Pat Metheny was born in Kansas City on August 12, 1954 into a musical family. Starting on trumpet at the age of 8, Metheny switched to guitar at age 12. By the age of 15, he was working regularly with the best jazz musicians in Kansas City, receiving valuable on-the-bandstand experience at an unusually young age. Metheny first burst onto the international jazz scene in 1974. Over the course of his three-year stint with vibraphone great Gary Burton, the young Missouri native already displayed his soon-to-become trademarked playing style, which blended the loose and flexible articulation customarily reserved for horn players with an advanced rhythmic and harmonic sensibility - a way of playing and improvising that was modern in conception but grounded deeply in the jazz tradition of melody, swing, and the blues. With the release of his first album, Bright Size Life (1975), he reinvented the traditional "jazz guitar" sound for a new generation of players. Throughout his career, Pat Metheny has continued to re-define the genre by utilizing new technology and constantly working to evolve the improvisational and sonic potential of his instrument.
Metheny's versatility is almost nearly without peer on any instrument. Over the years, he has performed with artists as diverse as Steve Reich to Ornette Coleman to Herbie Hancock to Jim Hall to Milton Nascimento to David Bowie. He has been part of a writing team with keyboardist Lyle Mays for more than twenty years - an association that has been compared to the Lennon/McCartney and Ellington/Strayhorn partnerships by critics and listeners alike. Metheny’s body of work includes compositions for solo guitar, small ensembles, electric and acoustic instruments, large orchestras, and ballet pieces, with settings ranging from modern jazz to rock to classical.
As well as being an accomplished musician, Metheny has also participated in the academic arena as a music educator. At 18, he was the youngest teacher ever at the University of Miami. At 19, he became the youngest teacher ever at the Berklee College of Music, where he also received an honorary doctorate more than twenty years later (1996). He has also taught music workshops all over the world, from the Dutch Royal Conservatory to the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz to clinics in Asia and South America. He has also been a true musical pioneer in the realm of electronic music, and was one of the very first jazz musicians to treat the synthesizer as a serious musical instrument. Years before the invention of MIDI technology, Metheny was using the Synclavier as a composing tool. He also been instrumental in the development of several new kinds of guitars such as the soprano acoustic guitar, the 42-string Pikasso guitar, Ibanez1s PM-100 jazz guitar, and a variety of other custom instruments.
It is one thing to attain popularity as a musician, but it is another to receive the kind of acclaim Metheny has garnered from critics and peers. Over the years, Metheny has won countless polls as "Best Jazz Guitarist" and awards, including three gold records for (Still Life) Talking, Letter from Home, and Secret Story. He has also won sixteen Grammy Awards spread out over a variety of different categories including Best Rock Instrumental, Best Contemporary Jazz Recording, Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, Best Instrumental Composition. The Pat Metheny Group won an unprecedented seven consecutive Grammies for seven consecutive albums. Metheny has spent most of his life on tour, averaging between 120-240 shows a year since 1974. At the time of this writing, he continues to be one of the brightest stars of the jazz community, dedicating time to both his own projects and those of emerging artists and established veterans alike, helping them to reach their audience as well as realizing their own artistic visions.
"While I acknowledge that my primary function on Earth is to be a musician, I also see that music is nothing more than the essential component of humanity - it is all the same material. My feeling is that the more I can learn about music, the more I learn about other things. So far, it has worked for me." - Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny Group on MySpace is administered by members of the Pat Metheny Group Listener Network Street Team. For up-to-date news and tour information, please visit Pat's official site at www.patmetheny.com.
I really enjoyed listening to Question and Answer, sounds like.... a step back to the green fields. I must admit, the fields are still green for me..... Bless and love
Come dance with me inside these heavens. We’ll hold a candle to life lighting our way to love. Each step another turn to spin the web of silver connecting our hearts and thrilling our mind.
Yes laugh with me for there is no greater joy than having you with me on this journey sublime. And did I tell you how beautiful you looked When the star shine touched your eyes?
Did we imagine that we would ever reach such heights? Here is what the morning spoke to me the other day. “Rise up and awaken into the sunshine of our heart’s desire. Move with me across the sky lighting up miraculous visions.”
And then on another morning it all came together to play. “Enlightenment is only a thought away. Look for it by listening to it today. Feel it too when it comes hear what it has to say.”
Each moment we make to feel a part of By being there way inside the heart love. We anticipate this moment forever to be Shining its light within us setting our souls free.
Cher Ami, Mon clip Neurofibro est en ligne depuis hier. Il parle de la maladie génétique orpheline, la neurofibromatose, dont je suis atteint et qui m’a paralysé il y a maintenant 10 ans. Il faut absolument se mobiliser. Si vous voulez nous aider, merci de le regarder et de le diffuser à toutes vos connaissances. Pour nous, les malades, c’est vital. Plus le clip sera vu, plus la maladie, sera connue, plus nous aurons de poids dans les médias et surtout plus on aura de chance qu’un médicament soit trouvé. Merci à tous.
Dear Friend,
I posted my clip, Neurofibro, to my myspace page yesterday and I hope you will take a moment to watch. It talks about the genetic, childhood disease, neurofibromatosis, which I have and which has left me paralyzed for 10 years now.
For those of us, who are sick, it is vital to mobilize for a cure. Please, watch my clip and, if you would like to help, please send it on to your friends. With this clip our voice will be heard, and more people, and the media, will learn about this tragic disease. By spreading the word we will have achieved something great, a better chance at finding the cure we so desperately desire.
