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Rating: 1997. Five legends, five absolute acrobats have come together to play music. The result is a good, smooth, creamy work, knowledgeable and cultured, balanced, and wonderfully composed. It's Like Minds. Elegant music for refined tastes. But it's just routine. There are indeed no original compositions that the group worked on together for this album.
For Pat Metheny, just back from the Immaginary Day tour (mha!), the opportunity arises to play with the sublime master, and adept vibraphonist Gary Burton. The birth of this project is due to the common management of the two artists. It was Pat who suggested to Gary to involve two of his old companions: Roy Haynes on drums and Dave Holland on double bass. Chick Corea on piano, a longtime friend of Burton, completes the quintet.
The album's tracks are composed by Pat, Gary, and Chick, with a tribute to George Gershwin. Question and Answer opens with intensity and brilliance. It's a fairly recent piece by Pat, and in this arrangement, it takes on a more rustic and less aggressive aspect compared to the original version. Elucidation truly surprises with speed, dynamism, and harmony. I feel confident in saying that this piece by Pat is particularly fun, lively, and radiant, undoubtedly among my favorites. Corea also gets creative over Haynes' moderate drumming. Pat charges his frantic and multicolored monologue with energy in the central part. Windows by Corea is soft and waltzing, quite crafty and oblique. Also by Corea, Futures follows, but it is too slow and introspective, somewhat off the path that the album was delineating. We move on to Like Minds by Burton, which brings back depth and dynamism to the album. It's a jazz piece of sure interest, fluid and fast, with excellent improvisation by the vibraphonist. Country Roads opens with the double bass, quite crafty and slithering, also by Burton. But it's not a high point. Tears of Rain by Metheny is truly dark, though its notes are penetrating and subdued, languid and very sad. The piece evolves acrobatically, rises on itself with increasing intensity, and carries its dark value for a full 6 minutes. The central phase of the album is somewhat slower, but never banal or performed with negligence. An assertive revival of serenity with the perfect sound of Soon by Gershwin, which sweetly extends into a colorful and entertaining solo by Pat, later reciprocated by Burton. With the support of the group, the majestic George is duly honored. I find For a Thousand Years quite distant from the album's theme, yet absolutely dreamlike and wonderful, with credit to the depth of the sound, great merit to Chick Corea, which allows the maximum appreciation of this melancholic but very flavorful piece by Pat. Brilliant closure with one of my favorite pieces by Chick Corea, Straight Up and Down. Energetic and brilliant, pure jazz, acrobatic, with a decisive structure, yet pleasant to follow. I love to call it road jazz. I think Corea's pieces have something of New Orleans in their veins.
A very satisfying collection of tracks, but a little disappointing for Pat at the finished work. He admits he wanted something more than being just a performer, never actually having felt in love with the piece executed. An interesting album, if nothing else very useful for getting closer to Burton, enjoying Corea's skill and flexibility, and listening to good pieces performed by big names. To you.
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