Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Methenyis an American jazz guitarist and composer...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth12 August 1954
CityLee's Summit, MO
CountryUnited States of America
creativity thinking levels
I think jazz is actually quite unforgiving in its disdain for nostalgia. It demands creativity and change at its highest level,
thinking play world
I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music world and have been able to play exactly what I have wanted the way I have wanted
thinking wings views
I think I represent a more left-wing view of what jazz is
thinking sound aesthetic
I think I have a basic sound aesthetic that is in most of what I do
thinking knowing understanding
I try to be prepared for the moment, through understanding, and being warmed up, knowing all about chords and scales, so I don't even have to think and I can get right to what it is I want to say.
thinking difficult music-is
I think that the melodic piece of the puzzle in music is the most esoteric and difficult to quantify.
casual love playing
I used to love going and playing jam sessions, doing things spontaneously. I can't do that anymore. Everything you do is documented, nothing is casual anymore.
figure fit ideas instrument involved totally trying
I was totally involved in trying to figure out a way of doing things with my instrument that would fit the ideas that I had in my head.
analogy breaking great musician pick tunes
When talking about writing, I often use the analogy of archaeology. There are these great tunes all around. Your skill as a musician allows you to pick them out without breaking them.
point reference trumpet
Somehow, trumpet is the reference point for me - it was actually my first instrument.
computers people sending
I didn't want there to be a computer on stage. When I see people with computers on stage, I think, 'Are you sending e-mail?' That's so corny.
people
A lot of jazz artists think people should like what they're doing just because it's jazz. I don't buy that.
Someone who knew me when I was 14 said I was the oldest 14-year-old on the planet. Now I'm a 14-year-old who is 60.
groups led project talented unlike
'The Unity Band' project has been life-changing for me. I have led many groups of talented musicians, but this is unlike anything else.