30-06-2025
Jazz Legends: Pat Metheny
When you think about jazz, it's easy to conjure up images of New York City's bustling streets and smokey bars or the grand processions of the New Orleans' 2nd line parades. Or perhaps you picture Paris or London or a relaxed club in Copacabana. But what about small-town Missouri?
Guitarist Pat Metheny grew up in a little town called Lee's Summit - and funnily enough, there was a jazz connection nearby. Just up the road was Kansas City - a town with a fabled jazz history - and Pat and his family would often travel there to see shows. But what really got the youngster's attention was The Beatles.
Like a lot of kids in the 1960s, Pat went out and bought an electric guitar - but a few years later he stumbled upon two records that would change his life: Miles Davis's 'Four And More,' and Wes Montgomery's 'Smokin' at the Half Note.' Soon, he was the kid in Lee's Summit transcribing John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, and he's never looked back.
In the '70s, Metheny emerged as the leader of a new generation of jazz greats - musicians who embraced the bebop tradition, but were also looking to take improvised music into the future - and Metheny did just that, becoming one of the most celebrated improvising musicians of the last 50 years.
Pat himself joined us on this episode, so give it a listen as we chart this master musician's career from the early days with players like Gary Burton to his ECM years and beyond.
