Last week I said that Unquity Road came the closest to what we think of as a traditional jazz tune. With “Omaha Celebration,” we might as well conclude that this particular trio is just not going to approach “normal.”
Like so many of the compositions on Bright Size Life, this track avoids the tradition by unfolding the harmonic story with nonstop group interplay. Pat doesn’t just introduce the melody line as fodder for improvisation. Instead the tune launches directly into a long-form chord solo, with Bob Moses’ snare and cymbal work tightly binding Jaco’s bass lines to Metheny’s source material. In yet another example of this group’s musical alchemy, the story that unfolds seems inevitable.
Returning to the idea of a chord solo for a moment, it must be noted that this really isn’t a traditional chord solo — in that Pat is not extending a written melody with a series of interlinked chords. Here the chords themselves are the story. A modern (and not at all jazz-based) parallel is the work that Johnny Marr did with The Smiths. Marr had a somewhat unconventional way of implying a theme via chord changes and arpeggios, creating a unique sound by side-stepping the conventions of rock guitar.
Hmmm…you think Johnny Marr owns a copy of this record?
Up next: Round Trip/Broadway Blues
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There are moments in this tune that are downright funky, which is not a word I typically associate with Pat.
As for the melody and general structure, I have no problem admitting that I still can’t get my head around this one. After many, many listenings, I still don’t feel it, or know where it is going next. This is okay. I have gone long stretches in the past without having a musical compass for particular PM tunes. Some of them bowl me over on the first listen, (“Phase Dance”), and others take years to hit pay dirt. The “First Circle” is a great example, and this one may be in that category, too.