The Manhattan Project
S/T

John Scofield
Live 3 Ways

Michel Petrucciani
Power Of Three

Bobby McFerrin
Spontaneous Inventions
(Blue Note)

Blue Note continues to mine its vaults for live performances from the ‘80s and comes up with four big winners. The core of The Manhattan Project was an outstanding quartet comprised of Stanley Clarke, Wayne Shorter, Michel Petrucciani and Lenny White, along with supplemental keyboard work from Gil Goldstein, Pete Levin, and guest vocalist Rachelle Ferrell. The band blaze through a combination of standards and more modern compositions, such as “Nefertiti,” “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and “Summertime.” On “Autumn Leaves,” Ferrell’s voice swoops, growls and wraps itself around phrases like a Six Flags roller coaster. Clarke’s basslines alternate between anchor and lead instrument, Shorter’s tenor and soprano work is mellifluous and perfectly phrased and White’s thundering drums offer complex polyrhythms and a solid bottom end. On the numbers where the synths aren’t filling up all the empty space, Petrucciani’s piano work is nothing short of amazing, as his gnarled fingers sweep across the keys with grace and imagination.

The late, diminutive pianist shines brightly on his own disc, recorded at the Montreux Jazz Fest in 1986. In a series of duets with guitarist Jim Hall, Petrucciani displays impeccable finesse as the two take turns as the lead or support instruments. Wayne Shorter steps in for the last three numbers and adds yet another lyrical voice to the mix. Hall spend much of the show with his eyes closed and just lets his fingers do the talking.

I’m not a huge fan of John Scofield’s recent jam-band pretensions, but this series of recordings at New York’s Chelsea Studios in 1990 demonstrates his versatility in a variety of settings. There’s some funky trio work featuring the great Don Pullen on Hammond B3, bluesy interplay with Dr. John during the duos portion and the full-tilt press from his working band at the time, with the addition of tenor-meister Joe Lovano.

My introduction to Bobby McFerrin was the audio version of this outstanding 1988 performance and I’ve been a fan ever since. This was McFerrin’s debut for Blue Note and took the form of an a cappella performance at L.A.’s Aquarius Theater, where he created inspired spur-of-the-moment musical improvisations, interacting with the audience and special guests. Part one-man-band, part comedian, he sings and scats his way through a dozen numbers, including a surprise appearance by Wayne Shorter who comes out of the audience to duet on “Walkin.” Unfortunately, legal shenanigans prevented the inclusion of Robin Williams’ guest shot on “Beverly Hills Blues,” but the music videos for “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and “Good Lovin’” almost make up for it.