''The Way Up'' is the eleventh and final studio album by 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 ...

. It was released in 2005 and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2006. It is the last album in the prolific three-decade collaboration of

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He was the leader of the Pat Metheny Group (1977–2010) and continues to work in various small-combo, duet, and solo settings, as well as other side pr ...

and

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 ...

Background

The album consists of one 68-minute-long piece, split into four tracks. The piece is through composed, featuring complex shifts of dynamics and

meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

, and precise transitions between solo improvisation sections. Swiss multi-instrumentalist Gregoire Maret is showcased on the harmonica and joined the Group for the album's world tour. The tour included a performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and an official concert recording of the Seoul, South Korea appearance was released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Track listing

Personnel

– acoustic and electric guitars,

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 ...

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

, toy guitar, producer *

– piano, keyboards, toy xylophone, producer * Steve Rodby – acoustic and electric bass, cello, violin, producer *

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 ...

– trumpet, vocals, toy whistle * Grégoire Maret – harmonica * Antonio Sánchez – drums, toy xylophone Additional musicians * Richard Bona – percussion, vocals, toy guitar * Dave Samuels – percussion

Technical personnel

*Pat Metheny – producer *Steve Rodby, Lyle Mays – co-producers *

Rob Eaton Rob Eaton is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with the renowned Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, of which he has been a member since 2001. Career Rob Eaton grew up in Vermont and was inspired to start playi ...

– recording, mixing *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

– mastering at

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

, NYC, USA *Doyle Partners – design, photography

Awards

Grammy Award 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Way Up, The Pat Metheny albums 2005 albums Nonesuch Records albums Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album