Customer Reviews

Trio 99-00

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have always enjoyed Metheny's trio records, but this is by far his best one. His rapport with Grenadier and Stewart is at the highest level. I have a feeling that some people will be more impressed with people like Haden, Higgins, Haynes or Holland because of their names, but make no mistake about it, these younger players are the major guys of THEIR generation. Pastorius was unknown when he showed up on Bright Size Life and now he is a legend and people talk about him like he was always like that - and when BSL came out he went almost unnoticed. It will be like that with Bill Stewart on this record - in the future people will talk about his performance on Trio 99/00 as a seminal moment in jazz drumming and interaction with a soloist. As far as Metheny goes - his playing and level of pure inspriation has never been higher that on this recording. There is just so much going on it is hard to know where to begin. His time feeling, his incredible melodic sophistication, the adventurousness of his lines, everything add up to a new standard being set for jazz guitar. But for the highlights are the new Metheny compositions. There are more great new Metheny "jazz" tunes here than on any of his other records. Already I am hearing people play three songs from this record live - the two blues tunes Soul Cowboy and Go Get it and the rhythm changes tune What do You Want. They are much better compositions than either BSL or Q and A. If I had to recommend just one Metheny record to someone who wanted to check what the guy can do with a guitar in his hands, this would be it. I would give it more stars if I could!

Metheny is possibly the greatest jazz guitarist ever. And I say that with full knowledge of all the Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Grant Green, Django records ever made. High praise? Yes, indeed - but this record is the capper to a 10 year string of sensational releases that Metheny has put together in his recorded output that outrank just about any musician of this era.

With this record, Metheny brings a harmonic and rhythmic ingenuity to his instrument that has eluded just about everyone else. Of his generation, only John Scofield has come close to acheiving this level of improvisational sophistication - but even with Sco, there is a humanity missing somehow; his work is intriquing and oh so interesting, but Metheny always retains the human touch and warm round sound that puts him in that higher echelon with Wes and the others.

My contention that he has surpassed them with this release is based on the fact that the actual improvised melodies that Metheny comes up with with this record remain indelibly crammed into my cranium. To take a tune with a tempo as fast as the first tune, Go Get It, and play song like phrases is the kind of stuff only acheived by greats like Clifford Brown or Sonny Rollins, almost never by a guitarist. (but Joe Pass could come close) Also, the compositions are almost guaranteed to become standards, they are that good - it is easy to imagine that What Do You Want, Soul Cowboy and The Sun In Montreal will become staples of the next generation of musicians.

Also, the rhythm section of Grenadier and Stewart is perfectly matched to Metheny, and though they may not be the big names of today, they will be the Haynes/Higgins/Holland/Hadens of the next years, no doubt.

This is Metheny's best non-group project ever. Better than Song X (a classic), the duet records with Hall and Haden (classics) or his many recent sideman projects. I am even recommending to people who ask me for suggestions that this be their FIRST PM record - something i used to suggest Bright Size Life for.

I have always preferred "chamber Pat," as opposed to his Metheny Group recordings, so I was very anxious to hear this new album. Like "Q&A," and "Rejoicing" before it, this album is very impressive. A real showcase for Metheny's guitar playing, which seems more extrovert in comparison with the last few Metheny Group albums. His supporting rhythm section are terrific, even though the drummer has a tendency to play with the time alot, like the young Tony Williams. But his high level of musical communication with Metheny is undeniable. The acoustic ballads contrast well with the more straight-ahead tunes; listen to these guys play over a 12-bar blues! Pat Metheny shows by the contents of this album that he is a complete master of his instrument, and I hope this trio records more albums together in the future. Two thumbs way up.

All of Pat's trio recordings have been stellar. They give him the space to stretch out amidst the chemistry of a small group. This recording, laid down after extensive touring, especially displays the virtuosity of Pat and drummer Bill Stewart. Pat's style is instantly recognizible without being cloying (as Bill Frisell often is). Moreover, Pat keeps growing and pushing ahead. Some of the chops on this date transcend any I have ever heard him play. Moreover, there are no special effects--the guitarsynth stays in the case--just pure musical mastery from all involved.

Doug Groothuis

I once read that Pat Metheny complained about the lack of respect that he got from other jazz musicians. Records like "99->00" should correct that problem. I would consider this a 5-star record if there was some more dynamic playing within this recording. I do recognize that many of Pats' fans look forward to a constant background groove that Metheny does so well.

However what is present is guitar playing at its' best within the context of a jazz trio.

One of my favorite collaboration records is "I Can See Your House From Here" (Blue Note) with John Scofield. I would give that record six stars! Two of the greatest guitarists of the last 25 years together. Both highly influential, both great compositional skills. And Bill Stewart is on this record as well.

Finally if you are into jazz guitar then you should listen to Grant Green and Pat Martino, two of the greats from the '60's and early '70's.

I have many Pat Metheny albums. I actually bought my first Pat Metheny album (Offramp) back in the early 80's. I have been hooked ever since then. I even saw him live in Philly a couple times.

Quite simply, Pat Metheny is an absolute genius. I know a lot of people will take exception to this, but I even put him in the same category as Miles Davis (by the way, I'm a huge Miles Davis fan as well).

I also believe that he is very much underrated as a musician, composer, arranger, and artist (even though he sells millions of records and is so critically acclaimed...).

However, with all that said, I never really had a favorite Pat Metheny CD. I always liked them all about the same. None of his albums ever stood out as being my absolute favorite--up until now anyway. I recently purchased this CD, and I was completely blown away the first time I played it. This is probably my favorite Pat Metheny CD.

A couple reviewers mentioned that this is really much more pure jazz than most of his albums--so I won't go into any details about that.

What really amazes me about this cd is Pat Metheny's guitar playing. Although I always considered him an exceptional guitar player, I can honestly say that I never realized how great of a guitar player he really is until I heard this CD.

Larry Grenadier (bass) and Bill Stewart (Drums) are fantastic on this cd as well.

I also love the stripped down format of this album: Guitar, Bass, and Drums. No special effects, no over-dubs, nothing fancy...I love all of his other stuff as well, but this cd really stands out.

What really bugs me about this cd is the ranking. I am surprised at how low this is ranked by Amazon.com in terms of best selling Pat Metheny CDs. It is ranked #31. I just find it odd that there are 30 other Pat Metheny CDs that sell better on Amazon.com than this. I don't want to put down any of his other stuff, because all of it is great, but I would think that this would sell much better than most of that other stuff.

Buy it and enjoy!

I know many who only know Metheny's work within the context of the Pat Metheney Group would not understand what a truly great musician Pat Metheny is. But Pat Metheny in an authentic jazz setting, with his trio work, or with true jazz cohorts (Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, etc.) is, in my opinion, one of the most, if not the most harmonically complex, dexterous, fluid jazz guitarist in the world. Any of his trio albums demonstrate this, and all are nothing short of inspirational and amazing if you love jazz guitar.

These discussions about ranking Pat's albums are sort of absurd. He's the best modern musician who happens to play the guitar, and every recording has something to offer. Where everybody else plows through changes, Pat floats, and the trio frees him up even more.

I've never been a big Metheny fan. My tastes in jazz guitar run from Django through Joe Pass to Jim Hall, John Abercrombie and John Scofield. Metheny always seemed a bit new-agey/electronic, but this single disk puts him, for me, in the top rank. The collaboration with Hall seems to have done its job; the influence is obvious. Some of the phrases and harmonic turns would have astonished Charlie Parker! Don't miss it.

In order to be helpful to those who are unfamiliar with this recording let me say right up-front that this trio plays straight jazz from beginning to end. If you enjoy Keith Jarrett's trio (90's) or the early Bill Evans trio ('59-'64), you should buy this CD right away. This recording will give you the chance to finally listen to an exceptional jazz guitar trio doing "jazz". For those who have heard other Metheny albums be aware you won't find any special effects, pianos synthesizers, orchestras, million string guitars, or any extra studio additions. This is first class clean jazz scales at the Metheney pace (that is very fast most players and with a lot of heart when he slows down). The other two members, in my opinion, are at Metheny's execution level. As a player I can tell that the three had a lot of fun and enjoyed playing this straight modern jazz album. If you are not into jazz and only have enjoyed Metheny as a melodic guitar player, please stay away. If you are into jazz and enjoy guitar with an open mind to choose scales, make room within your Jarrett, Evans, Corea, Davis, Mc Laughlin, and Dimeola recordings and insert Metheny's trio.