I Can See Your House From Here

After the success of Grace Under Pressure, it is not surprising that John Scofield again decided to accept the challenge of recording with another top-flight guitarist. At the time of its release, Scofield stated that the title of this recording was meant to reflect the regard he and Pat Metheny held for one another's (different styles) of playing. The challenge of the project was to establish whether their styles were compatible, creating interesting contrasts and stimulating improvisation. The end result is a not entirely successful outing for the leader. He and Metheny largely share the writing credits (bassist Steve Swallow contributes two titles) and the compositions are generally attractive and give the soloists enough ideas to work with. However, the rhythm section of Swallow and drummer Bill Stewart does not quite ignite Scofield the way that Charlie Haden and Joey Barron/Bill Stewart previously did. Swallow is a fine player but his acoustic bass guitar does not project in the manner of Charlie Haden's or Marc Johnson's acoustic basses. Further, Haden's ability to push his collaborators into exploratory territory is extremely rare and justifiably celebrated. And whereas Scofield flourished in partnership with Bill Frisell on Grace, he is, frankly, blown out of the water by Metheny. There is no shame in this, for Metheny is perhaps the greatest melodic improviser since Sonny Rollins and his solos on 'The Red One' and ''One Way to Be' are simply magnificent; they alone justify purchasing the album. Scofield's solos, by contrast, seem a little flat and stifled; it is as if he cannot quite find a way to reach a plane of heightened freedom and expression. Nevertheless, Scofield deserves great credit for having the courage to pit his skills against a player whose gifts arguably exceed his own. Too few in the jazz world of today are prepared to take such risks.

Some collaborations between jazz giants seem to have been disappointing for whatever reason. John Scofield and Pat Metheny have such distinct approaches to jazz guitar, who could have foreseen what such a project would end up like? They may well have staked out their own territory at left and right speakers and just dueled off one another, but this stuff works incredibly well as a *collaboration*, a perfectly enmeshed meeting of two great minds of music (how's that for alliteration?)

John and Pat take about an equal share of songwriting. Some of John's best tunes are here showcased, such as the knowing, easy swing of the title cut, the lovely ballad "No Matter What" (he can sure do those too!) and the catchy, accessible "Everybody's Party". The two of them play in unison so well, it sounds like a single guitar run through a chorus effect or something, but then one of them will snag some witty harmonic aside in there somewhere and remind you that in fact two different guitars are playing. Beautiful.

Pat's placid acoustic numbers like "Message to My Friend" and "Quiet Rising" blend in the mix pretty well, and it's nice to hear Sco fitting into that context too (in fact, Amazon.com says that this recording date made Scofield finally actually buy an acoustic guitar, and the acoustic album _Quiet_ resulted a couple years later). Which is not to say that's the only thing Pat brings to the table. He rips it up in the energetic "The Red One", wherein he takes a solo with his distinctive "synth-guitar".

The rhythm section of Stewart/Swallow is impeccable. I love those little Chinese cymbals Bill Stewart uses to punctuate certain songs. Bassist Steve Swallow (always choosing just the right note instead of walking his fingers off trying to find it) and Scofield have such a history, they play perfect together. Terrific album, sterling quality all around, highly recommended.

Another solid collection of energetic jazz from Pat & SEVT (Somebody Else Very Talented). I don't intend to denigrate JS, because I don't know his music. I just know that when Pat gets together with another whiz for a studio recording session, the results are usually great. This CD has a lot of similarities to other CDs that Pat's done with SEVT, but the flavor of this one is more electric, upbeat, and dynamic than others.

I believe that I own every release that Pat's ever done with anyone else, solo, or PMG. I even have the one with Joni Mitchell. It's the fattest and most cherished part of my music collection! This CD is a solid addition. I can't believe that I just discovered it this year. It's been out since 1994.