1. Prelude For Vibes
2. My Romance
3. ‘Ques Sez
4. Get Up And Go
5. B & G
6. A Dance For Most Of You
7. Walkin’ In Music
8. Summer Band Camp
9. Fuga
10. Wise Fool
11. Clarity
Gary Burton (vibraphone); Julian Lage (guitar);
Vadim Neselovskyi (piano); Luques Curtis (bass);
James Williams (drums)
Very few names in modern jazz carry the weight
of Gary Burton’s. During his forty-five year
career, he has formed and led eight completely
new bands, been a pioneer of vibraphone technique,
recruited the services of rock guitarists
such as the legendary Pat Methany, and taught
at Boston’s Berklee School of Music. He has
also shown an uncanny ability to spot new
talent as it starts to flourish. "One
of the enduring traditions among musicians,"
he wrote upon his ‘retirement’, "is the
willingness to help other musicians learn
the craft." And when comes to putting
a band together, Burton insists it isn’t a
science; just get together a unique combination
of personalities and musicians, let them explore
each other’s ideas, and with a bit of luck
there’ll be a chemistry there that makes them
work as a unit.
Certainly, the line-up on Next Generation
looks extremely impressive. Launched at
New York’s Blue Note club in June 2004, the
band consists of four young musicians possessed
with startling levels of talent, both in performing
and in composition (all but three of the songs
on the album are composed or arranged by band
members). Sixteen year old Julian Lage is
a sheer phenomenon on the guitar, combining
a deeply emotional approach with perfect precision
and clarity. His sophisticated grasp of mood
and style bring great variety to his solos,
which range from unashamedly playful to somewhat
aggressive in nature. On ‘Get Up and Go’,
he shows himself capable of amazing sensitivity
as he plucks a sombre melodic passage over
the delicate swirl of the piano.
Sensitivity is, in fact, evident throughout
the entire band. Drummer James Williams demonstrates
an astonishing feel for the music, adapting
his consistently subtle approach to a number
of styles and moods, and working brilliantly
with bassist Lucques Curtis to carry tunes
forward with a pleasing bounce. Curtis himself
is consistently impressive, adding depth with
his resonant tone, and promoting a certain
freedom of expression in his slow tango composition,
the sparse, bluesy ‘’Ques Sez’. It is pianist,
Vadim Neselovskyi, though, who makes the most
interesting listening. By far the most experimental
of the group, his solos are passionate and
brilliantly improvised. And through his background
of classical training, he has developed exceptional
composition skills. Beautifully constructed
to showcase Burton’s talents, ‘Prelude for
Vibes’ is a great opening track, whilst ‘Get
Up and Go’ demonstrates the pianist’s harmonic
knowledge.
So with such great tunes and the talent to
match, why does Next Generation seem
to be lacking something essential? Perhaps,
it's because we’ve heard it all before; since
his classic groups of the sixties and seventies,
Burton has churned out the same old sound
time and time again, never straying far from
the formula that worked so well in the first
place. Virtuosic though the group may be,
their reluctance to stray in to the unexpected
dampens the overall impact of the work, making
it sound over-polished and stale. As an introduction
to Gary Burton, it’s certainly worth a listen.
And classical fans who want to branch out
in to the formal side of jazz (notably the
album includes an arrangement of Barber’s
‘Fuga’) will certainly find something of interest.
But jazz lovers looking for their next strong
hit of spontaneity and freshness might be
advised to look elsewhere for something with
a little more edge.
Robert Gibson
CD Reviews
Concord Music. CCD-2277-2
