I love unlikely combinations in musical settings. I also love risks and artists who refuse to be pigeonholed. Nothing is more evident of this than on this improv workout from 1986: guitarist Pat Metheny and the innovative saxophonist/free jazz veteran Ornette Coleman’s Song X. Backed by two other Jazz legends, drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Charlie Haden, along with Coleman’s son, Denardo on Percussion, comes a free jazz gem that seemed to come from nowhere. Metheny shocked all of his defectors who loathe his smooth jazz tendencies on this record. At the time Song X was released, he was enjoying massive success with The Pat Metheny Group, filling venues and gaining extensive airplay with their highly accessible brand of fusion. Then comes this curve ball. He had always had an outspoken admiration for Ornette Coleman but the combination of the two in a musical setting still was a bit bizarre – but effective.
The interplay between Metheny and Coleman is unbelievably natural with Metheny playing abstract guitar lines perfectly intertwined with Coleman’s angular alto. Jack DeJohnette’s frantic (but cohesive) drumming is in fine form, he manages to squeeze everything out of his kit on this record, and then some. Bassist Charlie Haden is no stranger to this idiom (he’s been playing alongside Coleman since the late fifties) and sits in perfectly, providing a pulse all his own. Coleman’s son Denardo adds some esoteric percussion textures as well. It even stays innovative and fresh when Metheny picks up his dreaded guitar synth on one track. Song X isn’t just another set by a jazz super group, this record manages to do what all classic free jazz records have done before and after: be accessible, yet challenging, without being contrived. There is nothing trivial about this record. It’s a swinging set of avant-garde goodness by some of the best (and one with some new found street-cred) in the business. These guys dug playing on this session and you can feel the inspiration in the music. –ECM Tim
