Pat Metheny - Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) (2021) [Official Digital Download]

Once a child prodigy, and then a flashy youth, guitarist Pat Metheny has now become a jazz elder. As such he's made the selfless decision to return the favor of the older players who mentored him, by working with a cadre of young players, showing them the ropes of touring, and allowing them, as he puts it in the liner notes of Side-Eye, the chance to develop through the "prism" of his experience. With an organ trio (numbered IV hence the title) anchored by 26-year-old multi-keyboardist James Francies, Metheny recorded a set of new compositions and re-imagined older originals in a September 2019 concert at New York's Sony Hall. Captured in full, dynamic sound by engineer Pete Karam and co-produced by longtime Metheny cohort Steve Rodby—both of whom are prominently credited in the liner notes—the partnership of Metheny and Francies opens with a new composition, the long, straight-ahead workout "It Starts When We Disappear." Innovative drummer Marcus Gilmore (Vijay Iyer, Ambrose Akinmusire) establishes a fast swinging rhythm over which Metheny, on guitar, bass, guitar synth and orchestrionics (his word for a plethora of electronic and acoustic instruments he controls), picks out crystalline guitar notes whose signature ringing tone has become as unmistakable as Miles Davis' muted horn. That's followed by a shadowy reworking of "Better Days Ahead" (from 1989's Letter from Home) on which Francies is generously credited as arranger. (Metheny notes, Francies "brought a vibe" that provided "a fresh way of looking at it.") On a funky, R&B-influenced version of another Metheny original, "Timeline" (first recorded by the late Michael Brecker), Francies adds quavering B-3 organ textures while Gilmore swings madly. In another typically stellar Metheny set of nothing but highlights, two additional tracks do stand out however. Covering Ornette Coleman's bluesy "Turnaround," Metheny and Francies trade solos, often stepping out completely, leaving the other with only Gilmore's steady support over which their economical expressions pour forth. And for anyone who's ever wondered where Metheny might stack up in the pantheon of rock guitarists, there's "Lodger"—no relation to the Bowie album of the same name. Switching to what sounds like a solid body electric Les Paul, he tastefully cuts loose, in a jazz-influenced kind of way on the instrumental power ballad. Right on cue, an appreciative crowd hoots their approval. With a hint of the fruitful keyboard and guitar partnership with Lyle Mays that energized many of the guitarist's most famous albums, Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) is the sound of master and his apprentice further enriching the Metheny legacy.

TRACKLIST

1. Pat Metheny - It Starts When We Disappear
2. Pat Metheny - Better Days Ahead
3. Pat Metheny - Timeline
4. Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life
5. Pat Metheny - Lodger
6. Pat Metheny - Sirabhorn
7. Pat Metheny - Turnaround
8. Pat Metheny - Zenith Blue



Thanks to the Original customer.