Metheny is one of the best-selling jazz artists ever. He has three gold albums, several Downbeat awards (including in 2020 as best guitarist and for the best jazz album, for From This Place), and 20 Grammy Awards: He’s the only person ever to win Grammys in 10 categories. He’s also a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master.
Metheny has recorded his compositions for his Pat Metheny Group, in duets with Jim Hall and Charlie Haden, for solo guitar and robot orchestra (Orchestrion), soundtracks, swinging trios, noise-fests (Zero Tolerance for Silence), and many side projects. His most recent album, Road to the Sun, is his 50th.
Apart from his ambitious work and touring schedule, a few things make Metheny distinctive: his oft-copied guitar sound and style; beautiful, brilliant melodies that have withstood time; soulful sounds that touch the heart but are never mawkish; endless curiosity about the world around him and ceaseless searching for new means of expression.
From This Place, on Nonesuch, includes 10 Metheny compositions and features Antonio Sánchez, his longtime drummer; Malaysian/Australian bassist Linda May Han Oh; British pianist Gwilym Simcock; and the Hollywood Studio Symphony conducted by Joel McNeely, as well as Meshell Ndegeocello (vocals), Grégoire Maret (harmonica), and Luis Conte (percussion). On the album, Metheny plays his 1940 Gibson ES-250, Slaman Traveling Sister 150/250, and Ibanez PM2 guitars. From This Place was recorded by engineers Luke Klingensmith, Jay Marco vitz, Phil Levine, and Rich Breen and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound. It’s available on CD, vinyl, and high-resolution 24/96 download. The vinyl was pressed at Record Industry in the Netherlands.
This story is from the July 2021 edition of Stereophile.
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This story is from the July 2021 edition of Stereophile.
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