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Music

Hot ticket: Violinist plays return engagement

By Times Staff
Published March 17, 2005

Amy Schwartz Moretti returns this weekend to the Florida Orchestra as the soloist in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3. Moretti was the orchestra's concertmaster for five years until this season, when she took the same position with the Oregon Symphony. Music director Stefan Sanderling has paired the Mozart concerto with Bruckner's 65-minute Symphony No. 7 on a program that has performances Saturday at Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg; Sunday at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater; and Monday at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa. All are at 7:30 p.m. $15.50-$50.50. 813 286-2403 or toll-free 1-800-662-7286; www.floridaorchestra.org

- JOHN FLEMING, Times performing arts critic

Pat Metheny Group performs tonight

Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny's career is intriguing in part for his sheer restlessness: The Midwestern-born artist has mastered everything from bebop to experimental sound collages, intimate Americana-laced duo outings with bassist Charlie Haden to Brazilian-tinged music, heady fusion to tunes verging on smooth jazz.

The recently released The Way Up, the 14th album from the Pat Metheny Group, has the six-stringer joined by longtime keyboards collaborator Lyle Mays and regular bassist Steve Rodby; two 2002 additions to the band, Mexican-born drummer Antonio Sanchez and Seattle-bred trumpeter Cuong Vu; and new additions, Swiss harmonica player Gregoire Maret and Brazilian guitarist Nando Lauria.

The recording boldly offers a single 68-minute composition. "If you look at the whole history of the group, we've been totally interested in expansion in terms of form," Metheny told Jazz Times. "It seemed like now was the time to go all the way and attempt to use the CD itself as a platform."

The sound is lush and layered, with Metheny's textured guitars rising triumphantly over the mix. Expect something similar when the band returns to Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall at 8 tonight. Tickets ($33.50-$70) are available by calling (727) 791-7400 or toll-free 1-800-875-8692 outside Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

- PHILIP BOOTH, Times correspondent

Medeski Martin and Wood, the cream of the jazzy jam bands, have a well-earned reputation for shuttling between deep acoustic grooves and trippy, electronics-enhanced experimental sections. The trio - keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood - has a wonderful way with reinventing familiar tunes, whether rock Hendrix's Hey, Joe, jazz (Ellington's Caravan) or reggae (Marley's Lively Up Yourself). MMW worked with producer John King (Beastie Boys, Beck) for last year's End of the World (Just in Case) album on Blue Note, and the results are typically intriguing. In concert, MMW grabs onto a groove and refuses to let go until the riff has been stretched, twisted, broken down, rearranged, massaged and regenerated. It's a beautiful thing. The band plays at 8 p.m. Friday at Jannus Landing, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. Tickets are $20 advance, $23 day of show, at the box office or Ticketmaster. Call (727) 896-1244 or go to www.jannuslanding.net

- PHILIP BOOTH, Times correspondent

[Last modified March 16, 2005, 16:39:08]