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Metheny.
I wrote this a while ago and saved it.
The Orchestrion tour just brings me further to the conclusion that there are few modern musicians who are as forward thinking, restlessly creative and open minded as Pat Metheny.
I have followed his work since the 1976 Bright Size Life album, which is now considered a classic. Over the ensuing 37 years, he has pushed the concept of jazz, sometimes hitting incredibly high marks, sometimes falling short. But he has always been true to his own muse and has been very successful doing it.
Write brilliant songs at age 14? String up Ibanez solid body 12 strings in strange and wonderful tunings and make exceptional music with it? Explore the dissonance of Ornette Coleman? the folk/pop of Joni? the straight ahead styles of Brecker, Hancock, The Heath Brothers? the outside music of Derek Bailey? the minimalism of Steve Reich? and, the pop/rock of Bruce Hornsby? He’s done all of that. He has done it all at a level that most never reach in one genre.
From the smooth jazz of the album “We Live Here” to the Americana of “New Chatauqua” to the sound of The Ventures meet Nine Inch Nails meet Stravinsky in songs like The Roots of Coincidence, the guy has visited musical places most of us will never reach. I’ve heard him quote Dirty Water and Wipeout in concert, yet seen him just completely get off playing nothing but the rhythm of First Circle and of course just blow over standards.
There are guys who play as well, maybe some better in some styles, but it’s hard to find somebody who’s done so much in so many musical areas.
I think that the guy writes his own definitions of what music is.
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03-09-2013 12:23 PM
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I forgot what a diverse musician he is. I never got into the PMG side of him, I only have and appreciate the sides he did with the straight ahead/jazz players. 80/81 is my favorite record.
Originally Posted by Flyin' Brian
Of course, being so diverse, it helps explain Jimmy Bruno's quip in Downbeat a few years ago, when asked why he would omit Metheny as a top jazz guitarist, when he responded with "Metheny plays jazz?"
C'est la vie. You can't please everyone. Just follow your own muse, I suppose.
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I think Bill Frisell is one of today's guitarists without limits.
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There are just so many great players and I hate to put people in categories. Even the guy on the street corner who can only play one chord but plays it with feeling and commitment has something valuable to say artistically. It took me a long time to move from snobbery to appreciating this fact but eventually, I got there.
So with that caveat, the living players who consistently impress me artistically are ....
Plectrum:
Julian Lage
Jim Hall
Tony Rice
Fingerstyle:
Martin Taylor
Tommy Emmanuel
Muriel Anderson
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I'm with you 100% on Metheny. Most of all I admire musicians who are their own person and find their way individually, and who compose and create a style not easily categorized and who is willing to play convincingly in a variety of style and genres. That Pat Metheny.
I was fortunate to hear him about a year before Bright Size Life was released. He was playing with Gary Burton at SFs Great American Music Hall. Mick Goodrick and Eberhard Weber were also in the band. I FLIPPED when I heard this guy who was maybe a couple if years older older ( or younger). Also on the bill was Oregon with Ralph Towner. I was in heaven.
I love him as a composer and his playing is great. Always has been. Right now, as a jazz guitarist I'm digging Adam Rogers. But Metheny is so much more than a guitar player.
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Sco would be my pick. Jazz to blues to funk and back again with a distinct and soulful voice throughout.
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+1 Originally Posted by Jazzpunk
Scof has the best feel in guitar world.
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He's just done it all so masterfully and appeals to a wide audience at the same time. And don't forget PMG works like The Way Up and his Trio/Unity Band stuff which is totally opposite to smooth! Originally Posted by Flyin' Brian
Here's the thing though... As much as I love Pat, something that irks me is that I think Lyle Mays does not get the full credit he deserves. I know he is always credited as co-writer and their collaboration has been compared to Lennon & McCartney, etc. But it seems to me like Lyle is still often left in Pat's shadow. IMO Lyle is as versatile as Pat, as prolific a songwriter and an equally great improvisor (if not even better than Pat imo). Could it be that perhaps it's because Pat is the visionary?
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Awesome video! Originally Posted by 3625
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Anthony Wilson
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Well yeah. It's Pat's BAND. It's his thing and Lyle is a co-member or maybe even co-leader. But it's not called the Lyle Mays Group. I think he gets plenty of credit. He arranges and co-produces I think. But look at him. I think he doesn't even want to be in the spotlight. He doesn't seem be the front man kind of person. Originally Posted by DaveF
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silvain luc
come on !
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He's amazing! Especially when playing with Bireli. You'd be hard pressed to find jazz guitar duo work that surpasses their level of communication and musicianship Originally Posted by pingu
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Freakin' Bruno :-) I remember in one of the first issues of JJG he went off on rock guitarists and how boring and awful they ALL are, as he never played rock of course. I was paying rent so playing jazz when possible but also rock, blues, whatever and I thought geez isn't this guy all that? He's a great guitarist and my MP3 player is loaded with his stuff, but sometimes I think he spent too much time with Buddy Rich. Originally Posted by NSJ
Metheny for me too. Growing up a guitar player in Boston in the 70s got to see him a ton, with Gary Burton, Swallow, Goodrick as well as his own bands. Looking at his body of work from 80/81 type stuff to One Quiet Night and beyond it's amazing how he continues to grow the music. 20 more years down the line God willing he'll be doing something else completely different too, not still stuck on Polka Dots & Moonbeams. Not that there's anything wrong with that...;-)
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I'm not too crazy about Metheny. His new agey stuff doesn't affect me at all. That's just my preference. I can recognize his artistic abilities as a composer and player in that style. I applaud him for his achievements and I can see why some people are drawn to that side of him. He is a versatile player for sure and even though I don't appreciate all facets of his musical personality I would put him high on the list of best guitarists of all time from an objective perspective.
However, when he is playing straight ahead jazz he's amazing! That's the part of him that I can really appreciate and that speaks to me personally.
I have great respect for Jimmy Bruno, who is an amazing musician and teacher. Though I have to disagree with his statement that "Metheny isn't a jazz musician". Even if you don't like his new agey stuff, the level of improvisation, musicianship and interaction between musicians is high. It's jazz. Just not everyones cup of tea.
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When I think of that early Metheny stuff - when you measure it against what was happening at the time on guitar, that's still amazing. The guitar world was abuzz with McLaughlin, DiMeola, Coryell guys playing as fast and as furious as they could go. Metheny came out as a 90% turn and breath of fresh air. He was playing triadic polychordal changes and was melodic. What a concept. NO ONE WAS PLAYING THAT. He was so fresh. Melodies were just oozing off the fretboard.
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In Mick Goodrick's "The Advancing Guitarist" there's a nice quotation:
"No one does exactly what you do better than you. Also, no one does it worse."
With that in mind I'd consider myself to be simultaneously the most complete guitar player and also the most lost and incapable.
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I would vote for
. Pat Metheny
. Bill Frisell
. Ulf Wakenius
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Jim Hall and Julian Lage
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Edit . . . deleted unsolicited opinion.
Last edited by Patrick2; 03-14-2013 at 03:52 PM. Reason: It was the right thing to do.
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Can't say I've ever heard that reaction to Lage...
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Oh . . . no, no, no Jeff. My reaction was not to Lage. His skills and talents are immeasurable. My reaction was to the music they were making. As I frequently comment here on this forum, my tastes in music are pretty limited. I'm pretty averse to exploration when it comes to guitars and guitar playing. My opinions on what jazz music is and should be are quite limited as well. Fair or not . . correct or not . . . that's just who I am. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Last edited by Patrick2; 03-13-2013 at 04:38 PM. Reason: typos :-)
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Which video was it anyway--the YouTube's blocked here at work so all I see is a white square...is it one of the ones with Nels Cline? If so...yeah, that's not everybody's cup of tea...
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That clip is some of my favorite stuff from Lage! That's him more in a straight ahead jazz context, rather than his usual thing which is more 'acoustic music' geared.
Patrick we gotta expand your ears a bit man! Maybe we could think of a good 'gateway' recording...
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Another for Howard Alden.
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