There's no tentativeness here. Bernstein is not playing notes, or the guitar, he is playing the song, the groove, he is playing the band. Riding and amping up the pulse, dropping the sounds in the cracks of the pulsing rhythms, in just right places, beautifully. listen to the last minute of his solo. just "whew!!".. If you can't hear that, sorry.
Jazz Masters make it look so easy. What's with the jerk who posted he doesn't like Peter's guitar solo?Peter's solo is brilliant and is one of the best guitar players on the planet.
Bernstein knows exactly what hes doin here, very deliberate phrasing and spacing. I love it, so refreshing to hear someone not just tearing into the tune like they have something to prove. He's obviously been reading the Tao Te Ching.
Yes, the phrasing and spacing is deliberate and quite tasteful. What people don't like is the lack of (or not enough of) rhythmic development and harmonic interest. Compare with the first 40 seconds or so of Brad's solo and he has that lovely sense of space and phrasing Bernstein had but he's also far more comfortable over the complex changes and expresses more ideas.
We already got too many wannabe emperors, can we go with Roman Consul? Lets just say its in the fingers, heart, soul and ears. But doesn't it have to be first in the fingers? Sometimes gold rains down, and some of us be payin' attention.
I've been listening to this recording for six years or however long it's been up on RU-vid (here or elsewhere) and I've always loved PB's playing here. As someone else said, he lets the tune BREATHE.
I had the impression of this tune that it’s very much about breathing, each person seems to have their places but staggered as if breathing in response to the melody/rhythms, although Drums and base are very very aligned to keep defending the complex rhythm structure.
If his time was "kinda whack" he wouldn't be on stage with these guys. Go practice with a metronome for a couple of years then give another listen. GTFOH
it's insane to call pb anything other than masterful, and this solo is no different. great control and purity. the use of space is incomparable, ideas lift into the air and float, completely naked and exposed. nothing tentative about it; it's masculine, confident playing. and it's the perfect compliment to brad imo.
Have to disagree. Yes, the phrasing and use of space is nice at first but also becomes extremely repetitive and it's clear he's struggling with these changes. Brad composed Buddha Realm that year in 2006 so if I had to take a guess, Bernstein hadn't had time to get comfortable with these changes yet. I'm not ragging on Bernstein, I just think that on this particular tune he was struggling to get out his ideas even though the ones he played were good.
@@UkuleleAversion tbh these changes sound really hard to pick up. Prob one of the hardest jazz tunes ive heard in that respect, not only is the harmonic movement complicated but also the harmonic rhythm
@Karel Cuelenaere ROIO Archive... I know its been 3 yrs since your comment so maybe youve had some time to listen again and rethink your comment. bernstein's playing on this song reflects an intimate understanding of the harmony of the tune as his playing always does.. perhaps your ears were having trouble the day you made that comment. bernstein plays the best notes and has the best phrasing and is always prepared and familiar with the material he is playing..
Bernstein solos so tastefully in this tune. shred is not always the way to go. restraint, phrasing, selection of notes speaks volumes if you have an ear for it.....
I d like to add that if u compare BM over 10 y ago his playing was quiet different n his aggressiveness n determination n quantity today he s more in the PB type of playing in control n very musical less tech...Things change
Very true. Take a listen to his playing on "When I Fall in Love" album with the Rossy brothers or "Moodswing" with Joshua Redman in the early 90s and then his playing on Trio Live in the mid-2000s. He has matured a lot as a player and has become much more unique because of this.
@@aidenmoroney2632 Nope. C11 implies the 11 above the 3rd creating a stark minor 9th dissonance. The voicing Brad uses (rootless mind you) goes F, Bb, D, E. Also, nobody actually uses “C11” (check out Adam Neely’s video for a good explanation why it isn’t standard practice). If you go to any Brad Mehldau transcription with a harmonic analysis the voicing has been analysed as 9(add4) and sometimes as add#4 when it’s being used in the context of lydian.
I like your comments about PB solo I sort of feel the same but the comp here is nothing really complicated so not to familiar w PB's playing I started to listen to more n in effect he s a discreet type of player versed in what I heard in a more poetic type of playing direction...
If this was an actual conversation, Bernstein is saying “uuuuuhhhhhhhh...........uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Well, that’s because ....uhhhhhhhhhhhh. You see uhhhhhhh.” Not hating, just my opinion.
I don't think anyone's a poor improviser here, but Peter Bernstein's solo has a bit of a tentative quality--I'm not sure it ever really takes off. And I feel like Brad Mehldau's solo here is one of the best I've ever heard. One thing to notice is that he starts with a response to the last phrase of the guitar solo (the four low guitar notes at 5:26), which he explores for almost a minute, and keeps returning to throughout his solo (such as at 8:18). It's really amazing, at least to me.
i agree totally with your comment regarding bernstein's solo(tentative) and i am a fan of bernstein's trio work (dragonfly). music is a conversation and in this example bern doesnt quite finish his thoughts( imo) those who disagree are entitled to there opinion but should respect yours as well.
I feel like the issue with Bernstein's solo is not the sparsity of melodic material or lack of rhythmic virtuosity but the absence of strong development. I totally get what he was going for, he was improvising using units of the theme but he wasn't able to relax with this approach and really let loose, I could "hear him thinking". And I know this because I make the same damn mistake Peter makes here, I try and play a truly unique solo which has a strong link with the composition I'm playing over but I end up overthinking.
Tom Parker Form vs function ... music is not always about letting loose ... too tight does not flow and too lose is annoying. Developed awareness creates a conversation with your instrument, your body, an invitation to breathe into the sounds in relationship to each musician ... this is opening alive improvisational music.
I like Bernstein's playing here, but I wonder if he was a bit too intimidated by the company to really stretch out. And he doesn't comment when Brad's soloing (which is great BTW). As a whole band, though, they sound great.
I prefer to hear him play sparsely, but play every note differently to all the modern age jazz shredders who superpose the same old scale runs with the same touch and the same phrasing over every damn chord progression they come across. At least every Bernstein solo sounds different, even when he only plays chord tones.
@@simplefruitsMTV seriously. i listened to it again. the last minute of the solo, EVERY note , every phrase harmonically and rhythmically well placed, in the cracks, nothing wasted, ,responding to and letting the others build up the churn of the pulse. It's really, really great ears and group playing, with a ton of confidence. go get your shredder dose somewhere , and come back to hear how to play the band with your soloing. He is not playing notes, or the guitar, he is playing the band.
