Learning to play guitar once is hard enough. Having to do it twice is truly mind-boggling. Pat Martino, who has done that and more during a career with more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel, has vanquished adversity time and again and remains, at age sixty-seven, one of the world's preeminent jazz guitarists. This point of view is Undeniable on Martino's latest album, recorded live in June 2009 with his working group at Blues Alley in Washington, DC.
That Martino is playing at all is close to a miracle, as surgery for a brain aneurysm in the early '80s saved his life but robbed him of his memory. The one-time wunderkind went back to the drawing board, relearned how to play his chosen instrument from scratch, and returned to the recording studio in 1987 to produce his first "post-operative" album, The Return (Muse Records, 1994). Martino has stayed active ever since, returning to his roots with an organ-based group that mirrors his early successes with such legendary lions of the Hammond B-3 as Jack McDuff, Don Patterson and Trudy Pitts (who's featured on Martino's first album as a leader, El Hombre [OJC, 1967]).
The B-3 maestro on this date is Tony Monaco, whose soulful declamations emphatically complement Martino's bluesy peregrinations. They share the bandstand with the always-inventive tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, who's never met a groove he couldn't master, and the versatile drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, who sizes up the group's disparate parts and welds them securely together. The program consists of half a dozen Martino originals and Thelonious Monk's venerable "'Round Midnight," on which Martino's guitar has the solo spotlight to itself. The blues predominates, as might be envisioned at a venue named Blues Alley, with everyone down and dirty on "Lean Years," "Goin' to a Meeting," "Double Play," and Midnight Special." There's an easy swing to the other numbers, "Inside Out" (where Martino's guitar and Alexander's tenor open with a charming unison riff) and "Side Effect," an effective finale that features more of Martino's incomparable ad-libbing and yet another incisive statement by Alexander.
For a live recording, sound and balance are exemplary and the audience is responsive but never intrusive. What is most Undeniable, however, is that Martino remains at the top of his game and leads a quartet that can stand its ground with anyone.
By JACK BOWERS
That Martino is playing at all is close to a miracle, as surgery for a brain aneurysm in the early '80s saved his life but robbed him of his memory. The one-time wunderkind went back to the drawing board, relearned how to play his chosen instrument from scratch, and returned to the recording studio in 1987 to produce his first "post-operative" album, The Return (Muse Records, 1994). Martino has stayed active ever since, returning to his roots with an organ-based group that mirrors his early successes with such legendary lions of the Hammond B-3 as Jack McDuff, Don Patterson and Trudy Pitts (who's featured on Martino's first album as a leader, El Hombre [OJC, 1967]).
The B-3 maestro on this date is Tony Monaco, whose soulful declamations emphatically complement Martino's bluesy peregrinations. They share the bandstand with the always-inventive tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, who's never met a groove he couldn't master, and the versatile drummer Jeff "Tain" Watts, who sizes up the group's disparate parts and welds them securely together. The program consists of half a dozen Martino originals and Thelonious Monk's venerable "'Round Midnight," on which Martino's guitar has the solo spotlight to itself. The blues predominates, as might be envisioned at a venue named Blues Alley, with everyone down and dirty on "Lean Years," "Goin' to a Meeting," "Double Play," and Midnight Special." There's an easy swing to the other numbers, "Inside Out" (where Martino's guitar and Alexander's tenor open with a charming unison riff) and "Side Effect," an effective finale that features more of Martino's incomparable ad-libbing and yet another incisive statement by Alexander.
For a live recording, sound and balance are exemplary and the audience is responsive but never intrusive. What is most Undeniable, however, is that Martino remains at the top of his game and leads a quartet that can stand its ground with anyone.
By JACK BOWERS
///////
Aprender a tocar la guitarra una vez ya es bastante difícil. Tener que hacerlo dos veces es realmente alucinante. Pat Martino, que ha hecho eso y más durante una carrera con más giros y vueltas que una novela de Agatha Christie, ha vencido la adversidad una y otra vez y sigue siendo, a la edad de sesenta y siete años, uno de los guitarristas de jazz más preeminentes del mundo. Este punto de vista es innegable en el último álbum de Martino, grabado en vivo en junio de 2009 con su grupo de trabajo en el Blues Alley de Washington, DC.
El hecho de que Martino esté tocando está cerca de ser un milagro, ya que la cirugía de un aneurisma cerebral a principios de los 80 le salvó la vida pero le robó la memoria. El que una vez fue un niño prodigio volvió a la mesa de dibujo, volvió a aprender a tocar el instrumento que había elegido desde cero y regresó al estudio de grabación en 1987 para producir su primer álbum "post-operatorio", The Return (Muse Records, 1994). Martino se ha mantenido activo desde entonces, volviendo a sus raíces con un grupo basado en el órgano que refleja sus primeros éxitos con leones legendarios del Hammond B-3 como Jack McDuff, Don Patterson y Trudy Pitts (que aparece en el primer álbum de Martino como líder, El Hombre [OJC, 1967]).
El maestro de B-3 en esta fecha es Tony Monaco, cuyas conmovedoras declamaciones complementan enfáticamente las peregrinaciones bluesanas de Martino. Comparten el escenario con el siempre innovador saxofonista tenor Eric Alexander, que nunca ha conocido un ritmo que no pudiera dominar, y el versátil baterista Jeff "Tain" Watts, que mide las partes dispares del grupo y las suelda con seguridad. El programa consiste en media docena de originales de Martino y el venerable "'Round Midnight" de Thelonious Monk, en el que la guitarra de Martino tiene el solo como protagonista. El blues predomina, como se podría imaginar en un lugar llamado Blues Alley, con todo el mundo deprimido y sucio en "Lean Years", "Goin' to a Meeting", "Double Play" y Midnight Special." Hay un fácil cambio a los otros números, "Inside Out" (donde la guitarra de Martino y el tenor de Alexander se abren con un encantador riff al unísono) y "Side Effect", un efectivo final que presenta más de la incomparable improvisación de Martino y otra incisiva declaración de Alexander.
En una grabación en vivo, el sonido y el equilibrio son ejemplares y el público responde pero nunca se entromete. Lo que es más innegable, sin embargo, es que Martino se mantiene en la cima de su juego y lidera un cuarteto que puede mantenerse firme con cualquiera.
Por JACK BOWERSTracks:
1 - Lean Years
2 - Inside Out
3 - Goin' To a Meeting
4 - Double Play
5 - Midnight Special
6 - 'Round Midnight 7 - Side Effect
Personnel:
Pat Martino: guitar;
Eric Alexander: tenor saxophone;
Tony Monaco: organ;
Jeff "Tain" Watts: drums.
MORE Pat Martino ...
This file is intended only for preview!
I ask you to delete the file from your hard drive or device after reading it.
thank for the original uploader
This file is intended only for preview!
I ask you to delete the file from your hard drive or device after reading it.
thank for the original uploader
Tip: Use JDownloader
No comments:
Post a Comment