Quartet Live!

We Say...

Review by Britt Robson

It was guitarist Pat Metheny's decision to resurrect Burton's mid-70s quartet (Metheny's teenage debut on the national jazz scene) for a 2005 performance in Canada. That's when everyone discovered that not only can lightning strike twice, but--with a much-improved and more confident Metheny and the fiery drumming of Antonio Sanchez instead of Bob Moses—it flashes more forcefully. These eleven songs, recorded during the group's subsequent tour, further reinforce the kinetic chemistry. Yes, Burton's vibes and Steve Swallow's rubbery electric bass notes create a stone-skipping agility that Metheny and Sanchez duly enhance, especially on the opening 70s flashback, "Sea Journey," and "Syndrome" by Carla Bley (always one of Burton's and Swallow's go-to composers). But listen to the way Sanchez perks up when Metheny leans harder into blues (Burton's "Walter L"), rock (the second half of "Missouri Uncompromised"), or more thorny jazz-rock (the "Question And Answer" finale). This guitar-drum telepathy, the product of more than six years together, has the roller-coaster immediacy and abrupt bumps in intensity of reeling in a marlin on the open sea. Then there's Burton, the consummate pro on four-mallet vibes, an exquisite foil in the rhythm section whose tone and élan can transform the speediest solo into a relaxing reverie. His work on another 70s reprise, "B and G (Midwestern Night's Dream)," is like gazing at a star-filled sky: The placid glitter can seem undifferentiated at first, but then patterns and shapes emerge and twinkle in the expansive beauty. Last but not least, don't miss the rendition of Keith Jarrett's well-named "Coral," which is imbued with the slow-motion grandeur of a luminous underwater reef.