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Hot<br />
The<br />
Box<br />
CD Critics <br />
John McDonough John Corbett Jim Macnie Paul de Barros<br />
Gerald Wilson Orchestra<br />
Legacy<br />
★★★ ★★★★ ★★★½ ★★½<br />
James Carter<br />
Caribbean Rhapsody<br />
★★★★½ ★★★ ★★½ ★★½<br />
Pat Metheny<br />
What’s It All About<br />
★★★ ★★ ★★★½ ★★★★<br />
Adam Cruz<br />
Milestone<br />
★★★ ★★★★ ★★★½ ★★★<br />
Critics’ Comments<br />
Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Legacy<br />
Let’s hear it for the nonagenarian, kicking butt and taking names! Stunning band, rich tunes, spectacular<br />
soloists—Renee Rosnes rocking hard, son Anthony always a joy—in a Windy City tone poem. Thoroughly<br />
satisfying. <br />
—John Corbett<br />
Working the blues into the lion’s share of his pieces, the 92-year-old composer speaks an orchestral<br />
language that is slowly (and sadly) fading from view. That adds some weight to this album, which brims with<br />
graceful solos and ultra-tight ensemble passages. <br />
—Jim Macnie<br />
I adore Gerald Wilson, but his recent gambit of reworking a four- or five-note theme into a suite of genre<br />
treatments—“Monterey Moods” was the previous one—doesn’t add up to much. “Yes Chicago Is…”<br />
consists of pieces so short it feels like a sketch rather than a completed composition. By contrast, Anthony<br />
Wilson’s “Virgo,” a soft swing time piece with expansive chords in Dad’s mode, really shows off the talent in<br />
this amazing band. <br />
—Paul de Barros<br />
James Carter, Caribbean Rhapsody<br />
Carter, who seems ready for all comers, scores a winner in two works that both tame and invigorate his<br />
mischievous virtuosity. “Concerto” is jittery, rigorously staccato, urbane, and ends on the blues. “Rhapsody”<br />
slumbers amiably until the two Carters meet in a dazzling shootout in which Regina trumps James’ slaptongue<br />
flamboyance with elegant ingenuity. More. <br />
—John McDonough<br />
Passages of depth and interest pop up here and there, enlivened by Carter’s crazy energy. Sometimes he<br />
rides cliches a bit hard, but he’s a hellfire who doesn’t wait for the composition to come to him. Some of<br />
Sierra’s score lapses into such a Hollywood daydream that one expects the credits. —John Corbett<br />
Hmmm, my mind kept wandering during long chunks of the orchestral passages, which is 90 percent of the<br />
program. It wasn’t the soloist’s fault—Carter is as agile and assured as ever throughout. I’m thinking it was<br />
the pieces themselves, which have an enviable lilt, but act a bit too antsy. <br />
—Jim Macnie<br />
Pat Metheny, What’s It All About<br />
Jazz may have begun as the “devil’s music,” but it’s the angels who rule here from note one. Nicely anchored<br />
in the worldliness of late standards, the tranquility is meditative and angelic, but also (save for “Pipeline”)<br />
relentlessly peaceful in its new-age passivity. Metheny wants us to chill out, and this is a tempting sedative.<br />
<br />
—John McDonough<br />
Beautiful recording, pristine guitar sound, impeccable musicianship, novel tunings. But this is such a dull<br />
program that all the good elements melt away. Of all the things Metheny could do with his prodigious talent:<br />
“Cherish” “Rainy Days And Mondays” It could work if there were a tongue in cheek somewhere, but alas,<br />
it’s totally sincere. <br />
—John Corbett<br />
Just when Pat Metheny’s pursuit of special projects had started to feel tedious, along comes this lovely solo<br />
outing on baritone guitar, in which he immerses himself in a faraway-feeling meditation on romantic love.<br />
Metheny’s pristine touch and spectacular harmonic mind refreshingly recharge songs like “Cherish” and<br />
“Alfie”; his silence-peppered distillation of “Girl From Ipanema” is a masterpiece. —Paul de Barros<br />
Adam Cruz, Milestone<br />
Mainstream avant contemporary fare, played within smart structural frameworks that make use of both<br />
ensemble and solo resources. Horns tend to fling themselves about with more passion than the material<br />
would warrant. But strong piano work from Edward Simon, who builds the bridges that connect the tempo<br />
and dynamic shifts. A solid debut CD for Cruz. <br />
—John McDonough<br />
When all is said and done, the drummer’s debut is a showcase for some of the era’s best saxophonists.<br />
Cruz’s tunes are vehicles for excursive forays by Chris Potter, Miguel Zenón and Steve Wilson, who twirl and<br />
swirl around each other in various combinations. <br />
—Jim Macnie<br />
This band has startling firepower. Potter colors outside the lines with tremendous ferocity, and Cruz drives the<br />
race car with crackerjack energy. But after a few cuts, the music begins to feel like all tension and no release.<br />
It’s possible this band needs to play together more before it relaxes into a groove. —Paul de Barros<br />
SEPTEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 47