Pat Metheny Group (album)

Pat Metheny Group
Studio album by the Pat Metheny Group
Released	March 1978 [1]
Recorded	January 1978
Studio	Talent Studio, Oslo, Norway
Genre	Jazz fusion
Length	41:28
Label	ECM
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Pat Metheny chronology
Watercolors (1977) Pat Metheny Group (1978) New Chautauqua (1979)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
All About Jazz	[2]
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[6]

Pat Metheny Group is the debut album by the Pat Metheny Group, recorded in January 1978 and released on ECM in March that same year. The quartet features Lyle Mays, Mark Egan, and Danny Gottlieb.

Background

Composition and style

Many elements that became defining traits of the band's overall sound were in place on this album, namely Metheny's incorporation of several different guitars and Mays's fusion of electronic and acoustic keyboards to create a fuller, more harmonically sophisticated foundation for the melodies and solos. ^[7] This is notably evidenced on "Phase Dance" where Metheny introduces the main melody on an acoustic guitar and then switches to electric to play one of the improvisational solos, with Mays providing the foundation on keyboards before playing the other solo. ^[8] "Phase Dance" quickly became a signature song for the Group, most often played in concert as an introductory piece. ^[9] "Jaco" is a tribute to Jaco Pastorius, who pioneered the electric bass in jazz fusion. ^[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Pat Metheny, except as noted..

Side I

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"San Lorenzo"	Metheny Mays	10:14
2.	"Phase Dance"	Metheny Mays	8:18

Side II

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Jaco"		5:34
2.	"Aprilwind"		2:09
3.	"April Joy"		8:14
4.	"Lone Jack"	Metheny Mays	6:41

Personnel

Pat Metheny Group

• Pat Metheny – 6-and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars
• Lyle Mays – piano, Oberheim synthesizer, autoharp
• Mark Egan – bass
• Danny Gottlieb – drums

Technical personnel

• Manfred Eicher – producer
• Jan Erik Kongshaug – recording, mixing
• Allen Landau – mastering
• Roberto Masotti – photography
• Barbara Wojirsch – cover design

Charts

Year	Chart	Position
1978	Billboard Jazz Albums	5
1978	Billboard Pop Albums	123

References

1. "Pat Metheny Group". ECM .
2. Tipp, Jayson (1 February 1997). "Pat Metheny Group: Pat Metheny Group". allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
3. Yanow, Scott. "Pat Metheny Group - Pat Metheny Group | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
4. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.
5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 993. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
6. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 139. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
7. Cooke, Mervyn (2017). Pat Metheny: The ECM Years, 1975–1984. Oxford University Press. p. 97.
8. Cooke, Mervyn (2017). Pat Metheny: The ECM Years, 1975–1984. Oxford University Press. pp. 106–108.
9. Cooke, Mervyn (2017). Pat Metheny: The ECM Years, 1975–1984. Oxford University Press. p. 106.
10. Cooke, Mervyn (2017). Pat Metheny: The ECM Years, 1975–1984. Oxford University Press. p. 112.