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John Patitucci: Remembrance

By Joel Roberts
August 3, 2009
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The bassist of choice through the years for Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Wayne Shorter and many other jazz giants, John Patitucci is noted for his daunting technique on both acoustic and electric basses. Remembrance is a stripped-down effort with Joe Lovano on tenor and alto clarinet and Brian Blade, his longtime partner in Shorter's group, on drums. The trio plays at a supremely high level, Lovano soloing with his usual command and expressiveness and Blade providing subtlety and strength.

Most of the 11 original tunes pay homage to a host of jazz icons. "Blues for Freddie," for example, is a tribute to the recently departed trumpet titan Freddie Hubbard, "Joe Hen" evokes the inside/outside legacy of tenor sax great Joe Henderson and "Sonny Side" celebrates the indefatigable Sonny Rollins. The title tune, meanwhile, is a short, heartfelt solo piece in memory of the late Michael Brecker, highlighting Patitucci's mastery of the electric six-string and piccolo basses. Patitucci also shows off the subtler, emotional side of the electric bass on the Coltrane-esque "Meditations". On two other tunes, "Safari" and "Mali," Patitucci shows he can throw down a heavy funk groove whether he's playing acoustic or electric. The only track that doesn't work is "Scenes from an Opera," mostly for the incongruous injection of a cello quartet into the otherwise spare arrangements.

Track Listing

Monk/Trane; Messaien's Gumbo; Sonny Side; Meditations; Mali; Scenes From An Opera; Blues For Freddie; Safari; Joe Hen; Play Ball; Remembrance.

Personnel

John Patitucci

bass

Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet; John Patitucci: double-bass, six-string electric bass, six-string electric piccolo bass; Brian Blade: drums; Sachi Patitucci: cello (6); Rogerio Boccato: percussion (5).

Album information

Title: Remembrance | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Concord Music Group

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