THE GIG

Save Me From What I Want

 

St. Vincent

Allen Room, Jan. 29

 

Pat Metheny Is Not Insane (OK, Maybe a Little)

When I first met with Pat Metheny in preparation for this feature, it was the day before Thanksgiving, and he was ready for me. I entered the front parlor of his rehearsal space, we sat down, and within a minute or two he had opened a hardcover copy of The Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments, by Arthur A. Reblitz. I can’t remember the illustration he indicated -- this one, perhaps? -- but I do have his comments on file. “People were essentially doing this same kind of thing in that wacky period before people had recordings,” he said. “And I mean, this in particular [pointing] sort of parallels the specific kind of thing that I’m doing.” (Here he made eye contact.) “So it’s not like this is something I came up with out of the clear blue sky.”

Pat Metheny is not a crazy person. Far from it, in fact. Spend a couple of hours in his presence, as I did that afternoon and again in December, and this whole robot-orchestra idea begins to seem rational, if not exactly normal. At the time, word wasn’t really out about Orchestrion, though select folk -- like David Adler, now hard at work on his second Metheny cover for JazzTimes -- had seen a demo. The air of secrecy was thick, as Team Metheny counted down the days to its 16-week tour. I couldn’t help but think of a Bond villain in his lair, preparing to unleash his diabolical creation on the world.

The Honor and the Glory

 

Jeremy Pelt Quintet

Jazz Standard, Jan. 28

Hiromi

Highline Ballroom, Jan. 28

Sound Effects

Jazz Listings

Jan. 29 to Feb. 4

Riding the Highway

I’ve already sounded the alarm on Brad Mehldau’s new album, Highway Rider. Here, via Nonesuch and the jazz blog Nextbop, is a behind-the-scenes EPK. And yes, Jon Brion is exactly that animated about the state of jazz (though, I suspect, secretly a bit less cynical).

Nash Bridges

 A few years ago, saxophonist and flutist Ted Nash received a commission from Jazz at Lincoln Center, in cahoots with the Museum of Modern Art. The result was Portrait in Seven Shades, a program that premiered at Frederick P. Rose Hall. A companion studio album is due out a week from today. (It’s available for preorder through Amazon, where you can preview tracks.)

 A few recent spins of the album -- Jazz at Lincoln Center’s first release in conjunction with the Orchard, and its first new release of any sort in nearly four years -- reconfirmed my enthusiasm for the music. Nash, whose solo career, while always mindful of traditions, reaches well outside a “traditional” nexus, features the orchestra in its most flattering light. The playing is strong, the writing robust. I imagine it will go over just as well next week (Feb. 4 to 6) as it did two years ago.

 Back then, I covered Portrait with a lengthy feature about Nash and his project. There’s not a whole lot to add now, except that I’m especially glad no Picassos were damaged in the making of this piece. Also: if you have five spare minutes, check out the accompanying video (scroll past “multimedia” down to “video,” and then watch in Full Screen mode). In addition to Nash’s comments and some rehearsal footage, you’ll see a shot of this reporter interrogating his subject in front of Demoiselles d’Avignon. Ann Temkin, soon to be installed as MoMA’s chief curator, was smart enough to stay out of the frame.

Whole Tree Colossus Blackjazz

 

Playlist, Jan. 24

Myra Melford, Shining, Jerry Bergonzi, RJD2, Matthew Shipp

Sax + Bass + Drums +

FLY

Jazz Standard, Jan. 21

 

Jazz Listings

Jan. 22 to 28

Real Life (Talking)

 

Lindstrom & Christabelle

“Real Life Is No Cool”

My apologies for posting this so belatedly, and for the general silence at this frequency. I’ve been holed up in Deadlineville, and out of town for personal reasons, and juggling this and that. There’s stuff on the way, including a Playlist this weekend and a feature on Orchestrion, the mind-trippy new project (album, tour, quixotic obsession) from guitarist Pat Metheny. Some context, in case you have yet to see it: 

And while you’re here, allow me to steer you in the direction of a back-and-forth involving a vested party, an impartial observer and a worthy riposte. The subject is big band innovation and critical consensus, more or less. I’d be curious to hear the perspective of a certain blogger at the heart of this debate, though I wouldn’t begrudge him some pragmatic silence. I should note that my next JazzTimes column addresses the issue of big-band progressivism, falling prey, as it were, to some of the ostensible biases that Graham Collier decries. 

Numbers Game

David Gilmore and Numerology

 Jazz Standard, Jan. 13