100 Greatest Jazz Albums: Pat Metheny

Nonesuch

Release date: January 29th 2008

Availability: CD, MP3 Download, iTunes

With the exception of two fine recent albums with Brad Mehldau, "Day Trip" is Pat Metheny's most accomplished straight ahead jazz outing since his emblematic debut, "Bright Size Life".

As with that breakthrough album, the trio format (here with Christian McBride (bass) and Antonio Sanchez (drums)) allows the jazz to shine through. There is real chemistry and spontenaeity between the three payers, allowing Pat Metheny on guitar full range.

All ten compositions are Pat Metheny originals. As the title suggests, the whole album was recorded in a single day.

The highlights are many:

"Dreaming Trees" and "At Last You're Here" have meditative acoustic guitar finely juxtaposed against gorgeous acoustic bass.

“Is This America? (Katrina 2005),” is a reflective acoustic guitar piece which is as effective a critique of the handling of the Katrina hurricane and its aftermath as any that has appeared. This is coupled with "When We Were Free" which features a similar, though less defined, reflective view of the human condition, initially carried on electric guitar and then rounded off with guitar synth (which, jazz lovers will note, is used sparingly in the album as a whole).

"The Red One" was originally featured on the John Scofield/Pat Metheny album "I Can See Your House From Here" and functions here as an uptempo reggae style work out to counterbalance the more reflective mood elsewhere.

"Son Of Thirteen" and "Day Trip", the opening and closing tracks, are closely related and display the authenticity of Antonio Sanchez's latin inspired drumming.

This is a very special album that will build further Pat Metheny's reputation as one of the outstanding jazz guitar voices of the time.

Highly recommended.

The trio is on tour from February 2008.