Customer Reviews

Footprints

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

 

 

The release of this vintage album of the late 70's to CD shows why Pat Martino is to be revered as one of the greats of jazz guitar. Footprints has everything - classic ballads, Brazillian treats, uptempo tour de forces - all with the brilliant musicianship of Martino. This seminal guitarist, oft forgotten has been playing clubs again after a long U.S. hiatus. Footprints will introduce any jazz guitar fan to the type of treat rarely found in today's jazz recordings. Richard Davis on bass and Billy Higgins on drums can't be beat- end of story - and the arrangements here are so sweet you will find yourself playing this disc time and again. Savor these tunes!

Far and away Pat Martino's greatest recording and one of the most exhilarating jazz recordings ever. Rarely will you hear the improvised line played so fast while still retaining precise grace and lyricism. Reminiscent not so much of Coltrane's "sheets of sound", but something more on the line of cascading pearls. Both uptempo numbers and the elegant ballad "What Are You Doing For the Rest of Your Life" are built up layer by layer with Pat's gorgeous guitar tone, possibly enhanced by his use of extra heavy gauge strings. By the time you reach the final cut, "Alone Together" you'll be, as a guitar player, on your knees muttering "Merciful God in Heaven, how does one get there?". Never has Pat been recorded with such a sympathetic rhythm section - the multi-directional but sensitive drumming of Billy Higgins, the power and finesse of Richard Davis on bass, and most of all the exquisite, subtle chord colorings by Bobby Rose on rhythm guitar.

Everyone has a few, a very few, "cosmic" recordings that changed the way they view music and the world. Pat Martino's "The Visit" (here renamed "Footprints", probably for better recognition) is such a recording for me. For one, the core of this recording is the interplay of two guitars. Virtuosos like McLaughlin and Martino sound especially good when their fire is allowed to blend with another guitar. From the Latin cooker "The Visit" to the world-class bopper "Road Song" we get a hot update on Wes with a hint of the outside, thanks to bassist Richard Davis. In the late sixites we were used to hearing the spooky and adventurous sounds of this man (a favorite of mine is Coltrane's "Nature Boy" where Davis and Garrison fill the room with bass). Most impressive are the fragile and deeply pensive ballads, especially "What are you Doing the Rest of Your Life?" Anyone who thinks Martino is just a machine-gunner with no lyricism in him MUST check out this record. This is beyond stars, it is a milestone.

Es el tipo de discos que no venden en Mixup en México, por eso tuve que recurrir a Amazon, Pat Martino es un gran Jazzista. Totalmente recomendable

"We'll be together again" and "Footprints" are my two favorite Pat Martino cd's. If you are wondering what is so great about Pat Martino, give these cd's a listen.