The history of jazz includes unlikely but successful collaborations as well as examples of people who should have gotten along but didn't.
Miles Davis' economy, restraint and understatement were quite a contrast to
John Coltrane's lengthy, stream of consciousness solos, and yet, they made great jazz together.
Stan Getz and
Chet Baker had a lot in common musically and should have collaborated time and time again; however, they couldn't stand one another. And then there are musicians who know they have a lot of musical common ground and act on that knowledge, which is what guitarist
Larry Carlton and singer/guitarist
Robben Ford do on this live disc (which was recorded in Tokyo, Japan in September 2006). The fact that
Carlton and
Ford (who knew each other from
Tom Scott's
L.A. Express back in the mid-'70s) have a lot of common ground does not mean that their guitar playing is identical;
Carlton is essentially a jazzman who has been greatly influenced by rock, soul, funk, and blues, while
Ford is essentially a bluesman who has been greatly influenced by jazz, rock, soul, and funk. Neither are purists --
Carlton isn't a jazz purist any more than
Ford is a blues purist -- and the fact they have eclectic tastes as well as similar tastes makes them logical allies musically.
Live in Tokyo cannot be neatly lumped into any one category; jazz, blues, rock, and funk are all part of the musical equation, and
Carlton and
Ford clearly enjoy a strong rapport on memorable performances such as
Carlton's "Burnable" and
Ford's "That Road."
Ford doesn't do a lot of singing on this 64-minute CD; in fact, "Talk to Your Daughter" is the only vocal offering on a mostly instrumental disc.
Live in Tokyo is a rewarding example of what can happen when two musicians who have much in common musically get together. ~ Alex Henderson