Gary Burton - Vibes
Mick Goodrick - Guitar
Pat Metheny - 12 String Electric Guitar
Steve Swallow - Bass
Bob Moses - Drums
Gary Burton is arguably the greatest vibraphonist. He is known for his mastery of using four mallets to play the vibraphone more like a piano. The grip that he developed to hold the four mallets was even named after him. His technique is unbelievable. He can run through scales faster than the speed of light.
I have been searching for this album ever since ECM released it under their Touchstone Series, which offers some of their more well known recordings in modest packaging, and an affordable price. This has become a quick favorite of mine. The vibraphone and the two guitars mix to create a very lush orchestration of Carla Bley's magnificent compositions.
The album starts with the title track, "Dreams So Real." The ensemble plays this ballad with great attention to detail. The energy does pick up at moments, but it never gets too wild.
The next piece is "Ictus/Syndrome." This opens with a complex unison melody. About halfway through the piece, it switches to a hard swing feeling. Pat Metheny plays a takes a nice guitar solo. Pat's solos are very melodic and Metheney-esque, but Burton's solos are so full of energy. They are often wild explorations of the possibilities that one person can do on a vibraphone.
"Jesus Maria" is a ballad that Burton plays as a solo feature. The song sounds very well suited for the vibes.
"Vox Humana" apparently is named after an organ stop. This piece is my favorite from the album. I think it exemplifies what some have called, "The ECM sound." The rhythm section plays it straight, with the drums incorporating broken eighth notes. The piece generally has a lush ambiance to it. The various sections have their way of either putting me in a state of complete relaxation, or they make me long to hear the resolution into the next section. The resolutions are majestic; I often imagine a beautiful sun setting on the mountain ranges in the west. Great vibe solos and guitar solos. It's a little harder for me to tell who solos on this one, but I would guess that it is Mick Goodrick. The piece is very well written because of the sections where the intensity builds up very quickly.
"Doctor" is another Carla Bley song that opens with a complex unison melody with the guitar and vibes, but the other guitar and the bass have a written out rhythmic response to the melody. The chords in this piece are far more bizarre than in the previous pieces. The group plays well enough through this, and it is refreshing to hear another Metheny guitar solo. He really has no difficulty soloing over the rather interesting chords.
"Intermission Music" closes this album. It is a lilting waltz ballad, and everyone continues to perform well. I should mention here that Steve Swallow and Bob Moses do a fine job handling the bass and drums respectively.
This is a good album, and I recommend it to anyone that likes ECM type albums. The music seems to defy categories. It surely isn't bop/hard bop/ post bop. It is almost fusion, but not in the typical jazz fusion sense. I think the best label for this kind of music is Carla Bley. This music rewards close listening, and yet it can serve as background music quite well. For Burton fans, and I would say even for Metheny fans, this album is a must own.
5/5 Stars
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