I feel woefully inadequate to write a review of jazz music, much less of an actual jazz concert. As much as I enjoy jazz, it has never been a big part of my collection which can make it very difficult to talk about when knowledge is so integral to the experience. Nevertheless, when I saw that Pat Metheny was touring with Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez, it was a show I had to check out.
For those unfamiliar with Pat Metheny, he is a guitar virtuoso. And that’s putting it mildly. He does things with the guitar that can leave you scratching your head. The music can be subtle and gentle yet at the same time intense and engaging. His work under the Pat Metheny Group has an almost dream-like quality that I was first introduced to, believe it or not, while watching the pseudo-classic 80s film Fandango. But this show was a tad different as it featured a true jazz trio.
To start things off, Metheny came out on the stage and played a couple solo guitar works. These pieces meandered to and from melodies that had a familiar sound but avoided anything cohesive enough to get a labeled as a song… well, maybe the latin-tinged one might, but the definitely not the first. While they were pleasant enough, I was anxiously awaiting what was to come with his third guitar swap - the donning of the Pikasso I. In a way, that 42-string monstrosity demonstrates everything there is to know about Metheny - it is complex and beautiful and appears impossible to play yet produces amazing music. He certainly did not disappoint.
The main course was yet to come, as McBride and Sanchez joined Metheny on stage as the last notes of the Pikasso I died out. For the rest of the night, musicianship was in top form and on center stage. While Metheny is truly the star of this trio, McBride’s endeavors on the bass may have been the most impressive performance of the night. His fingers moved faster than I thought possible on such a large instrument, and his solos had such a sweet vibe to them. Being a Philly crowd, the crowd definitely got behind one of their own, but I can only imagine that his playing would be greatly appreciated in any city. Sanchez was a different matter. While I loved his interplay with the rest of the trio, his first solo felt divergent from the music - almost like he was fighting the urge to break into a cacophony of rock breaks. But as the night wore on, he seemed to settle more and more into the feel of the trio.
All three of these gentlemen are superb musicians, and great musicians love to play with and around others like them. Watching the interplay as they added flourishes to each other’s solos, took over and gave back control of songs, and just generally bounced ideas off one another was incredible. One of the highlights was the final encore when Metheny had already donned an electric guitar for the end of “When We Were Free” and McBride joined in for another piece with an electric bass. Suddenly the music took on a jazz/rock fusion element and the energy for the evening was renewed again.
Overally, this was far more free form than I am used to; which runs the danger of becoming tedious (just ask my wife who joined me). It’s definitely not for everyone as the music can become overwhelming and even boring for those wishing for a melody. The few true “songs” that were played from the new album (such as “Is This America?” and the above-mentioned “When We Were Free”) definitely put their album Day Trip on my wish list. As brilliant as the live performance is, I still tend to cling to more structured music on my own. Nevertheless, this was a wonderful experience, and definitely one I would repeat.