Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Pat Metheny: One Quiet Night

457

Pat Metheny: One Quiet Night

By

View read count
Pat Metheny: One Quiet Night
Are you seated? For the first time in recent memory, Pat Metheny's new album is not an epic journey through musical style. One Quiet Night gives us a rare insight into the simple explorations of the baritone guitar by one of jazz music's masters. Metheny may not do something this emotionally simplistic again for some time.

Pat Metheny characteristically wanted another change. After the debut of his new group line up for last year's Speaking of Now, Metheny opted to release the results of a one night recording session that took place on November 24, 2001. The difference is the conspicuous absence of stylistic change within the totality of One Quiet Night, and that is a departure for the native of Lee's Summit, Missouri.

Picture a studio room, Metheny bent over a baritone guitar, one microphone nearby and a rack of sound gear on 'record.'

Pat Metheny's character as a player is constantly morphing, but certain universal qualities remain. His ability to play for emotional effect is specially resilient on One Quiet Night, beginning with the album's title track. Metheny has recently intensified his wish to make notes resonate and stir in our consciousness in anticipation of the next, more penetrating, sound.

Metheny proves the textured richness and moody character of the baritone guitar. Is it just the lower tuning on the guitar? Or is the song a lower tune because of the guitar? Regardless, Pat Metheny musically reveals mood by the note ' the mandate of any successful musician.

One Quiet Night is a blend of cover songs, improvisations and new compositions. These 65 minutes contain music originally written by Keith Jarrett ('My Song'), Norah Jones ('Don't Know Why'), and Gerry and the Pacemakers' 'Ferry Cross the Mersey.' In addition to new material, Metheny concludes the record with an acoustic version of the Pat Metheny Group's (PMG) 1987 standard 'Last Train Home.' Despite the varying origins, this music (as with almost everything he does) has the Pat Metheny sound. This record, however, is the simplest statement of Metheny's machinations since his collaboration with Charlie Haden on 1997's Beyond the Missouri Sky.

The sounds interweave on this album so that each tune contributes to Metheny's overall character sketch. The whole record is the kind of tapestry that Metheny has always tried to achieve with his live sets, albums and songs. The whole is, in this case, much greater than the sum of its parts. Music with this much mood often falls into the abyss of 'easy listening.' The harmonic and melodic journey of this album deserves a more astute listen than that. Should you want a nice aural backdrop to your rainy Sunday afternoon, however, One Quiet Night will turn that mood into an emotive sojourn.

If Pat Metheny's music is an American postcard, this one vividly pictures a mood in which we should reside more often.

Track Listing

One Quiet Night; Song For The Boys; Don't Know Why; Another Chance; And Time Goes On; My Song; Peace Memory; Ferry Cross The Mersey; Over On 4th Street; I Will Find The Way; North To South, East To West; Last Train Home

Personnel

Pat Metheny
guitar

Pat Metheny-solo baritone guitar

Album information

Title: One Quiet Night | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Warner Bros.

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Pat Metheny Concerts

Sep 9 Tue
Pat Metheny
Teatro Solis
Montevideo, Uruguay
Sep 11 Thu
Pat Metheny
Teatro Gran Rex
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sep 12 Fri
Pat Metheny
Teatro Gran Rex
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sep 18 Thu
Sep 20 Sat
Pat Metheny
Teatro Diana
Guadalajara, Mexico
Sep 22 Mon
Pat Metheny
Sala Nezahualcoyotl
Ciudad de México, Mexico
Oct 1 Wed
Pat Metheny
The Kate
Old Saybrook, CT
Oct 2 Thu
Pat Metheny
The Kate
Old Saybrook, CT

Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.