Pat Metheny Group: Speaking of Now Live

There's nary a flaw to be found in this lengthy concert performance by guitarist Pat Metheny and his group, recorded in Tokyo in 2002: the musicianship is superb, the material (much of it drawn from the album of the same name) strong, the sound (in DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound) and visuals impeccable, the audience respectful…and therein lies the problem, such as it is. The whole effect is a bit sterile; there's little of the communication between listeners and players that can ignite jazz or rock shows in more intimate, less formal settings. Founding members Metheny and keyboardist Lyle Mays, longtime bassist/co-producer Steve Rodby, and the three fairly recent members (multi-instrumentalists Richard Bona and Cuong Vu, and drummer Antonio Sanchez) are all brilliant, versatile players. And it's nice to hear their interpretations of Jobim's “How Insensitive” and Metheny's lovely title tune from the film A Map of the World. But unless you're drawn to seeing a lot of close-ups of Metheny's face, listening to the PMG's recordings should suffice. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (S. Graham)