Resonance Review
by Alex Henderson
[-]Joe Pass thrived on intimate settings. The late improviser had no problem doing without a pianist, and many of his Pablo recordings of the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s found him leading small guitar trios or performing as an unaccompanied solo guitarist. That type of intimate setting serves him impressively well on Resonance, which was recorded live at Donte's in North Hollywood, CA (a suburb of Los Angeles) in December 1974 and finds him leading a trio that includes Jim Hughart on electric bass and Frank Severino on drums. Pass doesn't have a pianist or any horn players to share the spotlight with, and that's just as well because the guitarist has a lot to say. He is in fine form on lyrical performances of "Misty," "Corcovado," and "Come Rain or Come Shine," and is equally impressive on unusually fast versions of "It Could Happen to You" and "The Lamp Is Low." Those who think of the former as a sentimental ballad will find that the hard bopper has a very different take on the standard. During his career, Pass was a very consistent player -- he rarely recorded a bad album, and Resonance is among the many releases that is well worth hearing.
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Jim Ferguson (JazzTimes) wrote in his review of Resonance: "...the mercurial Pass turns tunes like "It Could Happen to You" (often given a ballad treatment) and Jobim's "Corcovado" into rousing, near-frantic tour de forces, where he establishes a brisk tempo and proceeds to tattoo variation after variation. He does eventually settle down, however, to play sweet and smooth on "Too Late Now" and "Misty," each of which features Pass' unmistakable combination of smooth single-note lines and silken chordal passages....Another look back at a brilliant performance from one of jazz's most unforgettable players."[3]
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