The Sound of Summer Running

Bassist Marc Johnson has excelled at attracting smart, thoughtful bands for his periodic studio dates, none smarter or more instantly engaging than the de facto supergroup drafted for his Verve label debut. The Sound of Summer Running is a fitting image for this deceptively breezy, nearly telepathic summit between Johnson, guitarists Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny, and drummer Joey Baron, a dream team that makes its collective technical prowess invisible. Hearing Frisell and Metheny--arguably the two most original and identifiable guitar stylists in modern music--establish their relaxed, playful dialogue would be reason enough for this meeting, but Johnson's focal role as composer with an unforced lyricism along with Baron's consistently superb percussion make this a sound for all seasons. --Sam Sutherland