There are certainly times when I feel totally unqualified when it comes to writing a review, and this is one of those as there is just too much music in the world, too little time to investigate it all, so consequently none of us can say we have heard all there is to hear. While I have great appreciation for jazz, and grew up listening to it, it is not a genre I have ever really investigated out of choice and sadly must admit that I do not own any material by Pat Metheny. So when I get sent an album which incorporates five of his compositions, plus one each by Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett, what do I say?
I have no idea if these songs do justice to a guitarist is recognised as one of the true greats and innovators as I have no idea what the originals sounded like, and the music has been changed to feature piano/keyboards as the lead, played by Bob Gluck who is joined by electric bassist Christopher Dean Sullivan, and drummer Karl Latham. Latham’s name I recognise as I have reviewed some of his material before, while Gluck is not only a musician who has released countless albums with different groups but is also a recognised authority on jazz, having recently authored ‘Pat Metheny: Stories Beyond Words’ which follows on from his books ‘You’ll Know When You Get There: Herbie Hancock and the Mwandishi Band’, and ‘The Miles Davis Lost Quintet and Other Revolutionary Ensembles’. Apparently, this was recorded live, but there are times when it feels to me that Sullivan is just not aligned with the others, with basslines which detract as opposed to adding to the arrangements. The result is an album which I found very difficult indeed to listen to, and while I recognise some of that may be down to the lack of knowledge of the source material, to me this does not feel like a locked in performance. Given that Gluck is an expert on Metheny I am sure this is in the ear of the beholder and fans of the originals may get a lot from this, but not me.
Rating: 6/10
Links:
https://electricsongs.com/transcendencemusic/
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