Remembrance

Bassist John Patitucci has played with such luminaries as Wayne Shorter, Roy Haynes, and Jack DeJohnette, but he’s also recorded more than a dozen albums as a leader. On 2009’s Remembrance, Patitucci, saxophonist Joe Lovano, and drummer Brian Blade comprise a group that displays impressive range on 11 originals. The album opens with “Monk/Trane,” a composition based on “Giants Steps,” which features alert, nimble playing throughout. Another nod to Coltrane, the impressionistic “Meditations,” showcases Patitucci on electric six-string bass. “Messaien’s Gumbo” brings out the group’s funky side; Blade’s cliché-free drumming on the track is outstanding. “Mali,” a tribute to the singer and guitarist Ali Farka Touré, captures the rhythm section creating an African-inflected groove as Lovano plays catchy shards of melody. “Scenes from an Opera” sports a lush string arrangement, rumbling drums, and Lovano’s mysterious clarinet tones. The closing title track, a tribute to the late saxophonist Michael Brecker, finds a solo Patitucci overdubbing electric six-string piccolo bass on top of electric bass.