Search - Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow :: Quartet Live

The New Quartet

Matthew Miller | New York, New York | 05/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gary Burton has been playing with Vibes-Guitar Quartets for literally decades now, so this format should not come as a surprise to any longtime fan. Nor should the high quality of musicianship coming from this particular band (Gary Burton on Vibes, Pat Metheny on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass and newcomer Antonio Sanchez on drums). I will say that despite this I was still surprised at how great this album is. This is a sort of reunion of one of the older Gary Burton quartets, with Metheny and Swallow, but I cant think of any previous Burton quartet album that has come out better. From start to finish, we are treated to a really great show.



Gary Burton is one of the most gifted improvisers of all time. He displays such a spectacular melodic and rhythmic sense in everything he does. this album is no exception. If you have ever heard and liked Burton before, you will like him here certainly. Metheny is another musician of prodigious talent, though I have found his more recent work less consistent. I bought 'Tokyo Day Trip' expecting to be wowed (especially with Christian McBride playing bass and Sanchez on drums)and I wasn't. It sounded dry to me, and identical all his other recent albums. Although that album has grown on me in the months since I bought, I couldn't help but wonder if some of the passion that had made his earlier performances so amazing (see 80/81 or his recording with Ornette Coleman 'Song X') was gone. I can happily say that if it was gone, it has come back strongly for this recording. His solos are tasteful, but exciting and his comping is perfectly timed. The last member from the earlier quartets is bassist Steve Swallow, who although rarely in the spotlight does a fine job throughout.



The new member is drummer Antonio Sanchez. I have followed him for last year or two with great interest. He is one of the more interesting newer drummer on the scene. His beats are always very complicated, sometimes busy, but he never overpowers the rest of the band. In this setting he excels, keeping the fast songs exciting, the slow songs mellow and lending one or two fabulous solos (he has an extended solo on 'Missouri Uncompromised' which is great).



the band fits together well, interacting as if by telepathy. They are never in each other's way, as is often the case in mediocre bands, but instead move freely around each other without ever losing the core of the song. Whether on a fast tune (Syndrome) or a slower one (Fleurette Africaine) they could not sound more together. The old Gary Burton Quartet standards have never sounded better (this may be my new favorite iteration of 'Falling Grace').



A week ago, in anticipation of its release, I tried to listen to the samples on this Amazon page. What I heard was like the old Burton quartet played two or three times as fast. Luckily this is an issue not with the music, but with the amazon samples, which must have been sped up somehow. In reality this is a great release. If you've been a fan, you'll love this. If your new, I suspect you'll love it as well."

Absolutely Wonderful & Uplifting!

D. Shear | USA | 05/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This much-anticipated quartet gathering, the New Quartet Live Album with Burton, Metheny, Swallow and Sanchez, is simply great! I love the flow of songs and the 4 sound wonderful together and sport-on. Pat has 3 songs; Gary has 1 song, as does Chick Corea - Neville Potter, Keith Jarrett and Duke Ellington. Carla Bley has 2 songs, as does Steve Swallow. Altogether there are 11 songs and IMO, Missouri Uncompromised is Super as is Little African Flower. The Album ends with Question and Answer and @ 13:02 in Length it is really performed smoking Hot! Pat plays his guitar synth on Q & A and I think it caps off the album really well and in my view, he sensitively plays his guitar synth to the scale of Yoshi's. The sound quality is excellent and the album was recorded in June of 2007 at Yoshi's in Oakland, CA. This new and hot Quartet Live album is highly recommended!"

Time Machine.....

Mario Toni Belamariæ | zagreb, croatia | 06/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is sort of a time machine. In the cd booklet Pat, Gary & Steve say that things have changed over the years and they evolved as a players, but the feeling is the same as in the times of those tracks. I thought it wasn't possible!

Pat solos (improvisations) are the best in the last 10 years. It's like he returned to lyrical playing of early days (70s & 80s). I have all of Pat albums and even though I always thought of him as the best player and composer in the world (well Lyle Mays is here too), I felt that his improvisations in the last decade has gone too technical. But on this album he returns to his lyrical playing and the only thing i can say is: "Well, that's Pat!"

Gary and Steve, on the other hand are standard in their masterful playing and things just flow around in space....

Somehow, I would have liked Danny Gottlieb on drums even though Antonio kicks ...! ;o)



Anyway, a great album of a great musicians and of a great music and feeling!

Cheers! ;o)"