Pat Metheny / John Zorn - Tap: Book of Angels Volume 20 (2013)

What is wrong with Pat Metheny? How can the same person get so entrenched in the jazzy middle of the road and then, unexpectedly, skid so aptly towards the occasional experimental wonderland? Zero Tolerance for Silence only seemed to exist to make a point, and not a very interesting or original one at that (Metal Machine Music, at least, having already taken its place in aesthetic existence). This, however, is the righteous successor to Metheny’s exalting pas de deux with Ornette Coleman on Song X (which didn't even require busting out Lonely Woman to stake its claim on the reaffirmation of an enduring legacy). 

Now, one could be tempted to credit John Zorn's compositions for most of Tap's excellence, but the wild arrangements and energy are the things that really make it - and set it apart from the middle-ground of Zorn's overall Book of Angels series (most enjoyable as it is) - even if the album loses a bit of steam and invention towards the end. 

It's as if the mystical imaginary of Zorn’s tunes magically turned on the lights in a musical dungeon of sorts where Metheny, waiting for some mischievous sonic opportunity like this to arise, had been working for years on a trove of mutant devices (orchestrionic marimba? yum) and devious ideas, which I would not have expected to find lurking under his gentle mane.

Out-there artists out there, please: call out to Pat, make him feel cared for, keep him busy, take turns at it, do what you must; everyone will be all the better for it.

Pat, should it be that no one has ever had the gall to tell you as much, please allow (on this occasion not so much, but in general definitely) humble me: this is the way.