JasonShadrick

I don’t remember the first time I heard Pat Metheny‘s music, but I do remember the first time I “got it”.  I was in a used CD store in Asheville, North Carolina when I saw a used copy of Pat’s “Question and Answer” album.

I went back to my room and put on the only track whose title I had heard of before.  “All The Things You Are” was so amazing, I froze there listening to it and replayed it about 6 times before I had to turn it off to process what I had just heard.

Come to find out later that this was Pat’s return to a trio format and he couldn’t of found a better rhythm section than Dave Holland and Roy Haynes who give absolutely unbelievable performances.

I had never heard any musician have such a complete mastery over rhythm, harmony and melody in improvisation.  This lead me to get more albums by Pat, Dave and Roy and get deeper into the language of Jazz.

After hearing more of the Metheny catalog, I found that I enjoyed his trio albums more than those of his larger “Pat Metheny Group” ensemble.

It wasn’t until the summer of 2008 that I actually had a chance to see Pat perform live.  It was during the National Guitar Workshop’s Jazz Summit in New Milford, CT.  This performance included John Patitucci and Antonio Sanchez, who for the last few years has served as Pat’s drummer of choice.

I was able to meet the group before the clinic started and they were all very down to earth people.  The format was going to be an “open rehearsal” where Pat would pass out some music and they would work through it.

For sound check they played “All The Things You Are” and it immediately took me back to that first time when Pat’s music first opened my eyes.  It was just as fresh and inspiring as it was that afternoon in Asheville.

After the clinic, I spoke with Pat and he told me that this was the first time that he had played with John and Antonio in a trio.

No one would of ever guessed.