Guitarist Pat Metheny is one of the few artists that can perform an entire album by himself and sound like whole orchestra on his own. NEW CHAUTAUQUA finds the modern guitar master employing a myriad of stringed instruments, in both solo works and multi-tracked collages, to great effect. Each piece is awash in Metheny's signature pastoral style, full of lush strummed chords and angular melodic lines. So complete is the guitarist's musical creation that it is difficult to distinguish the seams dividing his many instrumental voices, sounding as if he had played them all simultaneously. For the listener, this creates a sublime sonic experience.

SECRET STORY is Pat Metheny's most ambitious solo project to date. Striking out on his own after many successful years with his Pat Metheny Group, the guitarist makes a grand statement with this collection of works that spans the globe in scope. Although some pieces could easily have come off of a PMG collection, Metheny borrows from a wide range of textures here, from Cambodian choirs to Brazilian percussion to European orchestras. All of this is held together by Metheny's always-expressive guitar playing.

Metheny joins bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins, one of Ornette Coleman's finest rhythm pairings, for this 1983 recording. Rejoicing looks closely at Coleman's group dynamics and three of his tunes (though it's Horace Silver's "Lonely Woman," not Coleman's, that opens the album). The three mesh perfectly on Coleman's "Tears Inside," "Humpty Dumpty," and "Rejoicing," with Metheny generating long lines of melody over sprung rhythms.

Although this incredible live unit never recorded a proper studio album we do have this as a reminder of just what is possible. Joni the folkie briefly became Ms. Mitchell the jazz singer, supported by the formidable talents of Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Jaco Pastorius, Michael Brecker and Don Alias. Many of Mitchell's jazz flirtations are given the full treatment with musicians who understood both her and the genre. It is a staggering marriage of talents and wholly successful. There are even obligatory bonus solos from Pat and Don. They should have stayed together for at least another album.

As with most great soloists, Roy Hargrove's discography would not be complete without an album of romantic ballads accompanied by a lush string orchestra. MOMENT TO MOMENT is the trumpeter's first foray into this popular format, and he accomplishes his mission with musicality and style.

Without overtly meaning to, Wynton and Co. have created a superb tribute to the classic Miles Davis Quintet of the mid-1960s (the edition featuring Wayne Shorter's sax, Herbie Hancock's piano, Ron Carter's bass and the late Tony Williams' drums) without coming off as a pale imitation. The interplay of Wynton's group is so tight and empathetic it's uncanny. No one over-plays, and the various instrumental elements combine perfectly into a seamless whole. The tunes are memorable and have a strong sense of dynamics. Modern small-group jazz (rooted in the '60s traditions a la Miles and Wayne) at its very best.

Louis Armstrong was the first important soloist to emerge in jazz, and he became the most influential musician in the music's history. As a trumpet virtuoso, his playing, beginning with the 1920s studio recordings made with his Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles, charted a future for jazz in highly imaginative, emotionally charged improvisation. For this, he is revered by jazz fans. But Armstrong also became an enduring figure in popular music, due to his distinctively phrased bass singing and engaging personality, which were on display in a series of vocal recordings and film roles.

Recorded live in the ~Felt Forum of New York City's Madison Square Garden in the wake of Deodato's massive 2001: A Space Odyssey hit, this album has a fairly confusing history. Only three selections, "Do It Again," "Spirit of Summer," and "Tropea" were released on the original slapped-together LP In Concert, and these were combined with Airto Moreira's "Parana" and "Branches," which were recorded at the same concert.