Pat Martino Trio Scorched Yoshi's

Pat Martino Trio Scorched Yoshi’s By Rick Knoblaugh On Thursday night, November 15, much of the Bay Area may not have been aware of it, but there was some serious “burnin” going on up at Yoshi’s in Oakland’s Jack London Square. Jazz guitar legend Pat Martino brought his trio featuring organ giant Joey Defrancesco and swinging drummer Byron Landham to the world-class jazz club/Japanese restaurant venue, and the Ahi tuna wasn’t the only thing getting seared. Martino and his trio erupted in bebop combustion from the moment the first tune, Sonny Rollins’ “Oleo” was counted off. Landham was facilitating the groove right off the bat with an energetic rhythmic drive and tasty interplay with the soloists. All members of the trio seemed to have a single-minded urgency to swing, and it came off effortlessly. Martino in particular looked really refreshed and in the mood to create something special. Rather than launching immediately into his trademark long machinegun-like lines, he started by creating some nice bop motifs which he then thoughtfully built on and then intermixed with some of the expected linear onslaught. The palette from which he was drawing though was larger and more overflowing than ever. At this point in his storied career, Martino seems to be rising to yet another level. Like a master martial arts expert who evolves to the point of almost defying gravity, Martino, the veteran innovator, still steeped in his mainstay 16th note flurries, makes this style work like never before, and incorporates many new touches as well. The sound he is getting from the Pat Martino Signature Gibson hollow body is warmer and a little brighter that the dark sound he previously used with the solid body ax he played for so many years. While swinging along during his Oleo solo, the beautiful sound was quite evident in his Kessel-like descending sweep picking passages and lower strings-only partial chord comping behind Defrancesco’s solo.

There were some volume problems the sound people were working out with the organ during this first tune, so Defrancesco may have been a little distracted, but his solo was still sufficiently cooking and a statement of portent of what we could expect later. The filled-to-capacity audience was already spellbound and this was only the “warm up” tune. The overwhelmingly compelling aspect beyond the musicians’ tremendous respective virtuosity was the cohesiveness -- this musical unit wasn’t just “tight,” there was an almost cosmic connection between the trio members. This form of telepathy is bred partially from familiarity: Landham, regularly plays as a member of Defrancesco’s own trio back in Philadelphia, and Martino and Defrancesco toured last year (that outing featured drummer Billy Hart and resulted in a CMJ chart-topping Blue Note CD, Live at Yoshi’s – yep, they sizzled the place last year too). Martino played standing at center stage, flanked by DeFrancesco on his right and Landham behind a full set of Yamahas at the left. The thin, gray-haired, bespeckled, distinguished looking guitarist, clad in impeccably pressed denim jeans, and light brown tweed blazer, had not only a new foundation behind his playing, but one of a physical nature as well: both he and Defrancesco were sporting some snappy new cowboy boots, Martino’s were black and Defrancesco’s, a bright red. The hue surrounding Defrancesco’s left boot was almost blurred though, as throughout the set, that foot was busy cranking out the flowing bass lines that served to propel the trio. The second tune was Mile Davis’ “All Blues.” Martino opened this 6/8 metered blues walk with an inventive solo behind which Defrancesco briskly fed him chords. Once again, Martino mixed some exceptionally creative ideas with his rapid-fired 8th and 16th note attack. At one point, he got into a nice groove of call and response, repeating motifs and answering himself in opposite registers of the instrument. Defrancesco’s solo started soulfully as if we were going to an inner city church. With eyes closed and his head swaying, he handily displayed his vocabulary of the blues, although his full powers were still untapped (actually, if you want to hear one of his total tour de force blues solos, check out the CD they recorded last year, where he takes this same selection, “All Blues,” to B3 organ nirvana!) Martino came back stating the melody in octaves and finished things off with a solo cadenza.

The octave playing appropriately continued in the third tune, as they launched into Wes Montgomery’s “Twisted Blues.” Landham seemed to be happily in his element as he laid down buoying swing with his ride cymbal and hi-hat. His ability to keep the trio swinging at fast tempos while accentuating climactic regions of organ and guitar solos was a joy to behold. Martino, who had been good friends with Wes, built an inspired fiery solo. At its peak, he employed one of his oft-used techniques of rapidly repeating the same riff pattern over multiple measures. Typically, the ensemble members immediately recognize this and consequently conspire to add dynamic emphasis. When the riff notes are finally departed from by shifting into some wickedly mean descending run, the audience usually goes wild. During this tune, the musicians opted not to play it up quite as large, but later in the set they wouldn’t be able to resist. After a spirited exchange of fours with Landham’s drums, the musical afterburners were raging, and it was time to ease into a beautiful ballad which showcased lovely long solo lines from Martino, empathetic comping and multi-stop solo sounds from Defrancesco, and brilliant fluttering brush work from Landham. Next, they picked things up with Martino’s original, “Mac Tough,” a tune that starts with a funky groove that kind of boogies up to a peak, not unlike the initial phase of a roller coaster ride, and then lets things fall into an all out straight ahead wild romp. Defrancesco’s pedal pouncing cowboy boot was working overtime. It was practically like having Ray Brown there swiftly walking time. With crisp vigorous drums building the momentum, Martino dusted off some of his vintage long lines and incorporated some cool pedal tone stuff on the open upper strings, as he burned though the changes. He even quoted a bit of “Lester Leaps In” at one point (quotes from other tunes don’t typically show up in Martino’s solos, as there’s not much time for that given the speedy rain of notes that is so much a part of his trademark approach). Then, it was Defrancesco’s turn. Guess what? He unleashed the fury. It was Joey as funky-as-he-wanna-be D, deciding it was time to play some serious B3! Look out! Damn! He was like a man possessed. This display of virtuosity nearly stole the show: there was an explosion of funk, blues, and raging bebop, served up via cast iron chops that knew no bounds. As he reeled off one phenomenal flowing double-time line after another, it was obvious why he is the heir apparent to the jazz organ throne.

The next two selections, “Sunny” and “The Great Stream,” both of which were originally featured in Martino’s groundbreaking 1972 Muse Recording Live, couldn’t have been better suited for the level of play at which all three musicians were now operating, as these are excellent vehicles for all-out blowing. The ensuing soloing and ensemble interaction continued to push the envelope until it threatened to melt the bandstand. When the final clash of Landham’s cymbals signaled the end of the set, the heated room showed awe and appreciation with thunderous applause and a standing ovation. Night air’s chill did little to cool off the afterglow of the spectacular performance – it has been filed away in treasured jazz memory banks under “H” for HHHOT!