Jazz Articles about Pat Metheny

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Pat Metheny: Day Trip

by Doug Collette
February 2, 2008

Pat Metheny has not recorded with a trio for upwards of eight years, but Day Trip certainly makes the wait worth it. The simplicity of its approach will, no doubt, appeal to those fans of the guitarist who relish his primary virtues as an improvising instrumentalist. But it will no doubt foster revelations in Pat Metheny Group aficionados who can rediscover his core virtues.

Judging from the impeccable new disc, Metheny, along with comrades drummer Antonio Sanchez and Christian McBride, ...

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Pat Metheny: Day Trip

by John Kelman
January 24, 2008

While the trio format isn't new to guitarist Pat Metheny, Day Trip does represent a number of firsts. And with only one minor quibble, if it's not the best trio record he's released since Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976), it's pretty darn close.

It's his first trio record to consist of all-original material. And, with the exception of the simmering waltz “When We Were Free," from Pat Metheny Group's Quartet (Nonesuch, 1996) and the rock/reggae-tinged “The ...

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Pat Metheny: Day Trip

by Chris May
January 22, 2008

It's way too early in the New Year to be making sensible predictions, but hey, let's drive in the center of the road for a moment: if guitarist Pat Metheny's Day Trip doesn't end up amongst the top half-dozen albums of 2008, some very powerful voodoo indeed must be coming round the corner.

Day Trip is, unquestionably, amongst Metheny's best ever discs, up there with previous masterpieces like Song X (Nonesuch, 1985), made with saxophonist Ornette Coleman, and ...

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Pat Metheny Trio in Concert: Bright Lights in Vermont

by Doug Collette
November 10, 2007

Pat Metheny Trio Flynn Center for The Performing Arts Burlington, Vermont October 19, 2007

It's always enlightening to see Pat Metheny perform live but perhaps never more so than on his current tour. With drummer Antonio Sanchez and bassist Christina McBride, the Missouri native is one of three brilliant equals when he takes the stage as he did in Vermont on this October night.

The compositional aspect of Metheny's work that prevails with ...

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Pat Metheny: Secret Story: Deluxe Edition

by John Kelman
October 20, 2007

If The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005) is Pat Metheny Group's magnum opus, then Secret Story is the guitarist's greatest achievement as a solo artist to date. A sprawling, 76-minute epic featuring a wealth of guest artists, members of a symphony orchestra and Metheny playing countless parts on an arsenal of guitars and keyboards, its only flaw has been the comparably thin sound that marred much of his Geffen-era work. Secret Story: Deluxe Edition not only gives the album the sonic ...

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Pat Metheny / Brad Mehldau: Quartet

by Doug Collette
May 7, 2007

The second installment of the Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau collaboration illustrates how the most accomplished and established musicians endure growing pains as they learn to work together. Even a partnership as complementary as this one benefits from a guiding hand or, alternately, suffers for lack of one.

Make no mistake, the presence of Larry Grenadier's bass and Jeff Ballard's drums add depth to this music and preclude any chance of it becoming lightweight . There is far too much detail on ...

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Metheny-Mehldau: Playing (Mostly) Together in Boston

by Doug Collette
May 6, 2007

Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau The Opera House Boston, Massachusetts April 14, 2007

More than one attendee might've been ambivalent while seeing Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau perform at The Opera House in Boston April 14th. Two hours of impeccable musicianship rendered with formidable technique nevertheless contained the same relative strengths and weaknesses exhibited in the pair of Metheny-Mehldau CDs released on Nonesuch over the past few months.

No question there is an uncommon ...