Pat Martino - 1972 - Live!

Pat Martino

1972

Live!

01. Special Door 17:43

02. The Great Stream 10:20

03. Sunny 10:25

Drums – Sherman Ferguson

Electric Bass – Tyrone Brown

Electric Piano – Ron Thomas

Guitar – Pat Martino

This live quartet recording marked guitarist Pat Martino's first release on the Muse label after a string of impressive recordings on Prestige. The set was recorded in 1972 but not released until '74 and features a somewhat obscure backing band of Ron Thomas (electric piano), Tyrone Brown (electric bass), and Sherman Ferguson (drums).

The recording sounds quintessentially '70's, a common side-effect of the combination of guitar and electric piano and the music hits that excellent sweet spot between advanced post-bop and interplay-driven free jazz that came into vogue in the early '70's. The tunes are nice but they mostly serve as vehicles for extended improvisation that the band dives into headfirst.

Martino is clearly the leader here and his commanding solos are long but never lose their energy or melodic drive. Though his solos are the most obvious highlight, the attentive accompaniment of the rest of the band is what really makes the music work. No matter how "out" his soloing gets, his intentions are always obvious and the band is right there to support his every move with an almost telepathic connection.

Ron Thomas' extended solos are also a treat and make you wonder why his name doesn't appear on more records from this period. His busy approach to the electric piano doesn't shy away from dissonance or abstract melodic fragments and in a blind listen you might guess Chick Corea was the pianist here.

Martino's debut on the Muse label is one of his best recordings and is a great example of 70's post-bop fusion that leans toward the free side of things. If you enjoy that sound then you won't want to miss this album.