Remember: A Tribute To Wes Montgomery - Pat Martino

Feb

20

Remember: A Tribute To Wes Montgomery - Pat Martino

≡ Category: 2000s, Bebop, Reviews, Worth A Listen |
≅ Written by: Michael Kydonieus

WORTH A LISTEN

Rating:

Part of the problem here might be that I’m not a huge fan of Wes Montgomery (heresy, I know), but I’m not terribly impressed with Pat Martino’s Remember: A Tribute To Wes Montgomery.

For those who don’t know the story, Pat Martino had brain surgery in 1980 in order to correct an aneurysm, which caused him to forget how to play guitar. He relearned from woodshedding and listening to his old records, and returned to recording seven years later, to my ears, an even stronger guitarist than before.

I mention this because it’s an inspiring story, but also because you might want to know why I am writing about a Pat Martino efffort I think is less successful. Martino has grown as a guitarist to a point that it’s reasonable to expect any new record he puts out to be worthwhile.

So, why don’t I much like Remember: A Tribute To Wes Montgomery?

Well, it isn’t the musicianship of Martino or his bandmates pianist David Kikoski, bassist John Patitucci, drummer Scott Allan Robinson and percussionist Daniel Sadownick. They all swing hard, which is the main point here. Dave Kikoski has never been the most assertive pianist, but his style is appropriate here, in that it allows Martino to shine out front. That said, Kikoski is lucid in his solo spots, even if he isn’t a ball of fire. Pat Martino is his usually fluent, singing self.

You know what? My real problem is that Remember: A Tribute To Wes Montgomery is a pure bebop date. It’s not even really post bop. And I’m not just that into plain old bebop. The structure of the tunes just isn’t adventurous enough for me. It’s too traditional.

Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with bebop or the approach that Pat Martino takes on Remember: A Tribute To Wes Montgomery per se. It’s just not my personal taste. Serves me right for picking up a record that’s a tribute to an artist I don’t even much like.

Anyway, for what it is, Remember: A Tribute To Wes Montgomery is beautifully played bop. If I were into pure bop, I would give it at least four stars. But as it is, if I could go back in time and do it over, I probably wouldn’t buy Remember: A Tribute To Wes Montgomery a second time.