Track Listing

1. Son Of Thirteen
2. At Last You're Here
3. Let's Move
4. Snova
5. Calvin's Keys
6. Is This America (Katrina 2005)
7. When We Were Free
8. Dreaming Trees
9. Red One
10. Day Trip

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9552 in Music
• Released on: 2008-01-28
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Metheny, we wait for better days!
This album, like pretty much all his output since the early nineties, lacks that crucial element of experimentation and risk-taking. There's no doubt about Pat's talent but really I'm suprised that he is so stuck creatively. Dont start into his music with this album. I've followed his career since 1985 and was so impressed with 'Still Life' and 'Letter from Home'. This led me to his back catalogue and there are some amazing albums like 'First circle' and 'Watercolors'. Lyle Mays has been a great backup and solos just as inventively. Time moves on but sadly, middle age has made Metheny just too comfortable.

Modern Jazz
Guitarist Pat Metheny hardly needs any introduction. Though primarily a jazz musician, his music encompasses diverse genres, including, avant-garde music (with Steve Reich and Derek Bailey), world music, folk, and country. Day Trip is firmly in the jazz camp, being rooted in modern mainstream jazz and post-bop. With the exception of the somewhat schmaltzy track `Is this America?' all compositions are straight-ahead jazz workouts in trio format (guitar, bass, and drums). Metheny's pleasantly warm and melodic guitar sound recalls Wes Montgomery (Wes' influence seems to have become stronger over the years), but, in terms of its sheer virtuosity, is in a league of its own. This is the jazziest Metheny I have heard in a while. Compared to the sometimes bombastic sound of the Pat Metheny Group (as well as the Metheny-Mehldau recordings) the trio is a compact, bare-knuckle vehicle for Metheny's compositions. No gimmicks or sound effects, just pure jazz. Stripped down to the bare essentials of groove and improvisation, Day Trip is a masterly lesson in contemporary mainstream jazz thanks to drummer Anthony Sanchez and bassist Christian McBride. Sanchez is a polyrhythmic monster whose powerful drumming pushes Metheny's improvisations, while McBride's flexible bass lines and fat tone add give the trio a nice bottom sound. The mix on the record is very good, too. Especially Sanchez's excellent drum work is clearly audible. This is recommended listening for fans of modern post bop as well as the usual jazz guitar buffs.

Great playing from this stellar lineup
Apart from taking time out to play with Brad Mehldau last year, Metheny has been playing in this trio extensively since the release of his last Group effort in 2005; in fact, it turns out that all the pieces on this CD were laid down in October of that year during a recording session that lasted a single day (hence the title). Sanchez is the current drummer in his group, and McBride - while still only in his mid 30's - has played with the likes of Benny Carter, Freddie Hubbard, Michael Brecker and Sting. When these three stellar musicians get together, it's a powerful mix, ranging from the supremely confident opener, "Son Of Thirteen" to the terrific title track (known, somewhat confusingly, as "Number 13" in early live setlists). Others have already commented on the elegaic "Is This America?", though the titular connection with Metheny's hit single "This Is Not America" doesn't seem to have registered.

I bought this disc in HMV Ottawa a couple of weeks ago, having had my eye on it since its release. Personally, my preference is always for Metheny's group outings with Lyle Mays, as they seem to offer a little more scope for his gifts of melody and texture, but I'll take him in pretty much any form that he chooses to dispense himself, as I've long thought of him as an artist of impeccable taste and ability.