Joe Pass

Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass worked often with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald…

Joe Pass, Catch Me. One of the greatest jazz guitar albums of all time, Catch me captures guitar legend Joe Pass, with pianist Clare Fischer. The two were a match made in heaven. Mostly, this album just has Joe Pass and crew swinging standards, but they make them sound so fresh and new. The beautiful rendition of Catch Me, is so vibrant, bright, and melodic. Pass plays great at those up-tempo tunes. The group swings down home on Summertime. Pass struts his blues side of him on this one, and the outcome is tremendous.

The TV show presented here, which opens with Pass playing alone on six wonderful tunes, was made during a European tour that took place some months before the recording of their second album as a duet, titled precisely Fitzgerald & Pass… Again, taped on february 8, 1976. Thus, it presents some tunes that would be part of that lp, making this program (and probably the whole tour) a kind of rehearsal for the songs to be included on the studio album. That's the case of "One Note Samba", "Nature Boy", "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else)". However, we have also here the only known versions by Ella and Joe as a duet of no less than six songs. That's the case of "You turned the tables on me", "Cry Me a River", "You Are the Sunshine of My Life", "Avalon", "Stormy Weather" and the classic "How High the Moon", with which Ella closes the show inserting quotations of, among others, "Mack the Knife", "Desafinado" and "Summertime".

Virtuoso guitarist Joe Pass didn't need sidemen on any recording, but when he used them, he chose wisely. Tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson, keyboardist Gerald Wiggins and drummer Tootle Heath had not recorded with Pass previously, but along with bassist Andy Simpkins, they achieve a perfect first-take sound on each track. The title cut features Pass with Johnson's bluesy sax and a soft organ and brushed background. Two Pass originals are lengthy blues vehicles with plenty of solo space for all. "I Remember You" is an unlikely choice that developed from Wiggins' jamming in the studio; the ballad is a relaxing detour from the blues that dominate the CD. Joe Pass was without peer on guitar the last 20 years of his life; his playing here won't disappoint.

Guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels Pedersen, a pair of talented virtuosi, are typically outstanding on this live set of standards. With the exception of their ad-lib "Blues for the Hague," all of the material would qualify as overdone through the years (such as "'Round Midnight" and "Stella by Starlight") but the duo makes these veteran pieces sound fresh and new again. (Scott Yanow, All Music Guide)