Record Reviews

GARY BURTON ~ COMMON GROUND MACK AVENUE 1061 (Barcode: 673203106123) ~ USA ~ Jazz Recorded: 2011 Released: 2011 This is an album by American vibraphonist / composer / bandleader Gary BurtonFind albums by this artist, recorded with his “New Gary Burton Quartet”, the last quartet he led before his retirement in 2017. It is the first album by this quartet, which was followed by the 2nd album from 2013, called “Guided TourFind albums with this title”, which would be the last studio album Burton recorded. The quartet includes guitarist Julian LageFind albums by this artist, bassist Scott ColleyFind albums by this artist and Mexican drummer Antonio SanchezFind albums by this artist. The album presents ten tracks, with only one being an original composition by Burton, two each by Lage and Sanchez, one by Colley, two by Ukrainian pianist / composer Vadim NeselovskyiFind albums by this artist, a member of Burton previous quartet, one by Keith JarrettFind albums by this artist and finally one is a standard. The album offers wonderful sound quality. The music is all strictly within melodic mainstream Jazz idiom, brilliantly executed by Burton, who is in perfect form and the young excellent musicians, who accompany him. Although not composed by Burton, the music is very much within his usual style, which prefers the European Jazz esthetics, with complex harmonies and subtle lyricism, which were always his trademark. Therefore, although not innovative or surprising, the music is a perfect continuation of Burton’s recorded legacy. The dialogues between the vibraphone and guitar, which are a leading feature in Burtons groups (Larry CoryellFind albums by this artist, Mick GoodrickFind albums by this artist, Pat MethenyFind albums by this artist and others) through the years, proves again to be his favorite harmonic collaboration, which never fails to deliver. Overall, this is a beautiful album in every respect, which for the many Burton’s followers (yours truly included) delivers exactly what they love to hear and serves as an ideal closure of his long career, which enriched our life for so many years.

Updated: 16/06/2025Posted: 16/06/2025

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CHARLES LLOYD ~ TRIOS: SACRED THREAD BLUE NOTE 602445266876 (Barcode: 602445266876) ~ USA ~ Jazz-World Fusion Recorded: 2020 Released: 2022 This is the third album in the series of “Trio of Trios” albums by the legendary American Jazz saxophonist / flautist / composer / bandleader Charles LloydFind albums by this artist, recorded with Indian percussionist Zakir HussainFind albums by this artist and guitarist Julian LageFind albums by this artist. The album presents seven tracks, four composed by Lloyd and three by Hussein. One of the true “last of the Mohicans” of American Jazz, Charles Lloyd (born in 1938), remains still at his full capacity and his recording legacy keeps growing, now at his advanced age, more rapidly than during earlier periods of his life. Highly productive phases of recording for the ECMFind albums on this label labels and lately for Blue NoteFind albums by this artist are just exploding with creativity, vitality and aesthetic beauty, in complete disregard of his age, created often with musicians less than half his age, like Lage on this album. This album offers a highly spiritual music, mostly a Jazz-World Fusion oriented pieces, strongly influenced by Indian scales and rhythms, with strong presence of the masterly performances by Hussein, who plays a very central role in this trio. Listeners familiar with Hussein’s contribution to Jazz music over the year will be hardly surprised, but the album is certainly very different from what is usually expected from Lloyd, who plays mostly flute and tárogató (Hungarian wind instrument) and Hussain sings extensive vocal parts. Overall, this is a beautiful piece of Jazz-World Fusion music, serene and contemplative, which requires patience and open-mindedness, but is certainly highly rewarding. Of course all three albums in this series are equally worthwhile and recommended.

Updated: 18/01/2024Posted: 18/01/2024

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