Pat Martino Think Tank CD

THINK TANK was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. "Africa" was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

Despite a serious condition in the late 1970s that left him with the sketchiest of memories of his past, Pat Martino rehabilitated his life and his formidable career with superhuman determination. Claiming that the people his music attract--players, students, fans--are ultimately what is important to him, and that his chosen instrument is "just an apparatus," this guitar master re-learned his instrument from his own earlier recordings and climbed back to the top of his game.

Martino's considerable musical palette includes Coltrane (they met through the legendary teacher Dennis Sandole), Tristano, modalism, and, finally, ersatz psychedelia, which in his oeuvre, often stands in for balladry (yes, Pat likes to play fast). On THINK TANK, he is joined by a group of New York-based players with enough cache to make any producer greedily rub their hands together in anticipation. This music, largely Martino originals, combines a floating lyricism with sharp, clean-cut corners. Worthy contributions come from the solid rhythm section of Christian McBride and Lewis Nash and the driving, uncompromising solos of Gonzalo Rubalacaba and Joe Lovano.

Recorded at the Sony Studios, New York, New York in January 2003. Includes liner notes by Bela Fleck.

Personnel: Pat Martino (guitar); Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone); Gonzalo Rubalcaba (piano); Christian McBride (bass); Lewis Nash (drums).

CMJ (10/6/03, p.26) - "...There is a certain mystical feel to the ballads and an overwhelming sense of revelation that seems to fuel the more upbeat numbers..."
JazzTimes (11/03, pp.102-3) - "It sounds best when the band breaks down into component parts..."k
Mojo (Publisher) (12/03, p.120) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Here an all-star team spur the polite-toned, heavy-chops guitarist to a distinctive, further distilled blend of the cerebral and hearty."