Review:
Pat Metheny Unity Group
Kin (Nonesuch Records)
By Alex Henderson
Over the years, one of Pat Metheny’s strong points has been his willingness to jump into a wide variety of musical situations. The veteran guitarist was at his most accessible on melodic, easy-to-absorb fusion efforts such as 1987’s Still Life (Talking) and 1989’s Letter from Home, but his more abstract and cerebral side asserted itself when he teamed up with free jazz innovator Ornette Coleman on 1985’s Song X and guitarist John Scofield on 1994’s I Can See Your House from Here. And Metheny adds to the diversitywith Kin by his current working Unity Group of multi-reedist Chris Potter, bassist Ben Williams and drummer Antonio Sánchez, adding multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi.
Lyrical offerings like “Sign of the Season,” “We Go On” and the 15-minute opener “On Day One” are fairly accessible, recalling the melodies that Metheny and keyboardist Lyle Mays brought to the Pat Metheny Group’s '80s output. And the Latin and folk elements that Metheny often favored back then also assert themselves. But one thing the Pat Metheny Group didn’t have in the 1980s was a star saxophonist, and Potter is featured extensively. From the gentle introspection of “Born” and “Kqu” to the flamenco leanings of “Rise Up,” Potter is a vital contributor to this album and a vital part of the Unity Group’s sound. Metheny isn’t shy about letting Potter stretch out, and he employs the expressive windplayer on no less than six different instruments: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and bass flute, giving some post-bop appeal to essentially fusion material (all by Metheny).
Carmassi’s contributions are impressive: in addition to playing acoustic piano, he plays everything from trumpet to French horn to trombone. And Carmassi occasionally contributes wordless, Brazilian-flavored background vocals that recall those of Pedro Aznar for the Pat Metheny Group in the late 1980s/early 1990s.
No less than 40 years have passed since the late fusion bassist Jaco Pastorius featured a 19-year-old Metheny on his Jaco album. Metheny’s airy, Jim Hall-influenced style of guitar playing is as distinctive and recognizable as ever, and with Kin, he continues to excel as a soloist, composer and group leader.
