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Jazz Articles about Pat Metheny
Michael Brecker: Nearness of You: The Ballad Book
by David Adler
There comes a time, it seems, when every major-label jazzer has to add a ballads album to his or her discography. That time has come for Michael Brecker, who enlists the formidable Pat Metheny as both producer and guitarist. Along for the ride are three players you may have heard of: Herbie Hancock, Charlie Haden, and Jack DeJohnette. The 11 tracks (divided into two five-track “chapters" and a one-track “epilogue") are flawlessly executed--practically airbrushed--and as mainstream as can be, but ...
Continue ReadingPat Metheny: Trio > Live
by C. Andrew Hovan
About this time last year the word came through that guitarist Pat Metheny, in typical chameleonic character, had joined forces with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Bill Stewart for a studio album and some touring in Europe and limited parts of the United States. Both Grenadier and Stewart are several years Metheny's senior, but have been mainstays of the contemporary New York jazz arena and could be expected to bring out new facets of Metheny's musical personality. That's indeed what ...
Continue ReadingPat Metheny: Jim Hall & Pat Metheny
by AAJ Staff
Master and apprentice. Predecessor and descendant. Originator and influenced. None of those descriptions of the musical relationship on Jim Hall & Pat Metheny quite sound right. Nor are they accurate. After all, in his own way, Metheny has been greatly original and influential as well. Yet, what we hear on Hall and Metheny's duo album is certainly an affinity. Hall, who always seemed to be unobtrusively present at critical moments the last generation's history ...
Continue ReadingPat Metheny: Trio > Live
by David Adler
This two-disc release documents performances from the 2000 world tour of the Pat Metheny Trio, featuring Larry Grenadier on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. Like the trio’s spectacular studio release from earlier this year, the live album draws on material that spans Metheny’s career. The opener takes us back to the first track on Metheny’s first record, “Bright Size Life." Grenadier’s upright puts a new spin on a tune first played by the late Jaco Pastorius. “Unity Village," which ...
Continue ReadingPat Metheny: Trio > Live
by David Adler
This two-disc release documents performances from the 2000 world tour of the Pat Metheny Trio, featuring Larry Grenadier on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. Like the trio's spectacular studio release from earlier this year, the live album draws on material that spans Metheny's career. The opener takes us back to the first track on Metheny's first record, “Bright Size Life." Grenadier's upright puts a new spin on a tune first played by the late Jaco Pastorius. “Unity Village," which ...
Continue ReadingPat Metheny: Trio 99>00
by John Sharpe
Every so often Pat Metheny dispenses with the synths, brass and wordless vocals and gets back to basics. Invariably, this minimalist approach yields a top-notch jazz recording. Such is the case with Trio 99>00. Working with bassist Larry Grenadier and fiery drummer Bill Stewart, Metheny steps forward and demonstrates that he still has the chops to be considered among the front ranks of modern guitarists. His cool, melodious lines snap with renewed vigour, the interplay between his sidemen, especially Stewart, ...
Continue ReadingPat Metheny: Trio 99-00
by C. Andrew Hovan
There's really no surefire way to avoid all the hyperbole when discussing the exploits of the multi-faceted Pat Metheny. He is a genuine musician in all sense of the word, capable of distinguishing himself in everything he does, from soundtracks to avant-garde jazz. That he also happens to hit on a judicious mix that finds him popular with those who probably couldn't tell the difference between John Coltrane and Sonny Stitt is not an accident. For all his technical proficiency ...
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