The Unity Sessions (Nonesuch)
Pat Metheny
Released May 6, 2016
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kFFivoj9b4oVABvsNrV9kMyfbtagZigiQ
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About:
The Unity Sessions, released May 6, 2016, on Nonesuch Records, is taken from a filmed performance with Pat Metheny Unity Group that was released on DVD in 2015; the set comprises 13 songs by Metheny, one he co-wrote with Ornette Coleman, and one well known standard by Ray Noble.
In 2013, for the first time since 1980, Metheny recorded with a band that highlighted tenor saxophone. The resulting Unity Band, which went on to win him his 20th Grammy Award, featured Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, longtime collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, and Ben Williams on bass. Metheny then took that same ensemble into new territory with the addition of his Orchestrion and a focus on more through-composed material and christened the ensemble Pat Metheny Unity Group. The Group’s first record, Kin (←→), was released by Nonesuch in 2014 and was named the best jazz album of the year in the DownBeat Readers Poll Awards. The Group went on a world tour of more than 150 cities; at the end, they hunkered down in a small Manhattan theater to film new performances of music from the original Unity Band, the expansive Kin(←→), and touchstones from the entirety of Metheny’s music catalog. The results were released on DVD last year as The Unity Sessions, and now Nonesuch releases the album of the same name.
Over the course of more than three decades, guitarist Pat Metheny has set himself apart from the jazz mainstream, expanding and blurring boundaries and musical styles. His record-setting body of work includes 20 Grammy Awards in 12 separate categories; a series of influential trio recordings; award-winning solo albums; scores for hit Hollywood motion pictures; and collaborations and duets with major artists like Ornette Coleman, Steve Reich, Charlie Haden, Brad Mehldau, and many others. His band the Pat Metheny Group, founded in 1977, is the only ensemble in history to win Grammys for seven consecutive releases.
Track Listing:
1. Adagia 2:08
2. Sign Of The Season (Pat Metheny) 10:42
3. This Belongs To You (Pat Metheny) 5:39
4. Roofdogs (Pat Metheny) 7:50
5. Cherokee (Ray Noble) 5:02
6. Genealogy (Pat Metheny) 2:04
7. On Day One (Pat Metheny) 15:18
8. Medley (Pat Metheny) 10:52
9. Come And See (Pat Metheny) 12:55
10. Police People (Ornette Coleman and Pat Metheny) 2:52
11. Two Folk Songs (#1) (Pat Metheny) 4:58
12. Born (Pat Metheny) 7:51
13. Kin (Pat Metheny) 11:06
14. Rise Up (Pat Metheny) 12:28
15. Go Get It (Pat Metheny) 4:18
Personnel:
Pat Metheny: electric and acoustic guitars, guitar synth, electronics, orchestrionics
Chris Potter: tenor sax, soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute, guitar
Antonio Sanchez: drums and cajon
Ben Williams: acoustic and electric basses
with
Giulio Carmassi: piano, flugelhorn, whistling, synth, vocals
Produced by Pat Metheny
Co-Produced by Steve Rodby
Recorded by Pete Karam and David Oakes at the 52nd St. Project, New York, NY
Mixed by Pete Karam
Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
Guitar Tech: Carolyn Chrzan
Orchestrion Tech and Monitors: Austin Stillwell
Drum Tech: Teo Stoll
Tour Production Manager: Chris Culpepper
Tour Managers: John Nave, Dana Watson (Europe), Jerry Wortman (NYC)
Artist Management: Ted Kurland & David Sholemson for the Kurland Agency
Review:
In the past, Pat Metheny’s Unity Band has flirted with perpetual clutter. At times it’s been hard not to get tied up in knots with some of the arrangements, which leave little breathing room for the unexpected. There’s still some of that on The Unity Sessions, but the band seems to have come into their own in ways that let that breathing include a few more exhales. Taken from a filmed performance (which is available on DVD), this two-CD set definitely has a “live” feel to it. Hard to believe, but when Metheny brought saxophonist Chris Potter on board in 2013, it marked the first time the guitarist had collaborated with a saxophonist since Michael Brecker and Dewey Redman joined for his 80/81 album. On The Unity Sessions, some of that energy is revisited with “Two Folk Songs (#1),” Potter’s tenor playing reaching for the stars as Metheny madly strums his acoustic guitar. Antonio Sanchez’s drumming sounds even more ferocious than Jack DeJohnette’s from that 35-year-old release. Part of the charm to this followup of Kin, the band’s initial release in 2013, is Metheny’s knack for pacing. Following the serene acoustic guitar intro “Adagia,” the gradually building “Sign Of The Season,” the relaxed “This Belongs To You” and jaunty, blazing “Roofdogs,” Potter and Metheny proceed with the left-field insertion of Ray Noble’s standard “Cherokee.” There’s also the tender, intimate “Medley,” a solo piece in which the guitarist revisits more catalog, including parts of “Minuano (Six Eight),” “Midwestern Nights Dream“ and “Last Train Home.” Metheny delves into freer material with former bandmate/trumpeter Cuong Vu on Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny. With bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Ted Poor, this date includes five by Vu and one each by Metheny and saxophonist Andrew D’Angelo. Vu takes sonic freedom into his own hands with searing overdubs before Metheny’s synth soars in on “Acid Kiss,” the loose-limbed funkiness provided by Poor and Takeishi reinforcing a measured sense of pulse. On the boppish blues “Not Crazy (Just Giddy Upping),” Metheny reverts back to his more straightahead voice, while Vu’s fleet phrasing recalls a blend of Don Cherry and Miles Davis. Vu’s parched tone also soars in tandem with Metheny’s on the soft-spoken “Seeds Of Doubt” and restless “Tiny Little Pieces.”
John Ephland (DownBeat)
