Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the

Pat Metheny Group The Pat Metheny Group was an American jazz band founded in 1977 by guitarist and composer Pat Metheny, along with his core collaborating member, keyboardist and composer Lyle Mays. Other long-standing members included bassist and producer Steve ...

(1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progressive and contemporary jazz,

latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

, and

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

. He has three gold albums and 20

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, and is the only person to have won Grammys in 10 categories.

Biography

Early years and education

Metheny was born in Lee's Summit,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. His father Dave played trumpet, his mother Lois sang, and his maternal grandfather Delmar was a professional trumpeter. Metheny's first instrument was the trumpet, which he was taught by his brother, Mike. Pat's brother, father, and grandfather played trios together at home. His parents were fans of

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

and swing music. They took Pat to concerts to hear Clark Terry and Doc Severinsen, but they had little respect for guitar. Pat's interest in guitar increased around 1964 when he saw

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

perform on TV. For his 12th birthday, his parents allowed him to buy a guitar, which was a Gibson ES-140 3/4. Pat Metheny's life changed after hearing the album '' Four & More'' by

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

. Soon after, he was captivated by

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...

's album '' Smokin' at the Half Note'' which was released in 1965. He cites the Beatles,

, and Montgomery as having the biggest impact on his music. When he was 15, Metheny won a scholarship from ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine to a one-week jazz camp where he was mentored by guitarist

Attila Zoller Attila Cornelius Zoller (June 13, 1927 – January 25, 1998) was a Hungarian jazz guitarist. After World War II, he escaped the Soviet takeover of Hungary by fleeing through the mountains on foot into Austria. In 1959, he moved to the United Sta ...

, who then invited him to New York City to meet guitarist Jim Hall and bassist

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...

. While playing at a club in Kansas City, Metheny was approached by Bill Lee, a dean at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

, and offered a scholarship. After less than a week at college, Metheny realized that playing guitar all day during his teens had left him unprepared for classes. He admitted this to Lee, who offered him a job to teach as a professor, as the school had recently introduced electric guitar as a course of study. He moved to Boston in the early 1970s to teach at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

under the supervision of jazz vibraphonist

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz Vibraphone, vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused ...

and established a reputation as a prodigy. He appeared on Burton's studio recordings, from '' Ring'' in 1974 to '' Passengers'' in 1977.

Early albums

In 1974, he appeared on an album unofficially titled '' Jaco'' with pianist

Paul Bley Paul Bley, Order of Canada, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a Canadian jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live per ...

, bassist

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

, and drummer Bruce Ditmas on Carol Goss's Improvising Artists label—but he was unaware that he was being recorded. The next year he joined Gary Burton's band with guitarist Mick Goodrick. Metheny released his debut album, '' Bright Size Life'' ( ECM, 1976), with

on bass guitar and Bob Moses on drums. His next album, '' Watercolors'' (ECM, 1977), was recorded with

Eberhard Weber Eberhard Weber is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, minimalism and ambient music, and are regarded ...

on bass and

Danny Gottlieb Daniel Richard Gottlieb (born April 18, 1953) is an American drummer. He was a founding member of the Pat Metheny Group and was co-founder of Elements with Mark Egan. Biography Gottlieb was born in New York City on April 18, 1953. He took lesso ...

on drums, and significantly marked Metheny's first outing with pianist

Lyle Mays Lyle David Mays (November 27, 1953 – February 10, 2020) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and member of the Pat Metheny Group. Metheny and Mays composed and arranged nearly all of the group's music, for which Mays won eleven Grammy Awar ...

, who would become his key collaborator in forming the

later that year. With

Mark Egan Mark Egan (born January 14, 1951, in Brockton, Massachusetts) is an American jazz bassist and trumpeter known for his membership in the Pat Metheny Group and the Gil Evans Orchestra. He is co-founder of the jazz fusion band, Elements. Biogra ...

on bass, the lineup was set for the group's self-titled debut album, ''

'' (ECM, 1978).

Pat Metheny Group

When ''

'' (ECM, 1978) was released, the group was a quartet comprising Metheny,

on drums,

on bass, and

on piano, autoharp, and synthesizer. All but Egan had played on Metheny's album '' Watercolors'' (ECM, 1977), recorded the year before. The second group album, '' American Garage'' (ECM, 1979), reached number 1 on the ''Billboard'' jazz chart and crossed over onto the pop charts. From 1982 to 1985, the Pat Metheny Group released '' Offramp'' (ECM, 1982), a live album, '' Travels'' (ECM, 1983), '' First Circle'' (ECM, 1984), and '' The Falcon and the Snowman'' (EMI, 1985), a soundtrack album for the movie of the same name for which they collaborated on the single "

This Is Not America "This Is Not America" is a song by English singer David Bowie and American jazz fusion band the Pat Metheny Group, taken from the The Falcon and the Snowman (album), soundtrack to the 1985 film ''The Falcon and the Snowman''. It was released as ...

" with

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. The song reached number 14 in the British Top 40 in 1985 and number 32 in the U.S. ''Offramp'' marked the first appearance of bassist Steve Rodby (replacing Egan) and a Brazilian guest artist, Nana Vasconcelos, on percussion and wordless vocals. On ''First Circle'', Argentinian singer and multi-instrumentalist Pedro Aznar joined the group; as drummer, Paul Wertico replaced Gottlieb. Both Rodby and Wertico were members of the Simon and Bard Group at the time and had played in Simon-Bard in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

before joining Metheny. ''First Circle'' was Metheny's last album with ECM; he had been a key artist for the European record label but left following disagreements with the label's founder,

Manfred Eicher Manfred Eicher (born 9 July 1943) is a German record producer and the founder of ECM Records. Life and career Eicher was born in Lindau, Germany. He studied music at the Academy of Music in Berlin. He started as a double-bass player of classi ...

. '' Still Life (Talking)'' ( Geffen, 1987) featured new group members: trumpeter Mark Ledford, vocalist David Blamires, and percussionist

Armando Marçal Armando de Souza Marçal, better known as Marçalzinho (born 17 December 1956) is a Brazilian percussionist. Biography Marçal started in music at 14. As the son of Mestre Marçal (1930-1994) who operated the largest Brazilian samba school GRES ...

. Aznar returned for vocals and guitar on '' Letter from Home'' (Geffen, 1989). With Metheny working on multiple projects, it was four years before the release of the next group record, a live album titled ''

The Road to You ''The Road to You'' is the second live album by the Pat Metheny Group that won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance. The songs were recorded during concerts in Naples, Bari, Pescara, and Iesi, Italy; and Paris, Marseille, an ...

'' (Geffen, 1993). This release featured live versions of tracks from the two Geffen studio albums as well as previously unreleased tunes. Metheny and Mays have referred to the next three Pat Metheny Group releases as a triptych: '' We Live Here'' (Geffen, 1995), '' Quartet'' (Geffen, 1996), and '' Imaginary Day'' (

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

., 1997). Moving away from the Brazilian-inspired styles which had dominated the releases of the previous ten years, these albums included experiments with hip-hop rhythms, sequenced synthetic drums, free-form improvisation on acoustic instruments, and symphonic signatures, blues, and sonata schemes. With '' Speaking of Now'' (Warner Bros., 2002), new group members were added: drummer Antonio Sánchez from

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Vietnamese-American trumpeter

Cuong Vu Cuong Vu (Cường Vũ) (born 19 September 1969) is a Vietnamese-American jazz trumpeter. In addition to his own work as a bandleader, Vu was a member of the Pat Metheny Group. He is the first American person of Vietnamese descent to win a Grammy ...

, and bassist, vocalist, guitarist, and percussionist Richard Bona from

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. On '' The Way Up'' ( Nonesuch, 2005), harmonica player Grégoire Maret from Switzerland was introduced as a new group member, while Bona contributed as a guest musician. The album consists of a single 68-minute-long piece—split into four sections—based on a three-note motif: the opening B, A, F, and its later variation F, A, B.

Solo releases

Metheny has recorded albums under his solo artist billing regularly throughout his career. His solo acoustic guitar albums include ''

New Chautauqua ''New Chautauqua'' is a solo album by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, recorded in August 1978 and released on ECM in April 1979. Critical reception The '' Richmond Times-Dispatch'' wrote: "For all its delights, and they are considerable, Metheny's ...

'' (ECM, 1979), '' One Quiet Night'' (Warner Bros., 2003), and '' What's It All About'' (Nonesuch, 2011). Building on the work of his experimental quartets , Metheny further explored fringes of the avant-garde on '' Zero Tolerance for Silence'' (Geffen, 1994), a solo electric guitar outing. For the album '' Orchestrion'' ( Nonesuch, 2010) Metheny hand-crafted an array of elaborate, custom mechanical instruments which allowed him to compose and perform as a one-person orchestra. By contrast, his album '' Secret Story'' (Geffen, 1992) uses lush orchestral arrangements usually found in movie soundtracks, such as ''The Falcon and the Snowman'' and his own '' A Map of the World'' (Warner Bros., 1999) film soundtrack. Recent solo-billed recordings include '' From This Place'' (Nonesuch, 2020), recorded with a variety of guest artists, and the all-guitar collaboration '' Road to the Sun'' (Modern Recordings, 2021).

Unity Band

In 2012, Metheny formed the Unity Band with Antonio Sánchez on drums, Ben Williams on bass and Chris Potter on saxophone. This quartet released the album '' Unity Band'' (Nonesuch, 2012) and toured Europe and the U.S. during the latter half of the year. In 2013, as an extension of the Unity Band project, Metheny announced the formation of the Pat Metheny Unity Group, with the addition of the Italian multi-instrumentalist

Giulio Carmassi Giuliano Giulio Giacomo Carmassi (born February 21, 1981, in Lucca, Italy) is an Italian multi-instrumentalist. Music career Carmassi has performed many different jobs in music: multi-instrumentalist, singer, film composer, arranger, producer, a ...

Side projects

Outside the Group, Metheny has shown different sides of his musical personality. An early duo billing with Lyle Mays, '' As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls'' (ECM, 1981), includes Brazilian percussionist and vocalist Naná Vasconcelos for an elegant set noted for its atmospheric, long-form title track. In 1983, Metheny and Mays wrote music for the

Steppenwolf Theater Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry (American actor), Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chica ...

's production of Lyle Kessler's play '' Orphans''. It has remained special optional music for productions of the play around the world since. Metheny ventured into experimental jazz with the quartet releases '' 80/81'' (ECM, 1980), '' Song X'' (Geffen, 1986) with

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

, and ''The Sign of 4'' headed by Derek Bailey (Knitting Factory Works, 1997). In 1997, Metheny recorded with bassist Marc Johnson on Johnson's release '' The Sound of Summer Running'' (Verve, 1998). The next year, he recorded a guitar duet with Jim Hall (Telarc, 1999), whose work has strongly influenced Metheny's. He collaborated with Polish jazz and folk singer Anna Maria Jopek on '' Upojenie'' (Warner Poland, 2002) and

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, folk music, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock music, rock, heartland r ...

on '' Hot House'' (RCA, 2005). He has also played on albums by his older brother, Mike Metheny, a jazz trumpeter, among them ''Day In – Night Out'' (1986) and ''Close Enough for Love'' (2001).

Influences

As a young guitarist, Metheny tried to sound like

, but when he was 14 or 15, he decided it was disrespectful to imitate him. In the liner notes on the 2-disc Montgomery compilation ''Impressions: The Verve Jazz Sides'', Metheny is quoted as saying, "'' Smokin' at the Half Note'' is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. It is also the record that taught me how to play." Ornette Coleman's 1968 album '' New York Is Now!'' inspired Metheny to find his own direction. He has recorded Coleman's compositions on a number of albums, starting with a medley of "Round Trip" and "Broadway Blues" on his debut album, ''Bright Size Life'' (1976). He worked extensively with Coleman's collaborators, such as

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than fifty years. Haden helped to revolutionize the harmonic concept of bass playin ...

Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played alto s ...

, and Billy Higgins, and he recorded the album '' Song X'' (1986) with Coleman and toured with him. Metheny made three albums on ECM with Brazilian vocalist and percussionist Naná Vasconcelos. He lived in Brazil from the late 1980s to the early 1990s and performed with several local musicians, such as Milton Nascimento and Toninho Horta. He played with

Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian ...

as a tribute, in a live performance in ''

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Salutes The Jazz Masters: Verve 50th Anniversary''. He is also a fan of several pop music artists, especially singer/songwriters including

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

(after whom he named the song "James" on ''Offramp'');

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band formed in Rockford, Illinois in 1970 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. Their work bridged elements of '60s pop rock, guitar pop, '70s har ...

, and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, with whom he performed on her '' Shadows and Light'' ( Asylum/ Elektra, 1980) live tour. Metheny is also fond of

Buckethead Brian Patrick Carroll (born May 13, 1969), known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist. He has received critical acclaim for his innovative and virtuosic electric guitar playing. Buckethead's extensive solo discography currentl ...

's music. He also worked with, sponsored or helped to make recordings of singer/songwriters from all over the world, such as Pedro Aznar (Argentina), Akiko Yano (Japan),

(UK),

Silje Nergaard Silje Nergaard (born 19 June 1966) is a Norwegian jazz vocalist and songwriter. She is one of the best-selling jazz artists on the official sales chart in Norway. She became known worldwide after the release of the international bestseller ''Tel ...

(Norway), Noa (Israel), and Anna Maria Jopek (Poland). Two of Metheny's albums, '' The Way Up'' (2005) and '' Orchestrion'' (2010), show the influence of American minimalist composer

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

, with rhythmic figures structured around a recurring pulse. Decades earlier, Metheny had appeared on Reich's album ''

Different Trains ''Different Trains'' is a three-Movement (music), movement piece for string quartet and Tape music, tape written by Steve Reich in 1988. Background During World War II, Reich made train journeys between New York and Los Angeles to visit his par ...

'' (Nonesuch, 1987) performing Reich's composition, '' Electric Counterpoint''.

Guitars

Pikasso

Metheny plays a custom-made 42-string Pikasso I created by Canadian luthier Linda Manzer. He plays it on "Into the Dream" and on the albums '' Quartet'' (1996), '' Imaginary Day'' (1997), '' Jim Hall & Pat Metheny'' (1999), ''

Trio → Live ''Trio → Live'' is a live album by Pat Metheny, released in 2000, recorded with Bill Stewart (musician), Bill Stewart and Larry Grenadier. It was recorded as a live complement to the trio’s studio album ''Trio 99 - 00 (album), Trio 99→00'', ...

'' (Warner Bros., 2000), and the ''Speaking of Now Live'' and ''Imaginary Day Live'' DVDs. Metheny has used the guitar in his guest appearances on other artists' albums. He used the Pikasso on '' Metheny/Mehldau Quartet'' (Nonesuch, 2007), his second collaboration with pianist

Brad Mehldau Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Mehldau studied music at The New School, touring and recording while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's quar ...

and his trio sidemen

Larry Grenadier Larry Grenadier (born February 6, 1966, in San Francisco) is an American jazz double bassist. Early life Grenadier's father was a trumpet player in World War II army bands and later in Europe but stopped playing professionally before his chi ...

and Jeff Ballard; the Pikasso is featured on Metheny's composition "The Sound of Water". Manzer has made many acoustic guitars for Metheny, including a mini guitar, an acoustic sitar guitar, and the baritone guitar, which Metheny used for the recording of '' One Quiet Night'' (2003).

Guitar synthesizer

Metheny was one of the first jazz guitarists to use the Roland GR-300

guitar synthesizer A guitar synthesizer is any one of a number of musical systems that allow a guitarist to access synthesizer capabilities. Overview Today's guitar synths are direct descendants of 1970s devices from manufacturers (often in partnership) such as ...

. He commented, "you have to stop thinking about it as a guitar, because it no longer is a guitar." He approaches it as if he were a horn player, and he prefers the "high trumpet" sound of the instrument. One of the patches that he has often used is on Roland's JV-80 "Vintage Synth" expansion card, titled "Pat's GR-300". In addition to the Roland, he uses a

Synclavier The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the ea ...

controller.

Six-string and twelve-string electric

Metheny was an early proponent of the

twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 string (music), strings in six Course (music), courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lo ...

in jazz. During his 1975 tour with the

"Quartet" (five people, including Metheny), he primarily played electric twelve-string guitar against the six-string work of resident guitarist Mick Goodrick. Prior to Metheny, Pat Martino had used the electric twelve-string guitar on a studio album, '' Desperado'', and John McLaughlin had used a double-neck electric guitar with the

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of a ...

Ralph Towner Ralph Towner (born March 1, 1940) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, trumpet and French horn. Biography Towner was born i ...

was perhaps the first to use acoustic twelve-string guitar extensively in jazz ("The Moors", from Weather Report's '' I Sing the Body Electric'', Columbia, 1972), and

Larry Coryell Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...

and

Philip Catherine Philip Catherine (born 27 October 1942) is a Belgian jazz rock guitarist. Biography Philip Catherine was born in London, England, to an English mother and Belgian father, and was raised in Brussels, Belgium. His grandfather was a violinist i ...

made extensive use of acoustic twelve string in alternate tunings at the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival, later releasing some of the material on their 1976 '' Twin House'' album. Metheny used a twelve-string guitar on his debut album, ''Bright Size Life'' (1976), including alternate tuning on "Sirabhorn", and on later albums ("San Lorenzo", from ''Pat Metheny Group'' and ''Travels'').

Use of hollow-body electric guitars

At the age of 12, Metheny bought a natural finish

Gibson ES-175 The Gibson ES-175 (1949–2019) is a hollow body Jazz electric guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The ES-175 became one of Gibson's most popular guitar designs. History In 1949 the ES-175 was introduced by the Gibson Guitar co ...

that he played throughout his early career, until it was retired in 1995. After his first tour of Japan in 1978, he began an association with Ibanez guitars, who have since produced a range of PM signature models.

Personal life

Metheny is the younger brother of jazz

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

ist Mike Metheny. He lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with his wife, Latifa (née Azhar), and three children. Latifa has been credited for album photography. Metheny was once in a relationship with Sônia Braga. Due to an unscheduled medical procedure he had to interrupt his concerts in China in May 2025.

Awards and honors

Grammy Awards

Pat Metheny is the only person to have won Grammy Awards in ten different categories.

Additional awards

Partial list of other (non-Grammy) awards and honors for Pat Metheny: * ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' Hall of Fame, 2013 * Miles Davis Award,

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

, 1995 * Orville H. Gibson Award, 1996 * Honorary Doctorate of Music from

, 1996 * Guitarist of the Year, ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' Readers' Poll, 1983, 1986–1991, 2007–2016 * Best Jazz Guitarist, ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' magazine, 1982, 1983, 1986 * Best Jazz Guitarist, ''Guitar Player'' magazine Readers' Poll, 1984, 1985, 2009 * Best Acoustic Guitarist, ''

Acoustic Guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

'' magazine Readers' Poll, 2009 * Echo Award for Best Guitar Instrumentalist – International for ''TAP: John Zorn's Book of Angels Vol. 20'', 2014 * Echo Award, International Ensemble of the Year, ''Kin'', 2015 * Missouri Music Hall of Fame, 2016 * Lifetime Achievement Award, JazzFM, 2018 * Elected into Royal Swedish Academy of Music, 2018 * 2018 NEA Jazz Masters, 2017 * Honorary Doctorate of Music from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, 2019

Discography

* '' Bright Size Life'' ( ECM, 1976) – rec. 1975 * '' Watercolors'' (ECM, 1977) * ''

'' (ECM, 1978) * ''

'' (ECM, 1979) – rec. 1978 * '' American Garage'' (ECM, 1979) * '' 80/81'' (ECM, 1980) * '' As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls'' with

(ECM, 1981) – rec. 1980 * '' Offramp'' (ECM, 1982) – rec. 1981 * '' Travels'' (ECM, 1983) – live rec. 1982 * '' Rejoicing'' (ECM, 1984) – rec. 1983 * '' First Circle'' (ECM, 1984) * '' The Falcon and the Snowman'' ( EMI, 1985) – soundtrack rec. 1984 * '' Song X'' with

( Geffen, 1986) – rec. 1985 * '' Still Life (Talking)'' (Geffen, 1987) * '' Letter from Home'' (Geffen, 1989) * '' Question and Answer'' (Geffen, 1990) – rec. 1989 * '' Secret Story'' (Geffen, 1992) * '' Flower Hour'' (Beech Master, 1992) – live rec. 1990 * ''

'' (Geffen, 1993) – live rec. 1991 * '' Zero Tolerance for Silence'' (Geffen, 1994) – rec. 1992 * ''

I Can See Your House from Here ''I Can See Your House from Here'' is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Camel (band), Camel. Released in 1979, a new line up was introduced with founding members Andrew Latimer (guitar) and Andy Ward (musician), Andy ...

'' with John Scofield ( Blue Note, 1994) * '' Dream Teams'' with

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...

trio (Bugsy, 1994) – live rec. 1983, 86 * '' We Live Here'' (Geffen, 1995) – rec. 1994 * '' Quartet'' (Geffen, 1996) * '' Passaggio per il paradiso'' ( MCA, 1996) – soundtrack * '' Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories)'' with

( Verve, 1997) * '' Imaginary Day'' (

., 1997) * '' Like Minds'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 1998) – rec. 1997 * '' Jim Hall & Pat Metheny'' (

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, the label has had a long assoc ...

, 1999) – rec. 1998 * '' A Map of the World'' (Warner Bros., 1999) – soundtrack * '' Trio 99 → 00'' (Warner Bros., 2000) * ''

'' (Warner Bros., 2000) * '' Speaking of Now'' (Warner Bros., 2002) * '' One Quiet Night'' (Warner Bros., 2003) * '' The Way Up'' ( Nonesuch, 2005) – rec. 2003–04 * '' Metheny/Mehldau'' (Nonesuch, 2006) * '' Metheny Mehldau Quartet'' (Nonesuch, 2007) * '' Day Trip'' (Nonesuch, 2008) * '' Tokyo Day Trip'' (Nonesuch, 2008) * '' Upojenie'' with Anna Maria Jopek (Nonesuch, 2008) * '' Quartet Live'' with

(Concord Jazz, 2009) * '' Orchestrion'' (Nonesuch, 2010) * '' What's It All About'' (Nonesuch, 2011) * '' Unity Band'' with Chris Potter (Nonesuch, 2012) * '' The Orchestrion Project'' (Nonesuch, 2013) * '' Tap: Book of Angels Volume 20'' (

Tzadik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ...

/Nonesuch, 2013) * '' KIN (←→)'' (Nonesuch, 2014) * '' Hommage à Eberhard Weber'' (ECM, 2015) * ''

The Unity Sessions ''The Unity Sessions'' is an album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and his Unity Band: saxophonist Chris Potter (jazz saxophonist), Chris Potter, bassist Ben Williams (musician), Ben Williams, keyboardist Giulio Carmassi and drummer Anton ...

'' (Nonesuch, 2016) * ''

Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny ''Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny'' is a studio album by trumpeter Cuong Vu and guitarist Pat Metheny, with additional musicians Stomu Takeishi on fretless five-string bass guitar, and Ted Poor on drums. The album was released on May 6, 2016 via ...

'' (Nonesuch, 2016) * '' From This Place'' (Nonesuch, 2020) * '' Road to the Sun'' (Modern Recordings, 2021) * ''Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)'' (Modern Recordings, 2021) – live rec. 2019 * ''Dream Box'' (Modern Recordings, 2023) * '' MoonDial'' (Modern Recordings, 2024)

Collaborators

The following is a partial list of Metheny's notable collaborators:

References

External links

Official site
* * *

Pat Metheny's artist file at the Montreal International Jazz Festival's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metheny, Pat 1954 births Living people People from Lee's Summit, Missouri 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American lead guitarists American jazz guitarists Jazz fusion guitarists Berklee College of Music faculty Grammy Award winners University of Miami alumni University of Miami faculty Guitarists from Missouri ECM Records artists Geffen Records artists Nonesuch Records artists Pat Metheny Group members Jazz musicians from Missouri Improvising Artists Records artists DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members NEA Jazz Masters