AMG Review of Baiyina (The Clear Evidence)

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

Pat Martino's fourth of five Prestige albums contains plenty of intriguing music. The innovative guitarist is joined by Bobby Rose on second guitar, Gregory Herbert on alto and flute (making his recording debut), bassist Richard Davis, drummer Charlie Persip, Reggie Ferguson on tabla, and Balakrishna on tamboura. Together they perform Martino's four-part suite, whose sections are named after aspects of the Koran. The use of Indian instruments, drones, and unusual time signatures (including 7/4, 9/4, and 10/8) gives the performances the flavor of early fusion, and some of the effects sound a bit dated. However, the results were not overtly commercial, and the leader gets in several noteworthy improvisations.