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Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny is one of the most renowned artists of his generation. Across nearly 50 years, the endlessly creative Metheny has released 11 solo albums, 13 albums with his band The Pat Metheny Group, four live albums, and four compilation albums, and has won a whopping 20 Grammys. Specializing in contemporary jazz, Latin jazz, and jazz fusion, Metheny is the only person in history to win Grammys in 12 different categories.
Born in 1954 in Lee Falls, Missouri, Metheny (who is the younger brother of trumpeter Mike Metheny), began playing guitar at age 12. As a teenager, he taught at the University of Miami and Berklee College of Music and made his recording debut in 1974 with Paul Bley and Jaco Pastorius.
In the mid '70s, Metheny played in Gary Burton's group, where he met keyboardist Lyle Mays. The two ended up forming The Pat Metheny Group with bassist Mark Egan and drummer Dan Gottlieb. A risk-taking jazz player, Metheny's 1980 album 80/81 featured avant-garde tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman and 15-time-Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist/composer Michael Brecker. A few years later, Metheny formed a trio with Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins; and 1985 saw the release of Song X with his jazz hero Ornette Coleman. Around this time, Metheny also collaborated with Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Roy Haynes, and Joshua Redman.
In the '90s, Metheny leaned into his experimental side even further with the noise-driven Zero Tolerance For Silence (1994). That same year, he also made his Blue Note Records debut with John Scofield on I Can See Your House From Here. The following year, Metheny and his band released We Live Here. Prolific as ever, Metheny released 1996's Quartet and his score for the film Passaggio Per Il Paradiso.
In 1997, Metheny and bassist Charlie Haden recorded an acoustic album as a duo called Beyond The Missouri Sky (Short Stories). Soon after, The Pat Metheny Group released the album Imaginary Day. In the late '90s, Metheny did a duet album with Jim Hall and scored Warner Bros.' A Map Of The World.
Moving into the 21st century, Metheny and his band released 2002's Speaking Of Now, 2003's acoustic solo album One Quiet Night, and got the group back together for 2005's Way Up. In 2006, Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau released their joint album, Metheny Mehldau, and followed it up with 2008's Day Trip.
Into the 2010s, Metheny remained as prolific as ever, releasing 2010's Orchestrion, which, via the use of a MIDI-powered "robot" orchestra, Sound On Sound declared "an unparalleled technological feat." In 2011, Metheny released a solo acoustic album, What's It All About, featuring covers of contemporary pop performers such as Paul Simon and John Lennon, among others. What's It All About won a Grammy for Best New Age Album. In 2012, Metheny teamed up with saxophonist Chris Potter, drummer Antonio Sánchez, and bassist Ben Williams to release Unity Band, which won Best Jazz Instrumental album at the Grammys in 2013.
In spring 2013, Metheny reimagined works from John Zorn's Masada Book Two with Tap: Book of Angels Volume 20. All the while, his Unity Group continued touring and went back into the studio, releasing Kin in February 2014. The next year, Metheny paid tribute to the famed bassist Eberhard Weber, who suffered a stroke in 2007 and has not performed live since. Metheny shared the stage with saxophonist Jan Garbarek and vibraphonist Gary Burton, and the tribute, Hommage à Eberhard Weber, was released in September 2015.
In more recent years, Metheny has released 2016's Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny (with trumpeter Cuong Vu) and toured the world for two years as a quartet with Sánchez, Malaysian/Australian bassist Linda May Han Oh, and pianist Gwilym Simcock. Their debut album, From This Place, was released in February 2020.
In 2020, Metheny left longtime label WEA/Nonesuch and joined BMG's Modern Recordings. His 2021 label debut, Road To The Sun, featured Metheny in the composer role; he wrote music for classical guitarist Jason Vieaux and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. Also in 2021, Metheny released Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV), which featured a rotating cast of younger musicians, including drummer Marcus Gilmore and keyboardist James Francies.
From Pat Metheny’s first acoustic piece to the last encore, everything they played was solid, beautiful and exhilarating. And the audience responded like a sea of enthusiasm, the joy released in waves of applause.
Pat Metheny really knows how to deliver! From heartfelt melodies to raging riffs, he's got it all! And the band was excellent too.
I’m an old Pat Metheny fan. I’ve been with him and his live concerts for 25+ years. While it’s good to see live music with a new fresh trio…. And there certainly were some outstanding pieces…. I think the reliance of the keyboard player to perform also as the bass player…. Limited him from his full potential. It’s not a complaint…. Just a view…..guess I miss the days of the full band.
Not my favourite PM show, but right up there with the others. Such a talented man, I can’t believe tickets are so cheap. And as always, he is accompanied by equally gifted artists. Pat always puts out 150% for 2 solid hours. Thanks Pat, see you next time.
I first discovered Pat Metheny in 1978 at the age of 22. 44 years later I’m still amazed every time I listen to this genius. This trio was absolutely stunning in their musical skill, accompanied by Pat’s various electronic inventions that bring even more robustness to the sound. Metheny, like Dylan has never stopped writing and exploring new music. Albeit he is by far a much better live performer who allows his audience to actually recognize the tunes they know when he plays them live. It was a magical night. What amazes me is that so many people I talk to have never heard of Pat Metheny. He is a gem every music lover should have on their playlist.
How fortunate we are to have this brilliant musician visit Toronto on his world tour. Come back soon Pat. Toronto loves you!
Excellent performance, audio was very good and I was impressed by the venue staff helping people to and from thier seats
I've never seen Pat Metheny before, he was on my shortlist of "must see" guitarists for a while now. I have seen the majority of the world's great guitarists so far, I'm blessed to have been able to see another master of the guitar. I was expecting to see and hear some great playing, I wasn't expecting to be as blown away as I was. From the first note to the final encore, I was absolutely mesmerized by his playing. The audience was great, everyone was very quiet during soft passages, so you could hear even the quietest notes. The Sony Center has very good acoustics, almost as good as Massey Hall, a well fitting venue for such a show. I would see him again in a heartbeat, definitely one of the best shows I've ever seen.
It was my third Pat Metheny concert over the years. I was not disappointed. All four band members are pro musicians and will captivate the listeners right away. They performed old Pat Metheny tunes.
Great show, awesome performers. The sound was excellent as well
4th time for seeing Pat. last 3 in the 80's. did really miss Lyle Mays altho piano player was great. Sanches on drums was a high point. . will see Pat over and over again
More than 2 hours of most of Pats work over the last 20 years. It was fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!
Metheny and his group at their best, with intelligent, intimate, honest music.
An evening with Pat visiting his "back catalogue" is not to be missed, if you get a chance, GO !
I've been listening to Pat Metheny for over 40 years now - I've never been disappointed with any of his concerts from Ontario Place to Massey Hall to Convocation Hall to the Sony Centre. Always worth the time.
I have been attending Pat Metheny shows since early ‘80s. Each show is better than the last. Antonio Sanchez is a genius. As long as Pat and I are still alive and kicking, I will continue to see him when he comes to Toronto.
I have attended many Pat Metheny concerts in the past decades from album launches with a larger band to the 100K attendee Montreal Jazz Festival concert in front of Place Ville Marie and this was very different. Here you have 4 amazingly talented musicians playing songs from Pat's large repertoire in what feels like a more intimate, jazz bar-like setting (even though the Sony Centre was packed). Each of the musicians was given the opportunity to perform solo and they were all phenomenal.
Time has not slowed Metheny down. At 64, he still played for two and a half hours straight. The material spanned his entire career from Bright Size Life to his Unity Group. The band members were Antonio Sanchez on drums, Linda May Han Oh on bass, and Gwilym Simcock on piano.
All musicians top notch but most impressive was the acoustics of the Sony Centre. Like they were playing in your living room.
He played old tunes which I yearned for. KNew the title of each tune. PHase dance, Bright. Size life, slipping away, song for Bilbao etc I wished he played 557
