1. Unrequited
2. Ahmid-6
3. Summer Day
4. Ring Of Life
5. Legend
6. Find Me in Your Dreams
7. Say the Brother's Name
8. Bachelors III
9. Annie's Bittersweet Cake
10. Make Peace
Pat Metheny – Guitar
Brad Mehldau - Piano
Larry Grenadier – Bass (tracks 4, 7)
Jeff Ballard – Drums (tracks 4, 7)
As
Pat Metheny says in the sleeve-notes: "Guitar
and piano can be challenging instruments to
combine". There is always the danger
that they will overlap too closely, trying
to do the same things as one another. These
dangers are largely avoided in this meeting
of two giants of modern jazz, although the
combination of the two instruments means that
Metheny often has little to do when accompanying
Mehldau’s solos.
The
album begins rather mournfully, with Brad
Mehldau’s introspective composition Unrequited.
Introspection is a quality one associates
more with Brad than Pat and it starts the
CD in a downbeat way. The following Ahmid-6
is more cheerful, with the two instrumentalists
dancing lightly together. The third track
returns to a more meditative mood but things
perk up in Ring of Life with the arrival
of bassist Larry Grenadier and particularly
the hustling drums of Jeff Ballard. Metheny
uses his guitar synthesiser on this track,
adding a new sound dimension as well as extra
excitement.
After
this, Mehldau’s composition Legend sounds
somewhat dark, a mood which is lightened by
the gently lyrical Find Me in Your Dreams.
Grenadier and Ballard return for Say the
Brother’s Name and I must say I like the
two quartet tracks and wish there were more,
since they seem to give Mehldau the opportunity
to let loose his more extrovert side. Metheny
and Mehldau work sympathetically together
but sometimes they seem to be staring at their
navels rather than trying to communicate with
listeners.
Pat
Metheny’s jazz waltz Bachelors III
and Mehldau’s Annie’s Bittersweet Cake
have catchy melodies which make these tracks
accessible and easier to love. In fact Metheny
contributes seven of the tunes and Mehldau
provides the other three. The album closes
placidly with Metheny’s appropriately-titled
Make Peace, which has Pat on the baritone
acoustic guitar.
I
have listened to this CD several times and
suspect that I may still be missing some of
its profundities. Yet I am deterred by a certain
remoteness which affects some tracks. Perhaps
Pat and Brad should have played a jazz standard
to help listeners get their bearings, as the
music takes a while to get into, and I am
left feeling some disappointment that it has
left me slightly underwhelmed.
As
I’m writing this review in October 2006, I’m
inclined not to believe the sleeve when it
says "Recorded in December 2006"!
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Nonesuch
7559-79964-2
