatting—are testament to his originality and refusal to compromise his musical ideas.​

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The tone of the album is significantly influenced by ex-Spyro Gyra vibraphonist Dave Samuels, who in the past has graced the work of Gerry Mulligan, Frank Zappa and Pat Metheny, to name but a few. On “Inner Urge” Samuels shadows Tebar note for note before peeling away to solo beautifully. And on “My Evidence” he plays Thelonius Monk to Tebar’s John Coltrane in a compelling tribute to two of the giants of jazz.

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Another strength of the album lies in the group chemistry. Tebar and Samuels enjoy the lion’s share of the solos, while the understated and refined support from pianist/organist Rob Bargad and percussionist Roland Guerrero lends depth and cohesion to the compositions. Drummer Donald Edwards and bassist Cesar Giner form an impressive rhythm section; they inject pace into the tunes, driving Tebar and Samuels on.​

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Although the songs contained on Eclipse are mostly uptempo, Tebar’s credentials as a great balladeer (his concert favorite “Besame Mucho” is legendary) are enhanced here by his playing on “Mensaje” and the beautiful title track.

Eclipse is one of the Valencian guitarist’s most satisfying records in an already impressive discography. Those familiar with Tebar will find an ever-maturing composer in grand form here. Those new to his music will discover here an outstanding guitarist, and they may well wonder why they haven’t heard of him before now.

Ian Patterson / All About Jazz New York / January 2007

​Ximo Tebar. All the guitarists in the world​

José María García Martínez / El País & Cuadernos de Jazz

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This is serious stuff. It's jazz, first-class jazz. And it's Ximo, jazz guitarist, and proud of it! At a time when there were no jazz guitarists around in Spain, nor jazz musicians (except for Tete Montoliu), Ximo was one of the first who dared to step out. There are still some who accuse him of having sold out. But either you like jazz or you don't, you just can't be wishy-washy when it comes to matters of the heart. Everybody knows that.

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Ximo loves, breathes jazz. One day he decided to leave everything behind and set out to try his luck in the States in order to play with the best and compete with those who play what he plays although not how he plays it. And now and then, when he's in the mood, he makes a record. He has done so in the past with world-famous organ players Lonnie Smith and Joey DeFrancesco. He also played extensively with the late organist Lou Bennett. Their joint record, Hello Mr. Bennett, brings us back the memory of Ximo's master. A real joy to listen to for all those who love good jazz.​



Eclipse also features an organ player and has many other wonderful things that are soon revealed. From the first notes of Inner Urge (a premonitory title) the music unfolds all its charms. The tune, as the whole CD, combines jazz knowledge with immoderate passion. Neither Ximo nor his bandmates beat about the bush. They go full speed ahead and are quick off the mark.

Ximo dedicates Martino to one of his all-time heroes, Pat Martino. Ximo really tears this one up: he plays the intro and the head, "based on chromatic patterns for guitar invented by Pat Martino". When the organ comes in, the tune soars. The final result is high-voltage music. Martino smokes!​



Mensaje is the quintessential ballad as it should be played, with feeling and no false sentimentalism. In the next tune we find Ximo measuring up against Thelonious Monk himself: he combines Evidence with Coltrane's Giant Steps. The form and the rhythmic feel is based on Evidence, the head and the changes (except in the solos) are from Giant Steps. My Evidence includes a highly stimulating interlude by Dave Samuels. Ximo is in the highest and nobody can make him come down. We get the feeling, quite rare in jazz, that everything falls into its natural place, everything is as it should be. The first time I heard My Evidence in November 2005 at the Madrid Jazz Festival I thought of this tune as a future jazz standard.

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In Miles Davis' ESP, played with a bossa nova feel (or so at least it seems to me), Ximo is still in the highest, as on the rest of the record, and pleasantly surprises all those who have a real aversion to this beat originated in the country of piña colada, as it has been overplayed so much by jazz musicians. ESP is the calm before the storm, as Ximo soon throws himself wholeheartedly into the next tune, Ralladura, a giddy 2'56'' - long roller coaster ride (every man for himself!). At the end the leader has to calm everyone down and mark clearly when the tune has to stop. After Ralladura the absolutely beautiful ballad “Música de Atmósfera”, the title tune of the CD, is a nice change, a deceivingly innocent tune, according to Ximo.​



And then there are still the remaining tunes. His respectful rendition of Pinocchio, written by saxophonist, composer and notable thinker Wayne Shorter, where Ximo avoids reproducing the original tune litterally; One Step Ahead, with its subtle Latin / Mediterranean tinge, Puré de Patata, a modal blues much in the vein of Wes Montgomery, played at full speed by the band, and finally Tricotism, maybe the only tune on the CD which comes closest to what's supposed to be a standard interpretation.

I (still) like Rob Bargad, a top-of-the-line organ player, César Giner, a wonderful musician (listen to his vertiginous duo ride with Ximo on Ralladura) and the incredible Donald Edwards, who backed Ximo during his pre-Eclipse tour in November 2005. And last but not least, those who were not on the tour: Dave Samuels and Anthony Jackson, two heavyweights of contemporary jazz, and also Dario Boente and Roland Guerrero. I love Ximo, his eclecticism, which does him credit, his deep understanding of jazz, which nobody can deny and which he infuses into his music.​

José María García Martínez / El País & Cuadernos de Jazz​

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​"Eclipse supone un salto cualitativo, un taller musical donde las ideas toman forma y se expresan de forma clara y contundente." ​

Arturo Mora Rioja / Tomajazz

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"A versatile jazz guitarist originally from Spain, Ximo Tebar is in top form throughout this consistently stimulating set. Dave Samuels, on vibes and marimba, is on seven of the 11 songs and practically steals the show each time he plays, particularly on "Inner Urge" and "My Evidence" (a tribute to Thelonious Monk that is based on "Evidence"). Rob Bargad, particularly when he is playing organ, really gets the music grooving. While there are some electronic interludes for synthesizers (particularly on "Martino"), the results are always creative and unpredictable. Ximo Tebar is generous in allocating solo space but ultimately reclaims the set, contributing six originals and coming up with fresh ideas on "ESP," "Pinocchio" and the closing bop standard "Tricotism." Eclipse rewards repeated listenings."​

Scott Yanow, All Music Guide​

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Pocos músicos hay en España que se dejen tanto la piel en su trabajo como Ximo Tebar: guitarrista, productor, impulsor..., en Eclipse combina la elegancia que se le supone al jazz contemporáneo con rasgos más inmediatos, más funk, más blues; es, en espíritu, un disco más rockero, desatado, fluido y lúdico. Si alguien es capaz de hacer que el jazz enganche en este país es sin duda Ximo, con su buen hacer y su inspiración. ​

Héctor Fouce / La Netro

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"Eclipse es otra joya de coleccionista el nuevo disco del guitarrista valenciano Ximo Tebar" ​

Aeropuerto Jazz Cafe​