Customer Reviews

Bright Size Life

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

28 years later, this debut disc by a young upstart guitarist from Lee's Summit MO STILL sounds as fresh, engaging and surprising as the day it was first unleashed!

What an amazing chemistry that took place here! Start with Pat's Jim Hall-meets-rural country and lyrical post-bop sensibilities, combined with another then-young upstart, Jaco Pastorious playing a supremely singing fretless bass and the explosive and yet detailed drumming of Bob Moses made for a whole new sound in jazz, with lots of wide-open spaces, impressionistic pastel-like harmonies, a Country inflected yearning and challenging intricate melodies that stay with you for days.

Pat wrote all but one track, the closing medley of Ornette Coleman's "Round Trip/Broadway Blues", in which Pat gets to the essence of Ornette's music and shows a very lyrical, compelling side of it that I think many people miss when they think of Ornette, he wasn't ALL skronk and honk, that's for sure! The original Metheny pieces are by turns fiery yet lyrical and loaded with subtle colorings not normally associated with jazz-guitar, which up until that point either stayed very conservatively bluesy with extended harmonies, or went to the opposite extreme of atonality, but here, Pat begins his rich musical journey and finds a well-defined voice normally associated with players twice his age in those days.

Not one bad track, this will haunt you for days and live in your CD player for long periods I'm sure.

This album is required listening for anyone who calls themselves a jazz listener. On this album you will hear Pat Metheny at his purist. No effects and no studio wizardry. Just good pure jazz.

This album is not just another collection of jazz standards done in the mainstream fashion by another young guitar stud. Each title is original except for the last track, "Round Trip/Broadway Blues" which was written by Ornette Coleman. Each composition has a fresh and contemporary sound. You will hear all of Metheny's skills as a guitarist, sideman and composer. In addition we are given a glimpse of the things that were later to come as Pat Metheny developed into what is arguably one of the most influential musicians of his generation.

While instrumentation is basic, the musicianship is superb. Pat is accompanied by the late Jaco Pastorius who gives us one of his greatest recorded performances. Bob Moses accompanies Pat on drums and even though his drumming can almost be called minimal it's perfect for situation. Perhaps the best thing about this combination of musicians is way they all played off of each other, each musician coming in just when needed.

This album is part of jazz history. "Bright Size Life" is to Pat Metheny what "Kind of Blue" was to Miles Davis

You cannot miss this one!

I'm not going to spend a lot of time writing a professional like review. In summary, this is one of Pat Metheney's best albums (certainly in the top 2 or 3).

I love the simplicity and pure talent. Pat, Jaco, and drummer Bob Moses. Who could ask for more?

I have a lot of Pat Metheny's work, but I tend to like his solo efforts as opposed to the PMG (with Lyle Mays) recordings.

I also tend to like his trio recordings (guitar, bass, and drums) over everything else.

No fluff, no nonsense, no horse sh__.

This is the perfect CD for when sitting by the pool, smoking a cigar, sipping wine, and just sitting back and relaxing...

One other thing...I think some of the other reviewers touched on this as well, but it is really hard to believe this was released way back in 1976. This CD simply sounds way too fresh for that. If you didn't know, and had to guess, you would probably say mid 1990s.

Buy it, listen, and see for yourself.

Please forget the Amazon editorial comment that some of the pieces have a "nightmarish quality." No, beauty of this sort is no nightmare. Some pieces are moody or reflective, but they are not depressing by any means.

Pat, his late buddy Jaco on electric bass, and Bob Moses on drums cook well together. Having listened to Pat's work seriously for about eight years, it is instructive to go back to this early recording to see where he came from and where he is now. (Compare this with the most recent "Pat Metheny Trio Live," which I also reviewed on Amazon.com.) His guitar playing--6-string and 12-string electric; no acoustic here--holds up very well, and the teamwork with Jaco is a one-of-a-kind treat. (To my knowledge, they never recorded together after this.)

Pat's playing is fluid, fast, and clear, but not as full or innovative as his later work; but that is to be expected of a young and brilliant jazz player. Although this is an early work, I rate it higher overall than the much later and disappointing "Quartet" recording by the Pat Metheny Group. It's not that Pat's playing is bad on "Quartet," but the total effect wasn't there.

Although only three musicians play here, it is not strictly trio work on every track because there are a few bass and guitar overdubs. These are not obtrusive, however.

This is lively, innovative, and rewarding music. Jazz lives on, and I am grateful for this gift.

Douglas Groothuis

If you buy the remastered version of the classic debut Jaco Pastorius album, you'll see that the new sleeve notes are written entirely by Pat Metheny. No surprise, given that Pat and Jaco used to play together (72-76) in Florida and New York. The surprise is that Pat doesn't play on the album. Despite that shortcoming, it's still a classic.

By December 75, the recording date of this first Metheny album, Pat had already made 'Ring' with the Gary Burton Quartet, which meant signing up with Germany's ECM records. Hence, although the trio that recorded 'Bright Size Life' was entirely American, they were whisked across the Atlantic to ECM's Ludwigsburg studio to cut it.

At the time, Jaco was the greater star -- this album was made very close to the time of Jaco's debut LP and Weather Report's 'Black Market'. But this album has always been marketed as a Pat Metheny work. All the compositions are his, for a start.

Do I like it? I have to admit I don't generally like trio albums, because I prefer bands with two lead instruments, such as guitar and piano, or sax and piano. But this is one of those rare trio disks that really works for me. Jaco always played his bass as a lead instrument anyway!

This is formative Metheny, although he was already a master of his instrument. It's fascinating to listen to how much pieces such as 'Midwestern Nights Dream' evolved in the space of a year -- for a really polished version, I would strongly recommend buying the Gary Burton Quartet's 'Passengers' CD.

If your Metheny preference is for his prog-rock / Latin offerings such as 'Offramp' or 'Letter From Home', this album may be too much like straight-ahead jazz for you. But it is wonderfully varied, and it's great to hear two virtuoso musicians, almost at the start of their careers, collaborating to create a new musical landscape.

I'm not really a kid, but I never write reviews so making an account on amazon doesn't make any sense. I never write reviews but this time I can't keep my nouth shut.

What a brilliant album this is! It's quiet, intropective, and delightingly beautiful. Metheny has all the emotions at his fingertips, and brings them to the audience in a quiet and honest way. I especcially like the quieter tracks, like "Unity Village" and "Midwestern Night Dream". This is just plain beautiful stuff, honestly. Everyone can like this cd, may it be on occasion, late at night with a good drink (very recommendable), or just all day long (for jazz freaks only). Very highly reccomended. Everyone should've heard this once in a lifetime.

Dark and spare, yet incredibly eloquent, Bright Size Life may very well be the best rainy day Jazz album ever produced, and a great view of Metheny in a stripped down trio format.

This album is a logical starting point for neophyte Metheny fans, and is arguably the finest example of his early work (say through 1983). Metheny's style on this outing comes off innocent and naive, yet strong and fresh. Some tunes take on a nightmarish feel while others are playful and imaginative, displaying a great range of textures and emotion.

The best part of this album is his pairing with the late bassist Jaco Pastorius. Jaco's moody bass lines build tension in cuts like "Midwestern Nights Dream", and his legendary passion for the bass provides a monolithic contribution on this album. If you enjoy the occasional melancholy mood, put this album on, turn off the phone, open a bottle of wine, watch the rain, and enjoy.

This is really great stuff. I recall Pat being interviewed in the past few years and saying that he thought that this CD wasn't that much different from his music now, only the underlying rhythms. I feel that this disc is a must for a couple of reasons. The first and most obvious reason is that it is a fantastic recording of Jaco Pastorious. I think this is one of his finest works. The second reason, and I think that many might miss this if they don't have the historical context, is that being Pat's first solo project it was a turn in the musical road that seemed filled with fusionaires. Pat sort of began to hint at his compositional genius. His playing is great and the recording really breathes.

There was Kind of Blue. Then, the likes of Extrapolation or The Koln Concert ... : Timelessness. Grandeur. Metheny's first album (recorded dec 1975) was not only a result of the convergeance of three giants, but was, as well, a redefinition of what we'll agree to call 'contemporary jazz'. Bright Size Life brought new things. The album is important to such a degree that there is no need to justify the considerable impact it had since its first inception in 1976. Metheny's first ECM record was---and still is---a smashing effort, conclusively unequalled as the masterpiece it is and comprehensively 'imitated' by a large number of guitar, bass and drums players : Bright Size Life did not invent the jazz trio, an already proven formula, it further advanced an evolving paradigm in the jazz trio area. The album's atypical approach---almost abnormality---is revealed within the first few seconds of the first track ('Bright Size Life'). Instrumental construction does not really belong to fusion or free jazz, i'd say, instead, it has inherited and assimilated the vital ingredients of modal jazz and improvisation. Thus the versatile qualities of (most of) the pieces. Bright Size Life is also exceptional in the way it presents one of Pat Metheny's culminations---what he did with his instrument was quasi-revolutionary for the time---alongside Moses's great drumming and Pastorius's masterful use of the bass. The virtuose 'jeu', perceptive melodic lines and complex transitions permeate the album from start to finish ; Pastorius can't be unnoticed. I cannot single out one favorite piece, a reason why the sense of unity is so much tight (its almost like a concept album, but it isnt). I won't feel apologetic to say this is an essential recording, indeed, and quite certainly a nice addition to any good jazz collection.

This is a "Desert Island" CD. I bought it thirty years ago when the vinyl was still hot off the press. I instantly recognized that this was the debut of a NEW voice on our instrument. Better yet: it is one of those very rare sessions where a solo guitar (here in tandem with Jaco and Bob Moses) carries the whole show. Of course, Jaco takes much of the melody and harmony so it's more of a duet actually. The compositions are sparse and beautiful. It rocks and swings and rehearses a whole rainbow of genres in forty minutes. Also, in a musical tradition where the guitar is usually buried in the mix and horribly muffled (Kessel, Burrell, Hall, Martino) Pat's tone is country-bright with technical twang. I have not enjoyed anything by Metheny as much since, except perhaps Q&A. If you are a serious guitar and jazz enthusiast this will blow you away. If you are a jacuzzi wine-cooler yuppie backgorund Metheny lover stay away, you might spill your drink!!!