Joe Pass
Intercontinental

If one were to send a couple of dozen CDs out of the Milky Way as a testament to the best music ever produced by Humankind, the choice would be truly daunting, starting with the selection of "genres" to include or not. And anyway, the "genres" were probably invented by record executives (and mothers-in-law!). In any case, for me, one of these albums would definitely be "Intercontinental".

Recorded in 1970 at the Tonstudio in Villingen, Germany, by Joe Pass (guitar), with Eberhard Weber on double bass and Kenny Clarke on drums, this album is inexplicably only available on CD as an import from Japan at a price that can reasonably be considered "a bit high". It features 10 classic tracks, ten "standards" performed with total taste, measure, mastery, sense of time, swing, and harmonic and melodic progression: Chloe, Meditation, I Cover The Waterfront, I Love You, Stompin’ At The Savoy, Watch What Happens, Joe’s Blues, Gento, Ode To Billy Joe, Lil’ Darlin’.

The class and balance of tones and timbres make it an ideal standard both for the overall "color" of the sound product and for the more properly "technical" execution on the instruments; it must be said that here Joe Pass is at the top of his form, delivering measured phrases, brief and comping chords that together develop the theme, improvisation, reprise, and closure according to the best unwritten yet sacred jazz standards for musicians of this caliber. No frills. Little solo space is left to the two rhythm players who perform their duties with extreme elegance and professionalism. Fear not: sometimes "professional" is used as a polite way of saying "monotonous" or "aseptic," but in this case, the word should be interpreted in the highest sense of the term, that is, a perfect contribution to the global economy of the record and with utmost attention to the interaction among musicians.

A perfect counterpart to a piano trio of the caliber of Bill Evans or Keith Jarrett or take your pick. An album to be enjoyed both late at night with eyes half-closed, or while shaving in the morning, to be studied by anyone who wants to know what a modern "quiet" mainstream jazz trio without time and expiration is. A classic. For all latitudes. Intercontinental.