Gary Burton Quartet & Eberhard Weber - Passengers (1976)

Un álbum clave en la discografía de Gary Burton, que de paso es un documento de inapreciable valor para conocer los comienzos del guitarrista Pat Metheny. 
Quiero dedicarle a Hernán este post, como muestra de gratitud por su generoso aporte y para darle la bienvenida.

Para vuestro deleite: Passengers, una de las mayores joyas que han salido de la casa ECM.  Buen viaje!

Artista: Gary Burton Quartet & Eberhard Weber

Álbum: Passengers (ECM 1092)

Año: 1976

Género: jazz fusion

Duración: 40:34

Nacionalidad: EEUU

Lista de Temas:  

1.    "Sea Journey" (Chick Corea)
2.    "Nacada" (Pat Metheny) 
3.    "The Whopper" (Pat Metheny)
4.    "B & G (Midwestern Nights    Dream)" (Pat Metheny)
5.    "Yellow Fields" (Eberhard Weber)
6.    "Claude and Betty" (Steve Swallow) 

Alineación:

Gary Burton / vibráfono

Pat Metheny / guitarra eléctrica

Steve Swallow / bajo eléctrico

Eberhard Weber / bajo

Dan Gottlieb / batería

                          

Con un Pat Metheny de 22 años, que apenas pocos meses antes había grabado su primer disco en solitario con Jaco Pastorius y Bob Moses (Bright Size Life) bajo contrato de la casa ECM, tenemos ante nosotros, no lo duden, un verdadero diamante musical, cuyo nombre es Passengers. Fue grabado en el Talent Studio de Oslo en noviembre de 1976, para luego ser lanzado al mercado en 1977. Uno de los grandes valores de este disco es el de ser un testimonio sonoro de los inicios de Pat Metheny: su toque moderno y fresco le había dado una nueva dinámica a la banda del vibrafonista Burton, pero además, en este álbum se estrena como compositor para la misma, al haber escrito tres de los seis temas que conforman Passengers.

Como es sabido, Pat Metheny fue un verdadero talento musical desde su infancia; dice su biografía:  

"...empezó a estudiar guitarra desde la más tierna edad. En seguida se reveló como un prodigio; a los diecisiete años obtuvo la cátedra de música de la Universidad de Miami y del famoso Berklee School of Music de Boston (considerado una cantera de las nuevas generaciones del jazz-rock). Un día se presentó en el camerino del vibrafonista Gary Burton para revelarle que conocía de memoria su repertorio. Tras un logrado ensayo, entró a formar parte del quinteto de Burton a los diecinueve años. En esta época fue descubierto por Manfred Eicher, factótum de la compañía discográfica alemana ECM"

 ¡Entrar en una banda como la de Gary Burton a los 19 años! Pocos son conscientes de lo que significa eso. Y la cátedra de música a los 17....

se me viene a la mente el genio de Mozart. 

Casi tres años después de que Pat entrara a formar parte del cuarteto, graban Passengers. Nótese en este disco la presencia de dos bajos, el de Swallow y el de Weber, y el hecho de que, a diferencia de sus albumes anteriores, en los que había colaborado Pat Metheny, este es el primero en el que Metheny es el único guitarrista de la banda, ya que en aquellos compartía ese papel con Mick Goodrick, su mentor en Berklee.

    

El disco comienza con un arrollador tema de Chick Corea: la amalgama de los cinco instrumentistas está tan bien lograda, que consiguen un sonído compacto y sin fisuras a lo largo de todo este trabajo. Algo parecido a las calígrafías japonesas, que despues de ser trazadas se estudian al microscopio, para determinar si el trazo fue guiado por un solo movimiento o si el dibujante titubeó en algún instante. Dicen que es una forma de comprobar el estado de conciencia del artista. Una mente Zen, según esto, haría una calígrafía en un hermoso y único trazo, sin fragmentación alguna. Antes de que siquiera se conciba el pensamiento de hacerla.

En algunas formas de jazz me parece encontrar el mismo espiritu; por ejemplo en esta.

Para un admirador de esta banda, y de Pat Metheny en particular, este es un disco imprescindible. Uno de esos discos que exigen una calidad de escucha que sea tan elevada y creativa como la calidad de ejecución de los músicos, que es mucha. Es una música generosa, pero al mismo tiempo muy exigente... la dejo ahí, como un  diamante de incalculable valor para que todos la contemplen. Que ustedes disfruten del viaje a través de su destello.  

                        


 el Canario

The Gary Burton Quartet

Great partnerships only come along now and then in the jazz world and for QUARTET LIVE, several overlapping combinations of legendary musicians got together to celebrate the ground-breaking Gary Burton Quartet.  Bassist Steve Swallow joined with vibraphonist Gary Burton in 1967 to form the first Gary Burton Quartet and they continued working together for over two decades.  Then in the early 70's, 19-year old guitarist Pat Metheny began his career by taking over the guitar chair in the Burton group for three years, the start of a 35-year long musical friendship between the vibist and guitarist. A decade ago Metheny discovered drummer Antonio Sanchez, inviting him to join The Pat Metheny Group, and they have been playing together ever since.  These long-lasting, overlapping musical partnerships are the foundation of this landmark recording, great artists who really know each other's playing in depth. Metheny came up with the idea to revisit the Gary Burton Quartet, the band that had been his entry into the jazz world. "For me, as a teenager in Missouri just starting to appreciate jazz, Gary's group was the most innovative band around.  And, it was my dream to someday be a part of it." Everyone thought it would be fun to perform as the Gary Burton Quartet again and a concert at the Montreal Jazz Festival was scheduled.  It turned out to be more than just fun.  The musicians' rapport and the freshness of the playing was so energizing that the group decided to take it on the road, touring in Japan and the USA the following year.  That still wasn't enough, so the group reunited once more for a European tour in 2008, and will add some more performances in 2009 in the USA and Canada. QUARTET LIVE was recorded while on tour at Yoshi's Jazz Club in Oakland, CA.  Burton says, "Without a doubt the level of the group was at an all-time high that week-end. At Yoshi's, everything just clicked."

The Gary Burton Quartet was always known for the up and coming musicians who contributed to the repertoire.  QUARTET LIVE starts off with Chick Corea's "Sea Journey," one of many songs Corea wrote for the Burton group.  Carla Bley also wrote extensively for the quartet (the group dedicated two entire albums to Bley's music). She is represented here by "Olhos de Gato," and "Syndrome."  Other composers who wrote original songs for the Burton group include Keith Jarrett ("Coral"), and of course, Burton, Swallow and Metheny.  Burton's "Walter L" honors the legendary guitarist Walter L. (Hank) Garland, who gave Gary his start when the vibist was 17.  For Metheny, "Walter L" was a favorite song and the first song he played with Burton, when as a student, he had the chance to jam with him at a college jazz festival. Pat's composing talents are also considerable and are amply represented here by tunes composed during his Burton Quartet years: the fast and furious Missouri Uncompromised, the haunting B and G, and Question and Answer, one of Pat's most well-known pieces. As a composer, Steve Swallow has written songs for a large number of recording projects and bands, including many pieces for the Burton Quartet. Two are included here:  Falling Grace (Swallow's first composition for Burton and considered a standard by many jazz musicians) and Hullo, Bolinas, a catchy jazz waltz that suggests what Chopin might have sounded like if he was reborn today as a jazz musician.

Burton was already recognized as a major jazz artist before he was out of his teens, winning polls and earning high praise from both critics and fellow musicians.  As a vibraphonist, he is considered a legend and a pioneer of new techniques. With his new band, the Gary Burton Quartet, he was the first jazz musician to bring country and rock music influences into jazz, several years before jazz fusion became widely popular (it was first called Jazz/Rock by the music press). He continues pioneering new and diverse musical directions to this day, including popularizing jazz duets with Chick Corea and becoming recognized as an expert interpreter of tango music.

After achieving international recognition as a member of the Gary Burton Quartet, Metheny formed the Pat Metheny Group and soon established himself as one of the most successful guitarists and band leaders in modern jazz.  He has won more Grammy awards than any other jazz musician and his records and performances are among the most popular of any jazz artist. He is a fearless innovator, always exploring new styles of music and new guitar technology. And he has advanced the standards of jazz record production more than any other modern day musician. During his years with Burton, Steve Swallow transitioned from playing upright acoustic bass to electric bass, on which he is now considered one of the top players in the world.  He is known not only for his ensemble work but also his strong, recognizable soloing style.  Swallow has a gift for being the ultimate team player, always supportive and reliable, but also a constant contributor of ideas and concepts to any enterprise he joins. He is definitely one of those people who fits the description "a musician's musician."