Joe Pass: Darn That Dream
Recorded: Salle Pleyel, Paris, March 17, 1975
Rating: 95/100 (learn more)
This track, from Pass's memorable 1975 concert with Oscar Peterson at Salle Pleyel, features the guitarist in a solo setting. But after an evening of duets (that might be a typo—"duels" would be just as appropriate), Pass was still charged with adrenalin, and makes the most of his ballad feature. Here are all the Pass trademarks: convoluted passing chords; unexpected modulations through the circle of fifths that threaten to pull us out of the tonal center; basslines that seem to require a second guitarist hidden in the wings; crisp, super-fast single-note lines; hints of funk and bop and soul and plain old-fashioned romanticism. And through it all, that imperturbable Pass confidence, as if the six strings were hardwired into his central nervous system. The 1970s were a great era for Joe Pass, and here in the middle of the decade he delivers a magisterial performance in Paris.
Reviewer: Ted Gioia
Tags: 1970s jazz · darn that dream · guitar · solo guitar
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