Brad Mehldau, Pat Metheny - Metheny Mehldau Quartet
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Free Music Notes for Metheny Mehldau Quartet
Free Music Review: Nice. Pleasant. Disappointed.
Hit: 3 Stars
Let me be clear: I am a BIG Metheny and Mehldau fan. Big. Bought this CD (MMQ) without thinking once.
Right by the CD player now-- Metheny: PAT METHENY GROUP (from 1978, and I still have the cassette I bought almost 30 years ago!), IMAGINARY DAY, NEW CHAUTAUGUA; Mehldau: DAY IS DONE, HOUSE ON HILL, PLACES; Metheny & Mehldau: Michael Brecker's PILGRIMAGE.
And this CD... it's nice... it's pleasant... it's not new age, not elevator music, not smooth jazz... my English friends would say it's lovely... but...
But it's hard to listen to. I've tried. Again and again I find my mind wandering. There's so little to grab the attention, and so the mind goes inward. Great background music for a party. I could work to it all day long.
And I'm disappointed because I thought Metheny's playing on PILGRIMAGE was just wonderful. Mehldau can thrill even in a trio. Yet MMQ? Nice...
Kirtland Peterson
Free Music Review: Pleasant but not memorable
Hit: 3 Stars
I had most of Pat Metheny's musical output. I did not have this and I did not have his very first CD "Pat Metheny Group." I ordered both CD's at the same time. I love the "Pat Metheny Group" CD and if you don't have it get it as it really is one of his best. This CD pales by comparison. The music is pleasant but goes nowhere. Pat Metheny in my mind is one of the few musicians whose music is evocative to me. I get chills even now thinking of some of his songs in my head. There is nothing evocative or memorable here. Great dinner music but it starts and stops there. There are a couple of songs that stand out (Towrds the Light in particulary) but much of it is infected by sameness. I am no fan of the Jim Hall collaberation for much of the same reasons. I'm still glad I bought it and have nearly a complete collection but don't get your expectations too high.Free Music Review: The chemistry is not quite there
Hit: 3 Stars
Let me first note that Metheny and Mehldau are two of my favorite musicians. I don't, however, find their collaboration compelling (though I do think it is perfectly pleasant). While the liner notes in the first album suggest that neither artist had to sacrifice their personal style to accomodate the other, I find that, particularly in the quartet context, too much of Mehldau's exploratory and contemplative approach is relinquished so that the trio can serve as a backdrop to Metheny's very fine but predictable structures and phrasings. This was even more evident in the recent live performance I attended. I'm glad they made these recordings. But I hope the collaboration is short-lived, as each of these artists is more in their element in other contexts.Free Music Review: Comfortably Disappointed
Hit: 3 Stars
They're each a favorite of mine. I've seen both many times. I have the 2 collaborative CD's and have seen the show - and for the most part, the Mehldau trio is in support of Metheny. Especially on the later release tunes. Mehldau's approach in this collaboration is much different than in his trio, and the resulting music is a variation of what one would expect from a Metheny project backed by a serious trio. Nothing bad or offensive, just not a highlight for me. That paired against my hope for new ground, or old ground pushed further, or a sum greater than the parts, left me comfortably disappointed.Free Music Review: Disappointingly atonal
Hit: 3 Stars
After reading reviews, I had expected much more. A few cuts are very good, but the majority are disappointingly atonal, and seem repetitious when more than a few cuts are played sequentially.