Update: Here is a follow up post – If I was Pat Metheny

We recently had Pat Metheny as a guest at our Purchase, NY campus for our Jazz Summit.  During that appearance, he went into a bit of (more) detail about his latest project entiled “The Orchestrion Project”.

Here is a descripton from his website:

“Orchestrionics” is the term that I am using to describe a new performance method to present music alone onstage using acoustic and acoustoelectric musical instruments that are mechanically controlled using the power of modern technology.

In early 2010 a new recording will be released on Nonesuch. It will be a “solo” record in that I am the only musician—but a CD that in some ways recontextualizes the term.

Even in speaking with Pat directly I was a bit confused as to exactly what to expect with this project.  My understand is that he has developed some new more electronic based interfaces to create music.  It sounds exciting and fresh and exactly what (I think) modern jazz needs right now.

If I was Pat I would get a videocamera and record some demos of the Orchestrion material and put them up on YouTube.  I am sure a lot of fans would like to discover these new sounds right along with Pat.

For a description of this project in Pat’s own words, click here.

At the end of his clinic with us, he played a few chourses of Autumn Leaves very similar to the video below: