Pat Metheny Group (album)

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Pat Metheny Group
Pmg - pmg.jpg
Studio album by
the Pat Metheny Group
ReleasedMarch 1978 [1]
RecordedJanuary 1978
StudioTalent Studio, Oslo, Norway
Genre Jazz fusion
Length41:28
Label ECM
ECM 1114 ST
Producer Manfred Eicher
Pat Metheny chronology
Watercolors
(1977)		Pat Metheny Group
(1978)		 New Chautauqua
(1979)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [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 rhythm section Lyle Mays, Mark Egan, and Danny Gottlieb.

Contents

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 an 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 the bass player Jaco Pastorius. [10]

Track listing

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

Side I
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."San Lorenzo"
  • Metheny
  • Mays
10:14
2."Phase Dance"
  • Metheny
  • Mays
8:18
Side II
No.TitleWriter(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

Technical personnel

Charts

YearChartPosition
1978Billboard Jazz Albums5
1978Billboard Pop Albums123

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Watercolors is the second album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, recorded in February 1977 and released on ECM in June 1977. Metheny's quartet features rhythm section Lyle Mays, Eberhard Weber and Danny Gottlieb.

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<i>80/81</i> 1980 studio album by Pat Metheny

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<i>Still Life (Talking)</i> 1987 studio album by Pat Metheny Group

Still Life (Talking) is the fifth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 1987 on Geffen Records. It won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance and was certified gold by the RIAA on July 2, 1992.

<i>Secret Story</i> (album) 1992 studio album by Pat Metheny

Secret Story is an album by Pat Metheny released in 1992 that won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 1993. All of the music is composed by Metheny, and it is one of his most ambitious studio ventures, integrating elements of jazz, rock, and world music. On the performing side, it includes collaborations with the Pinpeat Orchestra of the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, the London Orchestra and its conductor Jeremy Lubbock, the Choir of the Cambodian Royal Palace, legendary harmonica player Toots Thielemans, and keyboardist Lyle Mays from Pat Metheny Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Egan</span> American jazz musician and composer

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<i>The Road to You</i> 1993 live album by Pat Metheny Group

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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.
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