Orchestrion Follow-Up: Part I

You may remember this post, in which I expressed my skepticism about Pat Metheny's Orchestrion project. My main concern was whether Metheny could replicate human rhythm with his array of machines and solenoids. Metheny has since released the album to wonderful acclaim (Including a Jazz Times cover and profile with David Adler that quotes yours truly) and taken his act on the road. Ben Ratliff reviewed Metheny's performance at New York's Town Hall, writing, "It's still lunacy, but it breathes. The orchestrion has humor and elegance."

Below is a clip of Metheny's Orchestrion show at the Olympia in Paris:

April links

I'm not in Paris, but Charlottesville is pretty nice in April, too. Time for some links to wash away the Monday.

• Ethan Iverson on Mal Waldron. I may say this too often, but it bears repeating: if more musicians shared Iverson's zeal for writing, the world (and internet) would be a better place.
• Is Dr. Teeth a jazz muppet? An excellent post with equally incisive comments (mine excluded). 
• Pat Metheny discusses Orchestrion with Philip Booth. I will be reviewing the album and revisiting this Metheny post soon.
• Bop and Beyond is reconsidering the music of Lee Morgan. I was a bit surprised that Christopher did not care for The Sidewinder, but share his enthusiasm for Search for the New Land. Here's Part 2.
• Josh Jackson interviewed Randy Weston last week.
• Jason Parker issued a thoughful piece of media criticism over the weekend.

A Query

Yesterday Pat Metheny's latest album, Orchestrion, was released. I am a big fan of Metheny's straightahead work (I tend to ignore his Pat Metheny Group albums, just not my cup of tea), but I am a bit ambivalent as to whether I will be checking this one out. Since I am merely an amateur critic, I do not receive many promo CDs in the mail (especially from a major artist like Metheny). Hence, I pick and choose carefully which albums I review in this space. Having previewed some of the work on Orchestrion on the web (see below), I have a feeling that this album will quickly recede into the nether regions of my iTunes library, never to be heard from again.

The reason I have this suspicion is because Metheny is accompanied by robots, sort of. As he explains on his website, Metheny's backup band is "mechanically controlled in a variety of ways, using solenoids and pneumatics." I must admit that I am a little put off by the concept. It seems like in his effort to try something new, Metheny may have created an unholy amalgamation of machines and the proverbial one-man band. This strikes me as possibly antithetical to jazz and improvised music, in that the project removes much of the human interplay you would normally hear in a jazz ensemble.

Of course, I have not listened to the entire album, so I could very easily be wrong. But take a listen to a few of the YouTube samples below. Does Metheny succeed in mechanically replicating a full ensemble? Can these machines duplicate the rhythmic complexity of Metheny's music? Think of the stilted rhythms of a player piano - isn't there a reason we don't listen to them anymore? On a more philosophical note, do we want to live in a world where a human ensemble can be replaced by machines? Is this too modern for even the very modern Metheny? Should I quit my hand-wringing? I don't have all the answers, so I want to know what everyone else thinks. I look forward to hearing from you.

Upon listening to these two tracks this morning, I suspect that I would not be able to tell whether Metheny was playing all these instruments or if this is a Pat Metheny Group recording, so perhaps I should consider this a technological success. The jury is still out in my mind if it is an artistic success...

List: Under-the-Radar Live Albums

If you want to really experience jazz, you must see it live. With that in mind, record labels have been churning out live albums at a steady pace for as long as the technology existed to make high-quality recordings of live performances. Below are some of my favorite live albums that you might not have listened to yet.

One quick qualification: I'm going for underrated and lesser-known live albums on this list. Everyone knows about the Coltrane Village Vanguard recordings and Miles at the Plugged Nickel, so why repeat what's already been written? Here is the list, in chronological order...

1. Art Blakey: A Night at Birdland, Volumes 1 and 2 (1954). Come for the early incarnation of the Jazz Messengers, stay for the Clifford Brown. Brownie tore it up on this night in 1954, and his solos on Confirmation, Once in a While, and A Night In Tunisia are among the best he ever put on record. Not the most obscure choice to lead off the list, but it was also one of the first albums I ever bought, so I threw it in.
2. Count Basis: Count Basie at Newport (1957). To quote Ethan Iverson, "My advice is merely: listen to it. You want to know what jazz is? This is fucking jazz." Lester Young and Jo Jones sit in for an extended guest appearance; Illinois Jacquet, Roy Eldridge, and Jimmy Rushing also make guest appearances.
   
3. Miles Davis: At Newport 1958. Miles has many great live albums in his catalog, so it's no surprise this one isn't mentioned more often. However, there aren't many live offerings of Miles with Cannonball and Coltrane, so this one is essential, methinks. Throw in Bill Evans, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb, and you've got a great set. Mr. P.C.'s bass solo on Straight, No Chaser is sublime. Plus, the album cover features Miles in his sartorial splendor.
4. Cannonball Adderley: Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco (1959). Quintessential hard bop from some of the masters. Cannon & Co.'s take on Spontaneous Combustion is some of the best 12 minutes on record.
   
5. Eric Dolphy: Eric Dolphy at the Five Spot, Vol. 1 (1961). Dolphy with Booker Little, Mal Waldron, Richard Davis, and Ed Blackwell, need I say more? More than any other album on this list, I revisit this recording again and again, and each time I am amazed at the unfulfilled potential of Dolphy and Little. Who knows what heights they may have scaled had they not died too young? Volume 2 is also available.
6. Elvin Jones: Live at the Lighthouse, Volumes 1 and 2 (1972). Perhaps if someone had given a copy of these albums to Ken Burns, he would not have alleged that jazz "went away for awhile" during the 1970s.
7. Old and New Dreams: Playing (1980). I was made aware of this one by Destination Out, and I am better off now that I know it exists. Brilliant free jazz from Dewey Redman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Ed Blackwell.
8. Keith Jarrett Standards Trio: Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note (1994). Jarrett's trio with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette have a ton of live recordings out there, but this one is my favorite, taken from a three-night stand at New York's Blue Note in 1994. Bonus quote from Amazon reviewer Stephen A. Smith: "Keith Jarrett's trio is the McDonald's of jazz. Its greatest sales asset is consistency."
9. Pat Metheny: Tokyo Day Trip - Live EP (2008). I've gushed about this one enough already.
   

These are just some of my favorites, feel free to tell me what I missed in the comments.

Extra Credit: See also the recommended recordings on last year's list of top working ensembles.


All images via jazz.com except Live at the Lighthouse via inconstantsol.blogspot.com.

Pat Metheny Just Blew My Mind

This week in The Guardian, Pat Metheny had this to say about Ornette Coleman (emphasis added):

There's no compromise with Ornette - you have to go into his yard to play.When we recorded the 1986 album Song X together, we wanted to make something unlike anything either of us had done before. I think we created something unique. He is one of the most beautiful souls on the planet, a truly gentle person as funny as he is deep. But I don't think I ever got to understand "harmolodics." When musicians talk about it like they know what it means, I listen warily. When a critic does, you can be sure he's full of it.

No idea? Metheny is the last person I would expect to say this, but now I feel a lot better about not understanding it.


h/t: A Blog Supreme

Ornette's Children

The fiftieth anniversary of the recording of Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come has come and gone, and while other sites have offered their own tributes, I thought I would share an iTunes playlist I call "Ornette's Children." Some of the selections on the playlist are Coleman tunes reimagined by his artistic heirs, some are originals composed and performed by some of his disciples and former sidemen, and others are merely tunes that could not have happened without Ornette. I like to throw it on the iPod and shuffle it, so the tracks are in no particular order. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, just tracks from my own library that I particularly like.

• Air: Do Tell, from 80 Below '82
  
• Anthony Braxton: Peace, from Solo (NYC) 2002
  
• The Bad Plus: Street Woman, from Give
  
• Eric Dolphy: Iron Man, from The Illinois Concert
  
• Greg Osby: Mob Job, from Channel Three
  
• Greg Osby and Joe Lovano: Broad Way Blues, from Friendly Fire
  
• Joe Lovano: Ettenro, from Sounds of Joy
  
• John Zorn: Zig Zag, from Spy Vs. Spy
  
• Old and New Dreams: Broken Dreams, from Playing
  
• Pat Metheny: Rejoicing, from Rejoicing
  
• Pat Metheny, 80/81, from 80/81
  
• Pat Metheny and Ornette Coleman: Trigonometry, from Song X
  
• Pat Metheny: Law Years, from Question & Answer
  
• Paul Motian: Mumbo Jumbo, from Sound of Love
  
• Roscoe Mitchell: Ericka, from Nonaah
  
• Scolohofo: Brandyn, from oh!
  

What would you add to the list? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

Bonus Material

Some Dave Holland videos from the YouTube universe:

The Dave Holland Quintet plays Metamorphos at the 2002 Newport Jazz Festival. With Holland are Chris Potter on alto, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on mallets, and Billy Kilson on drums.

Here Holland plays "Cantaloupe Island" with Pat Metheny and Roy Haynes in 1992.

Here is Holland's quintet in 1986, with Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Coleman on saxophone, and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums.

And finally, a snippet of Holland with Miles Davis in 1971. Also on the date were Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Airto Moreira, and Gary Bartz

Some Good Albums From 2008

Since I am not a professional reviewer, and since I have not listened to nearly as much new music as I would have liked to, I will not be making a year-end "Best Of" list. Instead, here are a few recordings from 2008 that I liked. The list may not be exhaustive, but there are plenty of places for those kinds of lists on the internet. If you're looking for a year-end list with more depth, go here, here, here, or here. In the meantime, my three favorites of 2008, in no particular order...

1. Charles Lloyd, Rabo de Nube
2. Medeski Martin & Wood, Radiolarians 1
3. Pat Metheny, Tokyo Day Trip

Also, here are five albums I missed in 2008 (because I am a busy man), but still want to check out:

1. Kenny Garrett, Sketches of MD: Live at The Iridium
   
2. Brad Meldau, Brad Mehldau Trio: Live
3. Eric Dolphy, At The Five Spot, Vol. 1 (Re-release)
4. Dave Holland Sextet, Pass It On
5. James Carter, Present Tense

And a fond farewell to Johnny Griffin, Arthur C. Clarke, Bo Diddley, Albert Hofmann, Paul Newman, Studs Terkel, Mitch Mitchell, and anyone else I may have forgotten...

Happy New Year.

Review: Migration

Antonio Sanchez

Migration

Fans of Pat Metheny should be familiar with Antonio Sanchez. The drummer has been a mainstay of Metheny's groups for the past five years, and has also recorded with Michael Brecker and Danilo Perez. His bona fides go on, having attended the Berklee School of Music and sitting in the drummer's chair of the Dizzy Gillespie United Nations Orchestra. Last year, he recorded his debut album as a leader, Migration. The album is an exciting debut from a seasoned veteran (at age 36, Sanchez's career had seen some incredible highs up to that point).

Aside from the opening and closing tracks (which feature special guests Chick Corea and Pat Metheny, respectively), Sanchez presents a quartet with the interesting front line of tenor saxophonists David Sanchez (no relation) and Chris Potter. Bassist Scott Colley rounds out the group. Following Corea's "One for Antonio," the quartet portion of the album kicks off with "Did You Get It?," an intriguing melody with densely harmonized lines by Potter and Sanchez on tenors. It is the first of four originals by Antonio Sanchez, and I was immediately impressed by the quality of his compositions. Like Tony Williams, an obvious influence, Sanchez takes writing very seriously, and reveals a harmonic sophistication not often associated with drummers (you can read more about his compositional techniques in this All About Jazz interview).

Following a pair of solos by David Sanchez and Potter (whom I, unfortunately, cannot tell apart - note to Amazon.com: please include liner notes with your mp3 downloads!) as well as a solo by Colley, Sanchez gives a (too) brief solo which combines a sense of polyrhythm reminiscent of Tony Williams with the melodic instincts of Max Roach. I was left wanting more, unfortunately (a drummer can and should give himself more than eight bars on his own record).

"Challenge Within" is the highlight of the disc, another Sanchez composition which evokes the powerful frontline of the 1960s Blue Note Sound with a driving Latin-tinged beat. It is stunning to hear a drummer present such a provocative melody on his debut (even accounting for the fact that he was an old-by-jazz-standards 36 when the album was released). Potter (I think) opens up the solo section with a melodic masterpiece as one familiar with his work would expect. After a statement from David Sanchez and a restatement of the melody, Antonio Sanchez gives an extended solo over Colley's bass acompaniement. What is nice about Sanchez's playing here and elsewhere on the album is that he eschews the pyrotechnics one might expect on a drummer's debut for a sublty melodic statement that would have made Max Roach proud.

Other points of interest on the album include Sanchez's haunting original, "Ballade," his reworking of the Joe Henderson classic "Inner Urge," and (I think) David Sanchez's solo on "Greedy Silence," in which he and Antonio channel Elvin and Trane in a frenetic exchange of ideas. Indeed, the quartet selections are so good that the duet with Metheny and trio with Colley and Corea could have been left off the album entirely, and I would still be satisfied. As it is, the bookending tracks are icing on the cake. Sanchez has given a resoundingly strong opening statement, and I excitedly await the next chapter.

Track Listing: One for Antonio; Did You Get It; Arena (Sand); Challenge Within; Ballade; Greedy Silence; Inner Urge; Solar

Personnel: Sanchez, drums; Chris Potter, David Sanchez, saxophone; Scott Colley, bass; Chick Corea, piano (on One for Antonio); Pat Metheny, guitar (on Arena (Sand) and Solar)

List: Best Working Groups in Jazz

One of the things I like about jazz is the ease with which total strangers can come together and play quality music with little or no rehearsal, thanks to the shared language of jazz. As a result, supergroup recordings abound in this art. If a few star performers want to get together to produce an album, the only thing standing in their way is scheduling. However, though the possibility of fantasy groupings will perpetually tantalize jazz fans, the fact remains that in jazz, the intimacy afforded by regular work together facilitates artful music. As such, much of the best jazz produced comes at the hands of a longstanding working groups, whose musicians know each other as well as they know themselves.

So without further ado, below are my favorite current working bands, in a completely random order, with a recommended recording thrown in for good measure:

1. Dave Holland Quintet (Robin Eubanks, trombone; Chris Potter, saxophone; Steve Nelson, mallets; Holland, bass; Nate Smith, drums): The lineup has shifted a bit in the past few years, with Smith replacing Billy Kilson on drums, but the fact remains that this group plays some of the most exciting music in jazz. The group excels at collective improvisation, and the interplay between Eubanks and Potter is often exquisite. Check them out on Extended Play, a double live disc from 2003.
   
2. Medeski Martin & Wood (John Medeski, keyboards; Chris Wood, bass; Billy Martin, drums, percussion): Though some may argue that this group does not actually play jazz, I disagree. Electric or acoustic, this trio can swing with the best of them (in their inimitable way) and brings an incredible sense of energy to their music. I recommend Tonic, a live acoustic album from 2000.
3. The Bad Plus (Ethan Iverson, piano; Reid Anderson, bass; Dave King, drums): The band has yet to release a live album in the U.S., so I've embedded a YouTube clip below of a live performance. I also heartily recommend the band's blog.
4. Wayne Shorter Quartet (Shorter, saxophone; Danilo Perez, piano; John Patitucci, bass; Brian Blade, drums): Like many of the other bandleaders in this list, Wayne Shorter has pulled off the impressive coup of hiring sidemen who all lead stellar groups of their own. Whether reimagining Shorter's compositions or playing newer material, this quartet is not afraid to explore and reach outside of their comfort zone to produce great art. Shorter's quartet excels on the live discs Footprints Live! and Beyond the Sound Barrier.
   
5. Void (Troy Roberts, saxophone; Tom O'Hallaran, keys; Dane Alderson, bass; Andrew Fisenden, drums): You probably have not heard of them, but this group from Australia can play. They do not perform regularly anymore (which should disqualify them from the list, but I make the rules, so they're in), but when they do get together, it is an event of epic proportions. Check out their website, and give them a listen.
6. Pat Metheny Trio (Metheny, guitar; Christian McBride, bass; Antonio Sanchez, drums): As I've written in this space before, Pat Metheny thrives in the trio setting due in no small part to the fact that he can surround himself with some of the best musicians around. I saw this trio play in Gainesville, Florida in 2005, and it totally hooked me on Metheny. I had never been a huge fan of his, but after seeing him live (for $10 - thanks UF student government!), I could not get enough Metheny. Be sure to check out the recent live EP Tokyo Day Trip.
7. Keith Jarrett Standards Trio (Jarrett, piano; Gary Peacock, bass; Jack DeJohnette, drums): When Jarrett is not being an insufferable ass, this group produces more moements of surprise and genius with well-worn standards in one night than most groups could hope to make over a career. Along with Wynton Marsalis' championing of standards around the same time, this group made standards cool again, and we have them to thank for reinvigorating the genre. They have so many quality live performances out there for sale, but two of my favorite are Whisper Not, from 2000, and Inside Out, from 2001.

The Bad Plus: Flim

Review

Pat Metheny
Tokyo Day Trip - Live EP

Despite the widespread popularity and critical successes of Pat Metheny Group, his collaboration with the pianist Lyle Mays, much of Pat Metheny's greatest work has come in a trio setting. Beginning with Bright Size Life, his first album which also featured Jaco Pastorious, Metheny has thrived in the setting. This is partly because he has surrounded himself with the ablest of sidemen, including Charlie Haden, Billy Higgins, Bill Stewart, Dave Holland, and Roy Haynes, among others. However, while Metheny is undoubtedly spurred on by his skilled sidemen, one cannot understate how well-suited he is to the trio setting. Because Metheny is such a free player, both melodically and rhythmically, the bass-and-drums trio setting allows him ample room to explore, which he does to a very satisfying effect. He explores the outer limits of harmony and rhythm much like Ornette Coleman, one of his chief influences. Of all living musicians, only Coleman and Sonny Rollins are on par with Metheny's skill in the trio setting. Metheny's trio albums (including Bright Size Life, Rejoicing, Question and Answer, and Trio 99 → 00) are among the highlights of late-twentieth-century postbop.

With that in mind, you can imagine how much Tokyo Day Trip, piqued my interest. The EP is comprised of various live recordings originally issued as bonus tracks on different projects. Metheny is accompanied by the same men on his recent critical success, Day Trip, bassist Christian McBride and Mexican wunderkind Antonio Sanchez. I saw this trio in Florida when I was still in college, and the experience remains one of the five best concerts I have ever attended. McBride is one of the few bassists who can keep up with Metheny, and a giant of jazz in his own right, while Sanchez is a master at layering complex rhythms against Metheny's melodic lines.

The EP, comprised completely of Metheny compositions, is pretty evenly balanced between slower lyrical pieces and uptempo barnburners. The slower pieces, "Tromsø," "Inori," and "The Night Becomes You," are all well-done tunes full of expression by Metheny and company. But the real highlights of the set are "Traveling Fast" and "Back Arm & Backcharge." Traveling Fast opens up with a series of open fifths that harken back to Metheny's first album, Bright Size Life. After quickly dispensing with the melody, Metheny works into a frenetic solo which exhibits the characteristic Metheny sound: furious runs and tricky intervals in a display of dexterous fingerwork combined with sophisticated harmony. Not to be outdone, McBride presents an impressive solo himself before Sanchez gives a melodic drum solo reminiscent of Max Roach's inimitable style. Metheny and company close out the tune with a slow fade, juxtaposed against the thrilling previous ten minutes.

"Back Arm and Backcharge" opens with a flurry of hard strumming by Metheny and McBride, and commences with a thoroughly energetic and serpentine melody. The tune itself is a series of convoluted figures landing on the same root, giving the disorienting melody a sense of grounding. The melody works into a spontaneous exploration of harmony before reasserting the opening figure. Afterwards, Metheny plays a solo that combines Ornette Coleman's adventurous harmonic exploration with a melodic construction that could only come from his own mind. Simply put, this solo is among the most exhilarating ever put down in the history of jazz; on par with Charlie Parker's solo on "Koko" and John Coltrane's solo on "Giant Steps." Simply thinking about the solo gives me goosebumps. Much like Tommy Flanagan on "Giant Steps," Christian McBride is given the task of following the master. Also like Flanagan, McBride asserts himself with authority, with assistance from Metheny's comping, which evokes both Jimi Hendrix and Herbie Hancock. All the more impressive is the fact that McBride can match Metheny's overdriven intensity on an acoustic bass. Underlying the two are Sanchez's deft polyrhythms. Just as soon as it has started, though, the tune is over, as Metheny, McBride, and Sanchez are content to leave you wanting more rather than overdoing it.

Fans of Metheny have been given a rare treat by Metheny and his record label, Nonesuch. Tokyo Day Trip exhibits one of the best working groups in jazz today in its natural setting, creating art of the highest order.

Personnel: Pat Metheny, guitars; Christian McBride, bass; Antonio Sanchez, drums
Track Listing: Tromsø ; Traveling Fast; Inori; Back Arm & Blackcharge; The Night Becomes You