CCD-2149-2 Songs, Stories & Spirituals
Produced by John Patitucci
Released on March 11, 2003
no chart information
Find it at GEMM
CCD-2149-2 cover
[high resolution scan]		  

A n acoustic album featuring a core trio of Patitucci, Brian Blade and Ed Simon plus Brazilian-born vocalist Luciana Souza. This one blew me away in the beginning with a string of surprises, including Antonio Carlos Jobim (“Chovendo na Roseira”) and Gustav Holst (“In The Bleak Midwinter”). However, the initial downpour of Latin and smartly arranged acoustic jazz soon yielded to a slow and steady stream of wordless voices, flutes, acoustic guitar and cello; just the sort of stuff that made me groan whenever I saw Gayle Moran’s name on a Chick Corea record. By album’s end, a closing Coltrane track that showcases Patitucci’s superlative but heretofore hidden soloing is less an exclamation point than a small, impotent stormcloud rumbling harmlessly past. The songs (“Chovendo na Roseira,” “Lei,” “Soulmate”) and jazz hymnals (“I Will Arise,” “In The Bleak Midwinter”) make up the best parts of Songs, Stories & Spirituals. The original material from Patitucci and Souza is another story: dry and gossamer jazz that dissipates like cloud matter. Those familiar with John’s 6-string smooth fusion albums may be surprised to find this acoustic set so staid and balanced, with very little of the bass fireworks that marked his first forays into jazz. Had the set been billed as the John Patitucci Trio + Luciana Souza, listeners would be better prepared for what follows. The first five tracks on here are outstanding, and if John Patitucci decides someday to do an entire album of jazz hymnals (with John Thomas tackling a Bach cantata or two), it would no doubt be a slice of heaven. However, there are too few surprises on the second half, a fact that parched my firstflood of superlatives and left me with dampened enthusiasm for Songs, Stories & Spirituals. The Grammy-nominated Midwinter and Chovendo belong with the best of Patitucci, so you may want to pick up those songs for two bucks until such an animal exists.

TRACK LISTING

  1. TALL TALE    (John Patitucci)    4:56
  2. CHOVENDO NA ROSEIRA    (Antonio Carlos Jobim, arr. by Luciana Souza)    6:13
  3. I WILL ARISE    (Lyrics by Joseph Hart, Refrain by Anonymous, arr. by John Patitucci)    3:19
  4. LEI    (Djavan, arr. by Luciana Souza/John Patitucci)    5:15
  5. IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER    (Gustav Holst, Words by Christina Rosetti, arr. & orchestrated by John Patitucci)    4:57
  6. THREE FACES    (John Patitucci)    5:51
  7. NOW THE RIVER    (Luciana Souza, arr. by Luciana Souza/John Patitucci)    7:19
  8. SOULMATE    (Music by John Patitucci, Lyrics by Luciana Souza)    4:31
  9. RHAPSODIC JOURNEY    (John Patitucci)    3:17
  10. IT NEVER ENTERED MY MIND    (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart, arr. by John Patitucci)    8:20
  11. LOVE ETERNAL    (John Patitucci)    3:44
  12. WISE ONE    (John Coltrane, arr. by John Patitucci)    4:26

CREDITS

JOHN PATITUCCI -- acoustic bass, 6-string electric bass
BRIAN BLADE -- drums, percussion
ED SIMON -- piano
LUCIANA SOUZA -- vocals
Lawrence Dutton -- violin (5)
Elizabeth Lim-Dutton -- violin (5)
Sachi Patitucci -- cello
Tom Patitucci -- nylon string guitar (6,7)
Tim Ries -- flute, alto flute (6,9)
Richard Rood -- violin (5)
John Thomas -- vocals (3,5)
Glen Barros -- executive producer
John Burk -- executive producer
Joe Barbaria -- engineer, mixing
Charles Apt -- cover painting
Abbey Anna -- art direction

REGION RELEASE DATE LABEL MEDIA ID NUMBER FEATURES
US March 11, 2003 Concord CD CCD-2149-2  

 

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