Last Saturday's concert in Whelans marked Pat Martino's first visit to this country and underlined why he is held in such high regard by jazz guitarists throughout the world. His technique is absolutely astonishing, enabling him to skip, regardless of tempo, with almost dismissive ease through the most difficult lines. As for his time, he could, as the saying goes, swing even the most recalcitrant rhythm section into bad health.
In this case he had one of the best heard here in a long time. Byron Landham is another of those amazing young drummers who now seem almost commonplace. Crisp, tasteful and constantly supportive and inventive, he was impeccable. With organist Joey DeFrancesco in ebullient form, the trio at times achieved an almost implacably euphoric groove, sweeping all before it.
And this, essentially, is what the enormously enjoyable concert was about.
This gifted trio deals in exciting, high-energy jousting, delivered with exuberant virtuosity and an abundance of ideas. It was, at times, somewhat relentless; greater contrast would have helped throw both the guitarist's and the organist's gifts into better perspective and perhaps allowed Martino's more reflective side more space.
His and DeFrancesco's harmonic and linear imaginativeness was best appreciated on the more familiar material like the re-evaluation of Oleo and All Blues or the daring recasting of Blue In Green. Although Martino didn't identify them, much of the rest was originals - Mac Tough, Welcome To A Prayer, Catch, Recollection and El Hombre - from his new CD, Live At Yoshi's. In the process his playing also recalled another great guitarist, the late Grant Green, as well as underlining the continued vitality of the bop idiom - in the right hands.
