[Dixielandjazz] Metheny & "G"

[Bryan Livett]

That's hilarious, Steve... if I had three thumbs they'd all be up!

Bryan

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
To: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 3:41 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Metheny & "G"


> That record review of the new CD, "Clashing Caca" on the All About Jazz
> Web site, April 1st deserves to be printed out for all of us so here it
> is:
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
>
> The Jazz Soul of P.D.Q. Bach - Pat Metheny / Kenny G | "Clashing Caca"
>
> In a move that has left the jazz world buzzing and their legions of fans
> traumatized in shock and disbelief, erstwhile polar opposites and
> outspoken adversaries Pat Metheny and Kenny G have recorded together for
> the first time, choosing as their common ground the singularly uncommon
> music of the opprobrious nineteenth/eighteenth century composer P.D.Q.
> Bach.
>
> At a media event held to trumpet the partnership (Pat's brother, Mike,
> played lead trumpet) the former combatants were in a conciliatory mood.
> "It's time we buried the hatchet," guitarist Metheny said of the
> alliance with Kenny G, his hands trembling and nostrils flaring at the
> thought of such an eventuality. "Yes, I've made a few nasty remarks
> about G - okay, a lot of nasty remarks - but deep down I've always
> admired his... his... give me a moment here... Well, anyway, the label
> thought our getting together would be a great idea, they came up with
> some killer bread, and frankly, I'm quite...," he cleared his throat,
> paused, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I'm quite... rather...
> somewhat pleased with the results." Metheny then excused himself,
> hastened to the nearest men's room and upchucked his lunch.
>
> G, who speaks as he plays, using simple monosyllabic words, stretching
> them to their utmost limit, then clinging to them for dear life, said,
> "It was swell to play with Pat. He is good. We had fun, no fuss. Now we
> friends. He Pat, me G." And with that, he grabbed a nearby vine and
> swung through the trees in Central Park to an escarpment where he was
> reunited with Jane and Cheetah. Onlookers were understandably
> flabbergasted to observe Kenny G actually swinging.
>
> But what of the music, you may be wondering. Ah yes, the music. It's
> hard to meander far from mediocrity when deciphering P.D.Q. Bach
> (1807?1742?), one of the more visionary charlatans of his time (whenever
> that was), a man whose genius for recycling detritus discarded by others
> has never been equaled and whose
>  inscrutable leitmotifs have been lovingly preserved and annotated by
> his stalwart champion, Prof. Peter Schickele. Metheny and G are
> surprisingly compatible on such bite-size bon bons as "Concerto for Horn
> and Hardart," "Echo Sonata for Two Unfriendly Groups," "Lip My Reeds"
> and "Oedipus Tex," but rather less successful on those pieces
> misappropriated for larger ensembles including "Prelude to Einstein on
> the Fritz," "Last Tango in Bayreuth" and the anaphrodisic "Erotica
> Variations."
>
> A special problem arises on "What's My Melodic Line?," as Kenny G seems
> unable to answer the question (or even to comprehend it). Metheny does
> his best to compensate, often strumming the backbeat in the style of
> Freddie Green, but to no avail, as G appears determined to rehash riffs
> from his latest double-platinum album "Sleek and  Sexy Sax Clichés for
> Sweethearts." And on "Hansel and Gretel and
>  Ted and Alice," the duo's minimalist style seems somewhat at odds with
> P.D.Q.'s habitually bombastic modus operandi.
>
> In spite of its conspicuous flaws, the album is certain to generate a
> warm response and record-breaking sales from jazz aficionados, the idly
> curious and those who take pleasure in watching train wrecks. An eve
> more ambitious sequel is planned, tentatively titled "P&G in the Key of
> C."
>
>
>
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