Jazz Articles about Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman: Song X: Twentieth Anniversary

by AAJ Staff
September 16, 2005

Metheny fans who hadn't already caught the clues on 80/81 (ECM, 1980) or Rejoicing (ECM, 1984) were in for an electric shock when they hit play on the original Song X back in 1986... and more than a few copies immediately landed in resale bins as a result. The truth, not exactly a mystery--but still a surprise to those who considered Metheny a marshmallow man at heart--is that the guitarist has always been tied into the music of Ornette Coleman. ...

Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman: Song X: Twentieth Anniversary

by John Kelman
August 9, 2005

Back in 1985 when Pat Metheny released Song X, his collaboration with free jazz/harmolodics progenitor Ornette Coleman, it came as a big shock to fans familiar with the more overt melodicism of the Pat Metheny Group. Sure, there'd been hints that Metheny's seemingly insatiable appetite to experience all things musical also included excursions into free territory, including albums like 80/81, Offramp, and Rejoicing. But in those cases the free tracks were one-offs--and surrounded by his more lyrical material, which was ...

Festival International de Jazz de Montreal 2005, Day 6, July 5, 2005

by John Kelman
July 7, 2005

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 There's always a unique vibe to the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, but this year the excitement is even greater. In the festival's early days, guitar legend Pat Metheny was a constant fixture at the festival, appearing with his own projects, collaborating with others, ...

Pat Metheny Group: The Way Up

by Eddie Becton
April 20, 2005

The Way Up marks guitarist Pat Metheny's debut release on the Nonesuch label. Metheny fans are in for treat, 68 uninterrupted minutes of pure Pat Metheny Group, inconspicuously evident upon recognizing the CD's four tracks, “Opening," “Part One," “Part Two," and “Part Three." Each movement, appropriately called because every track aside from “Opening" ranges from 15 minutes to over 25, builds upon its predecessor and paints a colorful mural of the group's mission.

“Opening" is classic Metheny, i.e., acoustic, passionate, ...

A Fireside Chat with Pat Metheny

by AAJ Staff
February 24, 2005

Defying definition and escaping categorization, Pat Metheny's contributions to jazz have been downplayed. But Metheny, relaxed, seems to be at peace and untroubled by his perceived enigma.All About Jazz: With the suspension of the jazz at Warner Bros., Nonesuch is a fashionable lateral move.Pat Metheny: My situation was unique in the sense that since 1984, when I left ECM, I started my own production company. Basically, we license our records to record companies. I haven't been ...

Pat Metheny Group Heats Up Toronto

by Alain Londes
February 24, 2005

Following its Buffalo appearance, the Pat Metheny Group performed its second concert of the anticipated world tour before a capacity crowd at the Hummingbird Center in Toronto on February 18. This was the same location where the group performed three years ago on the last world tour. Metheny recognized Toronto as a major center for the arts.

Pat Metheny Group in Potsdam, NY

by John Kelman
February 18, 2005

Pat Metheny Group shows have, over the years, evolved into more than mere musical performance; they are events , with the production values of a rock and roll show including a technological stage set-up second to none in the jazz world (and many in the rock world, for that matter) and, with well-conceived lighting and a large rear projection screen, a multimedia affair to boot. This fits well with the fact that, while improvisation is a key component of any ...