"I'm not going to review this one track-by-track, because it is simply pristine jazz trio music, and that's all you really need to know.
The stand-out track for me was the 9-minute "When We Were Free," which succeeds largely on the Tony Williams-style drumming of Antonio Sanchez. If there is a lesson to be learned from Miles' "Second Great Quintet" or the Impulse years of John Coltrane, it is that the drummer is NOT simply there to "keep time." As much as I enjoy the entire CD, I'd like to see more of the toughness of "When We Were Free" spread over the course of an entire album. It's a throwback to Pat's glory days of "Travels" and particularly stand-out tracks like "Are You Going With Me?," with less of the "New Age" overtones that were popular at the time and more of the aforementioned Miles / Trane attitude improvisation.
It's wonderful to know that in the current day, Pat Metheny is stil fired up and filled with creativity. This album...as well as its companion piece, the live EP "Tokyo Day Trip"...should be in the library of every enthusiast of this genre."
Best Thing in Years from PM
Karl W. Nehring | Ostrander, OH USA | 07/07/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Guitarist Metheny and bassist McBride are the well-known members of this trio, but it is drummer Sanchez who makes the most indelible impression with his incredibly energetic and flavorful playing. What a dynamo! Although Metheny's past couple of recordings with the Pat Metheny Group have tended toward the grandiose, this trio setting strips the arrangements down to a more pure jazz style that gives all three musicians an opportunity to shine. The end result is a pure feast for the ears, the best thing that Metheny has done in several years."
Nice
Wendy E. Smith | Townsville, Qld. Australia | 12/02/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Must admit that this album was very standard Pat Metheny. Although very good it is not out of the ordinary."
Similar, yet improved and refreshing, sound
Trevis Rothwell | United States | 03/24/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is ostensibly very similar in concept to, say, Metheny's Trio 99->00 album, but yet it's not the same. I find this recording to sound fresher, more uplifting, more energetic, more clearly and crisply captured.
The compositions, as another reviewer mentioned, don't strike me as very memorable. I would generally find that to be a point of flaw, but in this case, the improvisations and chord changes are so pleasant to listen to that I don't really miss superb head melodies.
If you've already got some similar recordings from Metheny, you might not feel a desire to get this one too, but then again, you might be surprised."