Customer Reviews

Think Tank

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On first hearing, I scarcely knew what to make of this. Ostensibly, it's a post-bop workout, albeit one of the highest order. But there's something else going on here, something that seeks to acknowledge the tradition even as it advances it. That's seen most clearly in the make-up of the band, with dyed-in-the-wool post-bopper tenor sax player Joe Lovano playing cheek-by-jowl with more progressive players Christian McBride (bass) and Louis Nash (drums). The catalyst is Gonzalo Rubacalba at the piano chair, who has played in both traditional and more progressive settings. What we've got here, I believe, is a new way to reinvent the tradition. We've seen what Dave Douglas (Freak In), Nicholas Payton (Sonic Trance), Brad Mehldau (Largo), Roswell Rudd (Malicool) and Kurt Rosenwenkel (Heartcore) have done to the jazz ezzthetic. Now (as Monty Python used to say) for something completely different.

Instead of bringing a bunch of alien elements (hip hop, dance, trance, techno, Eastern, electronics) into the music, as the above artists have done, Martino takes a somewhat more difficult (and, one is tempted to say, more creative) route to revitalizing the jazz tradition: keep the standard lineup (guitar, piano, sax, acoustic bass, drums) but imbue it with a radically different musical approach.

Different how? Martino somehow has seamlessly melded traditional bebop and post-bop sensibilities with modern-jazz aesthetics. Similar to but certainly not identical with what Greg Osby did on St. Louis Shoes and Ted Nash did on Still Evolving, Think Tank expands jazz sensibilities even as it pays tribute to the tradition. Take the title cut, for instance. Structurally a blues number, it ventures into harmonic and rhythmic territory far beyond typical jazz tunes. Or how about "Dozen Down"? Here we have ostensibly a typical jazz burner, yet it is overlaid with a distinctly modern vibe, especially evoked by Louis Nash's incredibly creative approach to the drums, Rubalcaba's brilliant comping on piano, which could have only come out of his deeply delved Afro/Cuban/jazz awareness, and a stunning bass solo from McBride that manages to evoke the entire history of jazz bass even as it stakes out new territory.

Certainly the best disc from Martino in ages, it may very well end up being his finest recording ever. Highest recommendation.

When I saw Martino with Jim Ridl in 2001, I was blown away. It was a religious experience, the first time I'd seen him live. Jim's amazing too, though so is Gonzalo Rubalcaba, the pianist on this album.

After, I went up to the bar to finish my bear and get a burger. It was a hotel bar so I got sticker shock when I saw what they charged for a burger. I decided I'd just finish my beer and go, and the next thing I know Pat sits down next to me and introduces himself (as if I could have been in the room and no known how he was).

We got to talking, and Pat Martino went from being a guitarist I loved to a human being I'm in awe of. The recovery from neurosurgery is fairly well publicized, but talking to him I got a sense of the quiet strength in him that is what let him retrain himself to his instrument. At the time, 'Live at Yoshi's' (also an excellent album) was his 'new' album, another one I'd have to give 5 stars to, though an organ trio affair, very different from 'Think Tank.'

I guess amnesia makes you a memory junkie because when I caught him with Joey DeFrancesco the next year, after the show, Pat recognized me, shook my hand, asked my how my daughters were doing. I was floored. Believing I'd been just a barfly who was marginally more interesting than cable TV in the hotel room is one thing, but for him to remember a fan from one of his numerous tour stops based on a single conversation, that's too much.

What does this have to do with the CD? Two things: the power of his mind and spirit transcend what he can do with the instrument. Pat's an artist with more thant he guitar, his life is a work of art (and he pursues other disciplines that he's less known for). But that inner life translates to his playing.

The second thing is in talking with him, I mentioned how much I enjoyed Joe Lovano. I told him how my vinyl copy of 'Strings!' had made a huge impact on me, and his play with Joe Farrell had really blown me away. I thought Lovano might have similar chemistry with Martino, and he laughed and said something along the lines of, 'you never know,' and then, 'Joe and I have talked about recording.'

I don't know if this was already in the works at the time, it wasn't recorded until 2003.

The main thing about 'Think Tank' (and Bela Fleck says it well in his liner notes) is that this isn't just a group of all-stars pushed into a room together. This plays like a band that's been working together long-term. The sort of organic feel and interplay I associate with Keith Jarrett's work with Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock.

Whether they're doing hard bop or ballads, these guys all use the most important instruments they have: their ears. The result is one of my favorite albums to come out in the past few years.

I'm not sure what disc the other reviewers were listening to, but ThinkTank is a seriously deep effort from one of our great American artists. The music transcends simple chops and interplay. This is some heavy stuff from a heavy band. Mr. Nash is absolutely impeccable and Gonzalo's solos are magical. I think the man is a genius. Pat's solos are his most mature and thoughtful to date. "Live at Yoshi's" was fun (I was there). ThinkTank is a supremely sophisticated mental workout. Bravo.

This is a powerhouse release of sorts as every one of the contributing musicians on the album is considered one of the very best on his instrument. The rhythm is creatively and powerfully promulgated by the exceptional combination of Lewis Nash on the drums and Christian McBride on the bass. Nash's solos are intriguing and interesting and his backing flawless yet never overshadowing. McBride's playing lays the foundation for the rest of the combo; regarding improv, as always, he's on! I was not familiar with Gonzalo Rubalcaba (on the keys) before this album, but I couldn't be more surpised by his uber-intelligent style - both in comping and soloing. This is a player who seems always to be thinking hard, a contemplative improviser whose solos are relentlessly innovative and rarely flashy (although technical ability obviously abounds). Joe Lovano plays the tenor. While I have been a Lovano fan since I first heard him play with Scofield on What We Do, I don't think that I have ever enjoyed his singularly breathy, crying style quite as much as I do here. Lovano's playing impacts me in such a way that when I am listening, I can't help but think, "This guy is so hip!" And then there is Pat Martino. What endurance of improvisational concentration! Brilliant ideas seem to come effortlessly; he hears an idea, he plays the idea, technical difficulty never seems to pose a problem. For your own benefit, you need to listen to this man play!

Think Tank is an incredible album that seems to surprisingly slip under the radar for some reason. Sandwiched between two other strong releases (Live At Yoshis and Remember), I wouldn't be surprised to see it gain more notoriety as time goes by. It's a tad different, in a good way, than a lot of Pat's albums. Maybe that's due to Joe Lavano and his sax, but all the musicians on this album are top notch and it shows. It's a modern bop album that holds up well for fans of any instrument, not just jazz guitar. There's well written compositions in addition to the expected great playing.

This sonic shower is thick with intelligence, virtuosity, and beauty. It is cerebral, in a sense--given the fast, tight charts; but also deeply visceral, given the fast and hot-beating heart of the music.

No one really sounds like Martino except Martino. Some call him "the velvet hammer" because of his precise, sweet, yet insistent and penetrating approach to jazz guitar. Each solo is an epic performance, always immediately recognizable at Martino, but always a new creation in its own right.

His bandmates perform flawlessly, adding their own voices to that of the master. It does not get much better than this in contemporary jazz.

Great place to start if you're interested in Pat. Great line-up with stellar chemistry to say the least... Lewis Nash swings this band right off the disc - wow! McBride and Lovano are great and Pat is in fine form. His compositions are some of the strongest on the disc - along with the Coltrane cover, "Africa." Do yourself a favor and pick this up now... Tracks 2 and 6 are worth the price of this disc alone - a must have!

Not my favorite of Mr Martino's music because the ensemble doesn't really gel and everyone is kind of held back. You don't feel that anyone really lets loose and is on fire. Also, the recording quality is a little flawed to my ears. They could have balanced and contoured the sound better...but that's just me.

I would challenge anyone to listen to this album cold and identify the leader. I'm not a big fan of Martino's, but I'd guess that having heavy, heavy hitters like Rubalcaba and McBride made some of his playing a bit more subdued than his Joyful Lake efforts. Listening to this album as a team effort, I think, puts the music choices to the fore, with the players trying to adapt to each other's sounds within the framework of the mid-tempo melodies.

That all said, this is a very enjoyable album, given the talents the individual players bring to the session. The majority of the selections are straight-ahead and Lewis Nash and Christian McBride really force the action with their rhythm work. "Africa" and the title track stand out. I do think Joe Lovano playing lacked a certain fire.

but I'm just being honest. I really am trying hard to find something to blame for this. Unlike Bela Fleck's declaration inside the liner notes that finally there is an example of an All-Star lineup that works, I have to disagree completely. Yes, this is a group of mammoth proportions (Who wouldn't want Joe Lovano, Christian McBride, Lewis Nash, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba on their album?), but no, the format does not work for the prolific guitarist. It just seems like everyone is trying to out play each other (Pat too sometimes falls victim, espcially on the title track) as opposed to playing "with" each other. Mr. Fleck's decent liner notes are correct in giving praise to Martino. He is of course, a guitarist's guitarist of the highest authority, a wonderful accompanist in nearly all situations and a soloist with an extremely modern edge that still has grasp on the tradition. This album just didn't work in his favor. When I read in an issue of Jazztimes 4 months prior to the release that Pat had finished recording a new project with Lewis Nash, Joe Lovano, Gonzalo, and Christian McBride my mouth watered until the release date. This group still has promise if everyone puts their egos aside and if Mr. McBride turns down his levels.

We were/are rooting for you Pat, but I have to be honest about this release.