PAT METHENY

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. Pat Metheny is more than just a jazz guitarist: the former teenage prodigy is best known for leading the Pat Metheny Group from the late 70s onwards, and has created an extensive body of work encompassing multiple styles and instruments – from solo pieces through to orchestral works and even ballet soundtracks. In addition to his own projects, he’s also worked with big names including Herbie Hancock and David Bowie, and shows no signs of slowing down. His latest album Dream Box is a collection of previously unheard solo material that paves the way for more ambitious future recordings. Here, he looks back over his prolific career so far.

James McNair

Like Django Reinhardt or Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny is that relatively rare thing: a jazz guitarist who has become a household name. ‘Jazz’ doesn’t begin to cover his remit, though, since this Lee’s Summit, Missouri-born virtuoso is similarly well-versed in fusion, Latin music, progressive jazz, synthesised music, film scoring and more. Metheny started out on trumpet, but eventually convinced his parents to gift him a Gibson ES-140 guitar for his 12th birthday after being wowed by The Beatles on US TV. “Up until then the guitar was the only instrument they flatly refused to have in the house,” he tells Prog, “so you can imagine the appeal!” At 15, Metheny won a scholarship to jazz camp with venerable US jazz journal DownBeat sponsoring him, and at 19 he became the…

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Prog (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 143

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