JAM: April/May 2005 Issue: For the Record

Kevin Mahogany
Big Band
Mahogany Jazz 54675-2

Personnel: Kevin Mahogany with: tracks 1-6, The Frank Mantooth Orchestra; track 7, featuring T.S. Monk; track 8, Michael McGray and The Kansas City Boulevard Big Band; track 9, The Big City Swing Band, featuring Veronica Martel; track 10, James Williams.

Tracks: Moonlight in Vermont, It Don't Mean A Thing, Centerpiece, In The Evening, Once For My Baby, Three Little Words, Dear Ruby, There Will Never Be Another You, It's Alright With Me, Don't Get Around Much Anymore.

Mastered by Trevor Sadler, Mastermind Productions, Milwaukee, WI.

Recorded & Mixed: Freddie Breitberg at Mastermind Productions, Milwaukee, WI; Rudy Van Gelder at Van Gelder Studios, Engelwood, NJ; Rich Hanson at Chapman Recording, Kansas City, MO; Tony Viscardo at No Comment Studios, Belleville, NJ; Mike Marciano at Systems Two, Brooklyn, NY.

Producers: tracks 1-6, Frank Mantooth & Freddie Breitberg; track 7, co-produced by Don Sicker; track 8, Don Gaily; track 9, Allen Farnham & Tony Viscardo; track 10, Kevin Mahogany.

Reviewing a CD like this is intimidating. The project is so...big.

Not to be flippant, but a blow-by-blow review of this CD would be ridiculous, because it pairs Kevin Mahogany with several bands, with a multitude of soloists, on tracks that were recorded over a wide time and space continuum.

One good reason this is such an amazing album: half the tracks are arrangements by the great (and dearly departed) Frank Mantooth. He clearly wasn't finished coming up with new things to do with the big band format when he passed. Some of the tracks presented here incorporate synthesized sounds and contemporary jazz sensibilities, but without losing the organic sound of the traditional horn-driven, swinging big band.

And with soloists like Ramsey Lewis, Roy Hargrove, Kim Park, and Bobby Shew, if Mahogany had taken a powder and just let the band play these tracks it would still be a killer album.

Of course trademark rich baritone voice is here, in force. He's probably the only jazz singer on today's scene that I enjoy (for a lot of the same reasons) as much as my old Johnny Hartman records. He's in rare form on these tracks, with soulful, perfectly timed delivery, dynamics, range, and scatting. Plus his great blending when he shares the mic with Veronica Martell on a brisk interpretation of Cole Porter's It's Alright With Me. The kicker is a duet pairing Mahogany with James Williams on the piano; just the two of them clearly enjoying themselves with Don't Get Around Much Anymore.

In a climate that makes a quartet album a daunting economic proposition, big band releases are bound to be few and far between. Don't pass this one up.

—Rod McBride

Pat Metheny Group
The Way Up
Nonesuch 79876-2

Personnel: Pat Metheny, acoustic, electric, synth, and slide guitars; Lyle Mays, acoustic piano, keyboards; Steve Rodby, acoustic and electric bass, cello; Cuong Vu, trumpet, voice; Gregoire Maret, harmonica; Antonio Sanchez, drums; with Richard Bona, percussion, voice; David Samuels, percussion.
Tracks: Opening (5:17); Part One (26:27); Part Two (20:29); Part Three (15:54).

Recorded during 2003 and 2004 at Right Track Recording, (Rob Eaton, engineer), New York City; mastered by Sterling Sound (Ted Jensen), New York City.

“The Owl looked up to the stars above,
and sang to a small guitar.”
The Owl and the Pussycat, 1871

Pat Metheny plays the guitar. Now a 50-year-old master of the instrument, he's been playing it beautifully since breaking through as a 19-year-old prodigy. Unlike the owl in Edward Lear's lyrical poem, however, he doesn't sing along. He lets the guitar do the singing.

Metheny's three-decade musical journey—creative, imaginative, and boundless—features solo albums, duets with other major artists, trio recordings, scores for Hollywood motion pictures, and other significant collaborations. Through it all since 1977, the Pat Metheny Group has been exploring just what a jazz quartet could be.

Now comes PMG's twelfth studio album. The Way Up is a single 68-minute composition by Metheny and his main collaborator, pianist Lyle Mays. Long-form efforts by others over the years involved suites of related songs strung together to create a whole. Unlike those attempts, this album has the compositional integrity of a single piece.

The record's hallmark, though, is not its form or length. The story instead is one of structural breadth and textural depth, with a philosophical background as a protest album. In a world of fleeting ring-tones and flashy sound bites, The Way Up takes wing with lasting lyricism and musical integrity.

Metheny, Mays, and a group of like-minded musicians assembled in New York City to make the recording during Summer 2003. Bassist Steve Rodby, with PMG since 1980, was joined by relative newcomers of diverse musical backgrounds: Antonio Sanchez (Mexican), Cuong Vu, (Vietnamese), and Gregoire Maret (Swiss).

Their sprawling work moves relentlessly from subtle beginnings to a swinging end. Along the way, Sanchez's nimble drums, Vu's agile trumpet, Maret's indispensable harmonica, and Rodby's remarkable bass enliven one passage of group interplay or individual improvisation after another.

The guitar, of course, remains central to the narrative, appearing like a watermark on each page of the story. Through the technological layering of multiple instruments, it also provides a major orchestral element.

The result is a jazz concerto for the ages. One filled with the sounds of urban life and nature, interwoven and in turn. Melodic lines at once familiar and fresh, paying homage to the past while painting hope for the future. The insatiable Metheny genius somehow achieves a single record that is both avant-garde and traditional. Simply put, The Way Up is great music. Listen Up.

— Tom Fredrick






	Search our site:		Kevin Mahogany Big Band Mahogany Jazz 54675-2 Personnel: Kevin Mahogany with: tracks 1-6, The Frank Mantooth Orchestra; track 7, featuring T.S. Monk; track 8, Michael McGray and The Kansas City Boulevard Big Band; track 9, The Big City Swing Band, featuring Veronica Martel; track 10, James Williams. Tracks: Moonlight in Vermont, It Don't Mean A Thing, Centerpiece, In The Evening, Once For My Baby, Three Little Words, Dear Ruby, There Will Never Be Another You, It's Alright With Me, Don't Get Around Much Anymore. Mastered by Trevor Sadler, Mastermind Productions, Milwaukee, WI. Recorded & Mixed: Freddie Breitberg at Mastermind Productions, Milwaukee, WI; Rudy Van Gelder at Van Gelder Studios, Engelwood, NJ; Rich Hanson at Chapman Recording, Kansas City, MO; Tony Viscardo at No Comment Studios, Belleville, NJ; Mike Marciano at Systems Two, Brooklyn, NY. Producers: tracks 1-6, Frank Mantooth & Freddie Breitberg; track 7, co-produced by Don Sicker; track 8, Don Gaily; track 9, Allen Farnham & Tony Viscardo; track 10, Kevin Mahogany. Reviewing a CD like this is intimidating. The project is so...big. Not to be flippant, but a blow-by-blow review of this CD would be ridiculous, because it pairs Kevin Mahogany with several bands, with a multitude of soloists, on tracks that were recorded over a wide time and space continuum. One good reason this is such an amazing album: half the tracks are arrangements by the great (and dearly departed) Frank Mantooth. He clearly wasn't finished coming up with new things to do with the big band format when he passed. Some of the tracks presented here incorporate synthesized sounds and contemporary jazz sensibilities, but without losing the organic sound of the traditional horn-driven, swinging big band. And with soloists like Ramsey Lewis, Roy Hargrove, Kim Park, and Bobby Shew, if Mahogany had taken a powder and just let the band play these tracks it would still be a killer album. Of course trademark rich baritone voice is here, in force. He's probably the only jazz singer on today's scene that I enjoy (for a lot of the same reasons) as much as my old Johnny Hartman records. He's in rare form on these tracks, with soulful, perfectly timed delivery, dynamics, range, and scatting. Plus his great blending when he shares the mic with Veronica Martell on a brisk interpretation of Cole Porter's It's Alright With Me. The kicker is a duet pairing Mahogany with James Williams on the piano; just the two of them clearly enjoying themselves with Don't Get Around Much Anymore. In a climate that makes a quartet album a daunting economic proposition, big band releases are bound to be few and far between. Don't pass this one up. —Rod McBride Pat Metheny Group The Way Up Nonesuch 79876-2 Personnel: Pat Metheny, acoustic, electric, synth, and slide guitars; Lyle Mays, acoustic piano, keyboards; Steve Rodby, acoustic and electric bass, cello; Cuong Vu, trumpet, voice; Gregoire Maret, harmonica; Antonio Sanchez, drums; with Richard Bona, percussion, voice; David Samuels, percussion. Tracks: Opening (5:17); Part One (26:27); Part Two (20:29); Part Three (15:54). Recorded during 2003 and 2004 at Right Track Recording, (Rob Eaton, engineer), New York City; mastered by Sterling Sound (Ted Jensen), New York City. “The Owl looked up to the stars above, and sang to a small guitar.” The Owl and the Pussycat, 1871 Pat Metheny plays the guitar. Now a 50-year-old master of the instrument, he's been playing it beautifully since breaking through as a 19-year-old prodigy. Unlike the owl in Edward Lear's lyrical poem, however, he doesn't sing along. He lets the guitar do the singing. Metheny's three-decade musical journey—creative, imaginative, and boundless—features solo albums, duets with other major artists, trio recordings, scores for Hollywood motion pictures, and other significant collaborations. Through it all since 1977, the Pat Metheny Group has been exploring just what a jazz quartet could be. Now comes PMG's twelfth studio album. The Way Up is a single 68-minute composition by Metheny and his main collaborator, pianist Lyle Mays. Long-form efforts by others over the years involved suites of related songs strung together to create a whole. Unlike those attempts, this album has the compositional integrity of a single piece. The record's hallmark, though, is not its form or length. The story instead is one of structural breadth and textural depth, with a philosophical background as a protest album. In a world of fleeting ring-tones and flashy sound bites, The Way Up takes wing with lasting lyricism and musical integrity. Metheny, Mays, and a group of like-minded musicians assembled in New York City to make the recording during Summer 2003. Bassist Steve Rodby, with PMG since 1980, was joined by relative newcomers of diverse musical backgrounds: Antonio Sanchez (Mexican), Cuong Vu, (Vietnamese), and Gregoire Maret (Swiss). Their sprawling work moves relentlessly from subtle beginnings to a swinging end. Along the way, Sanchez's nimble drums, Vu's agile trumpet, Maret's indispensable harmonica, and Rodby's remarkable bass enliven one passage of group interplay or individual improvisation after another. The guitar, of course, remains central to the narrative, appearing like a watermark on each page of the story. Through the technological layering of multiple instruments, it also provides a major orchestral element. The result is a jazz concerto for the ages. One filled with the sounds of urban life and nature, interwoven and in turn. Melodic lines at once familiar and fresh, paying homage to the past while painting hope for the future. The insatiable Metheny genius somehow achieves a single record that is both avant-garde and traditional. Simply put, The Way Up is great music. Listen Up. — Tom Fredrick RETURN TO APRIL/MAY 2005 MAIN INDEX © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2004. All rights reserved.