One of the overlooked giants of jazz has been the recently departed Larry Coryell (1942-2017). Best known as one of the very first jazz guitarists to embrace rock sounds and create what came to be known as “fusion”, his last years of recording and performing were reflective of a musical renaissance, has his later albums had him return to a rich and lyric style that is both timeless, classic and inspired.
This 2002 session is a case in point, as it has Coryell with two of the original members of Pat Metheny’s band in bassist Marc Egan and drummer Paul Wertico. The result is a nimble affair, that mixes originals with some creative covers. There is a pair of Monk tunes, a harrowing “’Round Midnight” and joyfully kinetic “Well You Needn’t” as well as a brilliant pick in The Beatles’ “She’s Leaving Home” that is richly rhapsodic. Coryell’s own “Immer Geradeaus” is a hip and bluesy bopper while “Good Citizen Swallow” is a deft and delicate jazz rocker. The interplay of the three on “Three Way Split” and “Spaces Revisited sound like they’ve been together as long as ,well, the Pat Metheny Group, making this one of the great “what if” albums of all time. Look for this one, and reward yourself.