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Cuong Vu Trio With Pat Metheny: Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny
ByCuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny doesn't change a thing. It's the same brashness, the same solar flare of a sound.
Pat Metheny, the legendary guitarist, fits right in here, in the same way he fit into Ornette Coleman's idiosyncratic world view on Song X (Geffin Records, 1986). Though in the case of Vu, it was sitting in with a former band mateVu played in Metheny's band in the early 2000s, contributing to the guitarist's Speaking of Now (2002) and The Way Up (2005), both on .
But this is Vu's record, beginning with "Acid Kiss," a searing nine minute-plus electro-anthem that sounds as if it were recorded on a planet with a thicker, more viscous atmosphere than Earth's. Bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Ted Poor send out soundwaves that shake your rib cage; Metheny an Vu wail like malevolent leviathans of the denser atmosphere that rule that extra-terrestrial world, and God help the puny humanoid who sets down there. Bracing stuff.
The mood is maintained with "Not Crazy (Just Giggying Up)." Metheny gets a chance to step out a bit more here, spitting out stinging, rapid-fire notes. The momentum is fierce, with Takeishi and Poor raging. "Seeds of Doubt" says these guys can lay down a ballad with a finesse that remains muscular, with some introspective, pretty playing by Metheny. "Tiny Little Pieces" sounds as if rode the radio waves in from somewhere in deep space; and "Telescope," Pat Metheny's one compositional contributionthe rest are Vu originalshas a forceful luminositystarlight, not reflected light. Metheny soars.
Cuanog Vu's artistic voice remains singular. Powerhouse sounds.
Track Listing
Acid Kiss; Not Crazy (Just Giddy Upping); Seeds Of Doubt; Tiny Little Pieces; Telescope; Let's Get Back; Tune Blues.
Personnel
Cuong Vu
trumpetCuong Vu: trumpet; Stomu Takeishi: bass; Ted Poor: drums; Pat Metheny: guitar.
Album information
Title: Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Nonesuch Records
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