Pat Metheny
(requested by Gary)
[NOTE: The eighth post in the Musical Theory series of posts can be found below.]
Name: Patrick Bruce Metheny
Born: August 12, 1954
Instrument: Guitar
Metheny beginnings:
Pat Metheny started on guitar when he was 13 and developed quickly. Must be something in the blood, as his older brother Mike is a very talented trumpet player. Pat was already teaching at both the University of Miami and Berklee in his teens, making his debut in 1974 with the one and only Jaco Pastorius. Following this, he played with Gary Burton's group where he met Lyle Mays, a keyboardist with whom he would form the first encarnation of the Pat Metheny Group. This group would also include Mark Egan on bass and Danny Gottlieb on drums. Their second album, American Garage released in 1980, went straight to top of both the billboard Jazz charts as well as the Pop charts. What a beginning!
The Metheny sound:
Although Pat Martino and John McLaughlin had used 12-string electric guitars previously in jazz, Metheny was the first significant user. He introduced some cool alternate tunings in songs such as Sirabhorn, Icefire, and San Lorenzo. For example, in the song Sirabhorn all of the pairs
of strings had the second (lower) string tuned down a fifth. He maintains that this created a less "clustery" sound, however the song can be played in regular tuning. Metheny also combined techniques used by current rock musicians, made use of sythesizers, and experimented with unique instruments such as the 42-string Pikasso Guitar created by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer. The signature Metheny sound, however, is one of the most copied guitar sounds in Jazz. It combines the resonance of a hollow-body guitar, which lends itself to a rounder tone, with the sound of a high-mid setting on the amplifier. Using the round end of a high gauge pick contributes to the special attack, and DSP chorus effects fill out the rest. Just don't ever mention using reverb! Metheny feels that reverb magnifies errors, and will often use it as a tool to show students their mistakes. This may seem a little cruel, but when playing an instrument it is sometimes difficult to seperate what you are really hearing from what you would like to be hearing. Reverb is able to remove the sound enough from what the player is currently thinking, that the player can hear what is really going on instead of what is going on in their own mind. This is like a technique that visual artists use, holding a drawing or work up to a mirror to view the reversed image. You can instantly see the mistakes because you are seeing what is there, not what you want to be there.
Diversity:
Metheny is definitely a man for trying anything once, and as such is constantly pushing the envelope. He has done what any musician dreams of, maintaining a constant fanbase through whatever changes of style or concept takes him whim. Performing with the likes of Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman, Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock, as well as siting influences like Trey Anastasio and Jerry Garcia in the same breathe as classic jazz players like Wes Montgomery, Metheny has just about covered it all. And why not? The man can pull it off. And before you ask, yes he is still doing it. After creating the 68 minute "The Way Up", based on two 3-note groupings (B, A#, F# ---> B, A, F#) he embarked on a 90 world tour. Currently he is playing The Melting Point in Athens. (Details can be found HERE.) Metheny is one of the greats that the world is still fortunate to be able to go and see. Do I recommend it? Hell yes!!! A Pat Metheny concert is close to a religious experience for any true Jazz guitarist. (Not to mention his side men are always hot players, in case you aren't a guitarist!)
Current Metheny:
Pat Metheny has three dates in North America before jetting off to Autrailia, Singapore, and Thailand. The dates and contact information is as follows:
February 17 : Tallahassee, FL for THIS festival
February 18 : Greenville, SC found HERE
and
February 19 : Falls Church, VA perfoming HERE
(What a schedule! I really don't envy the man at all... but I do recommend going to see him!)
And of course you ALL need to run out and buy his new CD right now:
THE WAY UP
[NOTE: The eighth post in the Musical Theory series of posts can be found below.]
Name: Patrick Bruce Metheny
Born: August 12, 1954
Instrument: Guitar
Metheny beginnings:
Pat Metheny started on guitar when he was 13 and developed quickly. Must be something in the blood, as his older brother Mike is a very talented trumpet player. Pat was already teaching at both the University of Miami and Berklee in his teens, making his debut in 1974 with the one and only Jaco Pastorius. Following this, he played with Gary Burton's group where he met Lyle Mays, a keyboardist with whom he would form the first encarnation of the Pat Metheny Group. This group would also include Mark Egan on bass and Danny Gottlieb on drums. Their second album, American Garage released in 1980, went straight to top of both the billboard Jazz charts as well as the Pop charts. What a beginning!
The Metheny sound:
Although Pat Martino and John McLaughlin had used 12-string electric guitars previously in jazz, Metheny was the first significant user. He introduced some cool alternate tunings in songs such as Sirabhorn, Icefire, and San Lorenzo. For example, in the song Sirabhorn all of the pairs
of strings had the second (lower) string tuned down a fifth. He maintains that this created a less "clustery" sound, however the song can be played in regular tuning. Metheny also combined techniques used by current rock musicians, made use of sythesizers, and experimented with unique instruments such as the 42-string Pikasso Guitar created by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer. The signature Metheny sound, however, is one of the most copied guitar sounds in Jazz. It combines the resonance of a hollow-body guitar, which lends itself to a rounder tone, with the sound of a high-mid setting on the amplifier. Using the round end of a high gauge pick contributes to the special attack, and DSP chorus effects fill out the rest. Just don't ever mention using reverb! Metheny feels that reverb magnifies errors, and will often use it as a tool to show students their mistakes. This may seem a little cruel, but when playing an instrument it is sometimes difficult to seperate what you are really hearing from what you would like to be hearing. Reverb is able to remove the sound enough from what the player is currently thinking, that the player can hear what is really going on instead of what is going on in their own mind. This is like a technique that visual artists use, holding a drawing or work up to a mirror to view the reversed image. You can instantly see the mistakes because you are seeing what is there, not what you want to be there.Diversity:
Metheny is definitely a man for trying anything once, and as such is constantly pushing the envelope. He has done what any musician dreams of, maintaining a constant fanbase through whatever changes of style or concept takes him whim. Performing with the likes of Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman, Joni Mitchell, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock, as well as siting influences like Trey Anastasio and Jerry Garcia in the same breathe as classic jazz players like Wes Montgomery, Metheny has just about covered it all. And why not? The man can pull it off. And before you ask, yes he is still doing it. After creating the 68 minute "The Way Up", based on two 3-note groupings (B, A#, F# ---> B, A, F#) he embarked on a 90 world tour. Currently he is playing The Melting Point in Athens. (Details can be found HERE.) Metheny is one of the greats that the world is still fortunate to be able to go and see. Do I recommend it? Hell yes!!! A Pat Metheny concert is close to a religious experience for any true Jazz guitarist. (Not to mention his side men are always hot players, in case you aren't a guitarist!)
Current Metheny:
Pat Metheny has three dates in North America before jetting off to Autrailia, Singapore, and Thailand. The dates and contact information is as follows:
February 17 : Tallahassee, FL for THIS festival
February 18 : Greenville, SC found HERE
and
February 19 : Falls Church, VA perfoming HERE
(What a schedule! I really don't envy the man at all... but I do recommend going to see him!)
And of course you ALL need to run out and buy his new CD right now:
THE WAY UP
posted by Rose at
2:40 AM
6 Comments:
Jeepers, he doesn't tour and then whallop...change management. Or else, PM loves taking off and landing.
By
ginab, at Tue Feb 07, 05:33:00 AM MST
Wow, a terrific write up Jack, thank you. I was listening to "One Quiet Night" recently, the accoustic guitar album he put out. On it, he does a spellbinding version of Gerry & The Pacemakers "Ferry Cross The Mersey". My brother is really into him (mostly because of Jaco), so I got exposed to some amazing tracks and had the good fortune to see him at Irvine a while back. My all time favorite track is "Are You Going With Me?" from Offramp. It could be a dated sound as it is early guitar synth, but, the emotion is there. He knows how to paint a scene in your mind with his music.
I really appreciate your write up, I know you have been very busy. Thank you.
By
Gary, at Tue Feb 07, 08:46:00 AM MST
Gina,
I've been on a few marathon tours when I was a kid. Oh boy did it SUCK! The only good thing I got out of it was self-motivated learning.
Gary,
You are very welcome. If you ever get a chance talk to Metheny, he's an awesome guy. He'll explain anything to you if you just ask. He's a born teacher.
Jack
By
Rose, at Tue Feb 07, 05:45:00 PM MST
Excellent work again. I don't know the first thing about Pat Metheny but I have noticed that he seems to be an extremely popular live act, judging by how much bootlegs of his concerts are uploaded on Dimeadozen.
By
E.L. Wisty, at Wed Feb 08, 11:12:00 AM MST
What a minute. When did Pat Metheny cite Jerry Garcia and Trey Anastasio as influences?! The former is dubious, the latter is nonsensical, and I love all 3 musicians, but that doesn't make any sense.
By
Jon W., at Fri Aug 20, 10:47:00 PM MDT
Pat Metheny's reply from 1999 to a question about the Grateful Dead: "honestly, i don't really know much about the grateful dead. i did meet bob weir recently who was playing with my friend bruce hornsby and he seemed like a nice guy. the guy who records all of our records, rob eaton, is a real expert on the dead and he has played me a few things that sounded good, especially some really early stuff. but in general, i sort of don't really get it. as far as being "one of the great improvisational bands of this or any time." i guess i haven't heard the right stuff yet. i know a lot of people really like them."
This makes it pretty clear that Pat Metheny would not have cited the wonderful Jerry Garcia as an influence.
By
Wilhelm Emilsson, at Thu Jun 09, 08:26:00 PM MDT
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