Bassist
John Patitucci's tenure with the Concord label has found him working in a variety of contexts, from Latin jazz to string quartets with saxophones, but this, his sixth album for the label and his first release as a leader since 2006's Grammy-nominated
Line by Line, is possibly his most stripped-down release to date: a straight trio session with saxophonist
Joe Lovano and drummer
Brian Blade.
Blade has been working with
Patitucci for several albums now, but
Lovano is a relative newcomer to the bassist's discography, having only previously appeared on a few tracks from 2001's
Communion. This disc, like others in his catalog, finds
Patitucci alternating between acoustic and electric bass, and while both approaches are equally worthwhile (the guy's a serious talent), the switching back and forth between funk and swing makes for a slightly disjointed listen. A better idea might have been to divide everything up, putting "Monk/Trane," "Sonny Side," "Scenes from an Opera," "Blues for Freddie," "Safari," "Joe Hen," and "Play Ball" up front and leaving "Messiaen's Gumbo," "Meditations," "Mali," and the short but beautiful title track as a four-song coda. But in any case, there are no bad tracks here --
Lovano's soloing is as deft and muscular as always, and
Blade's drumming is powerful without sacrificing subtlety -- so a little style-hopping can be forgiven. ~ Phil Freeman