Pat Metheny
Guitar / Synthesizer

Pat Metheny

(1954)

Lee's Summit, MO, United States

Pat Metheny (b. 1954) — Guitar, Synthesizer. Led Bright Size Life, Pat Metheny Group, 80/81. Worked with Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden.

Metheny's sound evokes vast landscapes. He uses guitar synthesizers freely, and with the Pat Metheny Group he builds epic sound-worlds. His range is staggering — from the intimate Bright Size Life with Jaco Pastorius to collaborations with Ornette Coleman and Derek Bailey. Few musicians have moved so freely across such different territories.

Pat Metheny's leader album

Bright Size Life
Bright Size Life
Pat Metheny · 1976

Bright Size LifeBright Size LifeBright Size LifePat Metheny · 1976 (1976) was MethenyPat MethenyPat Methenyパット・メセニー's debut on ECM, recorded at 21. He chose JacoJaco PastoriusJaco Pastoriusジャコ・パストリアス, then still unknown. This encounter became the starting point for both their careers.

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Pat Metheny's albums

Pat Metheny's albums

Michael Brecker
Michael Brecker
Michael Brecker · 1987
80/81
80/81
Pat Metheny · 1980

Michael BreckerMichael BreckerMichael Breckerマイケル・ブレッカー appeared on approximately 900 recordings — not just jazz, but pop and rock sessions where someone needed saxophone done right. He appeared on Pat MethenyPat MethenyPat Methenyパット・メセニー's 80/8180/8180/81Pat Metheny · 1980 (1980) and released his own debut in 1987. He died of leukemia in 2007 at 57, having won 15 Grammy Awards.

Michael Brecker, Wikipedia, 2024

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Pat Metheny's albums

Pat Metheny's videos

July 9, 1990, Jazz à Vienne. The Parallel Realities tour — Herbie HancockHerbie HancockHerbie Hancockハービー・ハンコック (piano), Pat MethenyPat MethenyPat Methenyパット・メセニー (guitar), Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnetteジャック・ディジョネット (drums), Dave HollandDave HollandDave Hollandデイヴ・ホランド (bass). A miraculous meeting of four musicians each at a peak in their careers.

Jazz à Vienne, 1990

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Videos featuring Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny's leader album

80/81
80/81
Pat Metheny · 1980

80/8180/8180/81Pat Metheny · 1980 (1980) brought Pat MethenyPat MethenyPat Methenyパット・メセニー together with Michael BreckerMichael BreckerMichael Breckerマイケル・ブレッカー, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnetteジャック・ディジョネット. The double-album of long-form improvisation showed a darker side beyond the Pat Metheny Group's sunlit image.

80/81, Wikipedia, 2024

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Pat Metheny's albums

Pat Metheny Group album co-led by Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny Group · 1978

Pat Metheny GroupPat Metheny GroupPat Metheny GroupPat Metheny Group · 1978 (1978) marked the start of Pat MethenyPat MethenyPat Methenyパット・メセニー's long collaboration with keyboardist Lyle Mays. Built on the ECM sound but fusing Brazilian grooves with long-form melodies, it established the band's distinctive idiom.

Pat Metheny Group (album), Wikipedia, 2024

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Pat Metheny's albums

Song X (1986) paired Pat MethenyPat MethenyPat Methenyパット・メセニー with Ornette Coleman — ECM's flagship guitarist meeting free jazz's patriarch. The unexpected collaboration showcased Metheny's wide musical curiosity.

Song X, Wikipedia, 2024

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Pat Metheny's albums

Tales from the Hudson
Tales from the Hudson
Michael Brecker · 1996

MethenyPat MethenyPat Methenyパット・メセニー joined Tales from the HudsonTales from the HudsonTales from the HudsonMichael Brecker · 1996 at Brecker's invitation, contributing guitar on two tracks and co-producing. His guitar synthesis creates a striking tonal dialogue with Brecker's EWI.

Pat Metheny's albums