Gary Burton - Like Minds - [CD]

Every once in a great while, the stars align and the music visit a recording studio to smile beneficently on the musicians assembled there. How else to account for the ineffable chemistry that infuses the best jazz albums? Well, the muses were working between pianist Chick Corea and guitarist Pat Metheny and recruited an impeccable rhythm section staffed by bassist Dave Holland the drum legend Roy Haynes. Like Minds captures the quintet playing their own adventurous compositions at a superlative level of intuitive interplay. Profound and playful, sophisticated and emotionally direct, the music is mirror of these five personalities. Vibist Gary Burton has been collaborating with pianist Chick Corea and guitarist Pat Metheny since the mid-'70s, and it shows. The three have a strong intuitive sense of each other's lines and sound and can enhance the music in myriad, subtle ways. Having a great rhythm section doesn't hurt either, and bassist Dave Holland and drummer Roy Haynes are two of the very best. On Like Minds they have created an excellent CD: a no-frills, straight-ahead jazz album, crisply recorded, full of energy and imagination. With the exception of the George Gershwin piece, "Soon," the disc features all original compositions, with considerable thought given to distinguishing each soloist despite the surface similarity of their nimble, bouncy styles. Like minds, perhaps, but each possesses a singular voice and the ability to merge it creatively with others. --Wally Shoup