(Review
by Les)
Back in
the nineties, John Zorn wrote 500 tunes inspired by traditional Jewish music.
This became known as Book One of the two volume work that
became known as The Masada Book. Book Two
consisted of 300 tunes and was written in three months.
Over the
past eight years, the tunes from Book Two
have been recorded as volumes of The Book
of Angels by a number of world-class musicians. Volume 20 is a selection of six pieces
recorded by Pat Metheny, assisted by his oft percussionist Antonio
Sanchez.
Metheny’s
interpretation of the pieces chosen culminates in a very varied and rich body
of work, although generally there’s a strong, Middle Eastern “common
denominator” running throughout the album.
It’s hard
to believe that Tap was recorded by
one artist, such is the diversity of the individual pieces, both in terms of
composition and instruments/soundscapes used; from the sitar-dominated opener
of Mastema, to the obviously
“acoustic-Metheny” of Albim,
concluding with a piano/drum chaotic cacophony Hurmiz.
In between there’s wild, abstract, heavily-distorted guitar soloing,
complex and very precise rhythms and melodies, spiced with sounds and scrapings
of…who knows what.
Despite
the diversity of the pieces, as a body of work it all hangs together remarkably
well. It’s not background music; it has
to be listened to, and it’s far too complex to be able to take it all in in one
listen. I’ve been through it a number of
times now and it continues to reveal itself further with each play.
Whilst
there are times it’s obvious who the main protagonist is, this isn’t your
average, run-of-the-mill Pat Metheny
album. That said, the playing oozes his
class and quality from start to finish.
I like
this album on a number of levels; from the standpoint of a (one time)
guitarist, from the standpoint of being a fan of creative jazz and from the
standpoint of occasionally wanting something very different to listen to, to
clear and refresh a sometimes tired listening palette.
Invest
some time with it at the outset and you’ll enjoy return visits forevermore.
Pat Methrny: Tap
released May 21, 2013.
Les.
Les.
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