Ralph Towner on Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins and 50 years at ECM Records

To mark the 85th birthday of Ralph Towner, we share a recent interview with the legendary guitar virtuoso and pianist. From his home in Rome, Towner talks us through his 50-plus-year recording career with ECM Records – from classic album Solstice, recorded with Jan Gabarek – to recent solo release At First Light. Ralph also shares his writing and improvisation process, and recounts memorable encounters with Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter and Bill Evans. He opens up about his fears of ageing and losing some of his musical versatility, talks about why the legendary fusion supergroup have retired from touring for good – and why he's never owned an electric guitar.Parts of this interview were quoted in a profile feature I wrote for Issue 10 of We Jazz magazine, kindly posted online by Ralph himself here.