Nexus

JAZZ GUITAR

Veteran guitar master Pat Martino joins up with Jim Ridl (piano) on these recording from the mid-90s. These are duets in the sense that each man takes turns as leader with the other providing able accompaniment. The playing is impressive, but the fuzzy, distorted tone is distracting. I’d have preferred a purer tone in an intimate setting with just an acoustic piano. Inside cover contains track descriptions.

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1 Very fast. Complex counterpoint. Highly rhythmic, technical showpiece. (7:36)
2 Mid-tempo. More melodic. Catchy tune, driven along by hard piano chords. (4:39)
3 Slow. Impressionistic tone poem. Just a bit too mellow. (7:09)
4 ** Very fast. Great interaction. Some “oh wow!” guitar passages. Very energetic. (7:56)
5 ** Mid-slow. Very lovely ballad. Pretty melody with graceful playing. (5:02)
6 Mid-slow. Jazz improve built on a blues shuffle. (8:27)
7 * Fast. Sunny Rollins’s melody is taken apart, spun around, put back together. (9:27)
8 * Mid-slow. Coltrane’s classic is performed with tenderness & respect, but doesn’t seem as deep or spiritual when voiced on guitar as it was on Trane’s tenor sax. (4:52)