Pat Metheny facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pat Metheny
Metheny in 2010
Background information
Birth name	Patrick Bruce Metheny
Born	(1954-08-12) August 12, 1954 (age 70) Lee's Summit, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Jazz jazz fusion Latin jazz progressive jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician composer producer professor
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1974–present
Labels	ECM Geffen Warner Nonesuch Modern Recording
Associated acts	Gary Burton Jaco Pastorius Pat Metheny Group Lyle Mays Steve Rodby Charlie Haden Antonio Sánchez

Patrick Bruce Metheny (/məˈθiːni/ mə-THEE-nee; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is known for his unique guitar playing and his many musical projects.

Pat Metheny led the Pat Metheny Group for many years (1977–2010). He also works on solo projects and with other musicians. His music mixes different styles like progressive jazz, Latin jazz, and jazz fusion. He has won an amazing 20 Grammy Awards and is the only person to win Grammys in 10 different music categories!

About Pat Metheny

His Early Life and Music

Pat Metheny was born in Lee's Summit, Missouri. Music was a big part of his family. His dad played trumpet, his mom sang, and his grandfather was a professional trumpeter. Pat first learned to play the trumpet from his brother, Mike.

His parents loved Glenn Miller and swing music. They took Pat to concerts, but they didn't think much of the guitar. Pat's interest in guitar grew when he saw the Beatles on TV in 1964. For his 12th birthday, he got a Gibson ES-140 guitar.

Pat's musical journey changed when he heard Four & More by Miles Davis. Soon after, he loved Wes Montgomery's album Smokin' at the Half Note. He says the Beatles, Miles Davis, and Wes Montgomery had the biggest impact on his music.

When he was 15, Pat won a scholarship to a jazz camp. There, guitarist Attila Zoller taught him. Attila then invited him to New York City to meet famous musicians Jim Hall and Ron Carter.

Becoming a Young Teacher

While playing at a club, Pat was offered a scholarship to the University of Miami. But he soon realized he was better at playing guitar than studying. He told the dean, Bill Lee, who then offered him a job as a professor! The school had just started teaching electric guitar.

In the early 1970s, he moved to Boston to teach at the Berklee College of Music. He worked with jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton and quickly became known as a very talented musician. He played on Gary Burton's albums from 1974 to 1977.

First Albums and Collaborations

In 1974, Pat played on an album called Jaco with Jaco Pastorius. He didn't even know he was being recorded! The next year, he joined Gary Burton's band.

Pat released his first album, Bright Size Life (ECM, 1976). It featured Jaco Pastorius on bass. His next album, Watercolors (ECM, 1977), was his first time playing with pianist Lyle Mays. Lyle would become a very important partner in his music.

The Pat Metheny Group

Left to right: Steve Rodby and Metheny

Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays formed the Pat Metheny Group in 1977. Their first album, Pat Metheny Group (ECM, 1978), featured Pat, Lyle Mays on piano, Danny Gottlieb on drums, and Mark Egan on bass.

Their second album, American Garage (ECM, 1979), became number 1 on the Billboard jazz chart. It even became popular on pop music charts!

Over the years, the group released many successful albums. These included Offramp (ECM, 1982) and the live album Travels (ECM, 1983). On Offramp, bassist Steve Rodby joined, and Brazilian artist Nana Vasconcelos added percussion and vocals.

In 1985, the group worked with David Bowie on the song "This Is Not America" for a movie soundtrack. This song was a hit in both the UK and the U.S.

The Pat Metheny Group continued to make music for many years. Their albums explored different sounds, from Brazilian styles to hip-hop rhythms and even symphonic music. New members joined, like drummer Antonio Sánchez and trumpeter Cuong Vu.

Their album The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005) was one long 68-minute piece of music. It was split into four parts and based on a simple three-note idea.

Pat Metheny's Solo Work

Pat Metheny has also released many albums on his own. Some of his solo acoustic guitar albums include New Chautauqua (ECM, 1979) and One Quiet Night (Warner Bros., 2003).

For his album Orchestrion (Nonesuch, 2010), Pat built special mechanical instruments. This allowed him to play as a one-person orchestra! In contrast, his album Secret Story (Geffen, 1992) used big orchestral sounds, like those in movie soundtracks.

More recent solo albums include From This Place (Nonesuch, 2020) and Road to the Sun (Modern Recordings, 2021), which is an all-guitar album.

Unity Band

In 2012, Pat formed the Unity Band. It included Antonio Sánchez on drums, Ben Williams on bass, and Chris Potter on saxophone. They released the album Unity Band (Nonesuch, 2012) and toured around the world. Later, the group expanded to become the Pat Metheny Unity Group.

Other Musical Adventures

Pat Metheny has worked on many different projects outside of his main group.

• He made an album with Lyle Mays called As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls (ECM, 1981).
• He explored experimental jazz with albums like Song X (Geffen, 1986) with Ornette Coleman.
• He recorded a guitar duet album with Jim Hall (Telarc, 1999), who was a big influence on him.
• He also played with Polish singer Anna Maria Jopek and Bruce Hornsby.
• Pat has even played on albums by his older brother, Mike Metheny, who is a jazz trumpeter.

His Musical Influences

When Pat was young, he tried to play like Wes Montgomery. But he decided it was better to find his own style. He says Wes Montgomery's Smokin' at the Half Note is "the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made."

Ornette Coleman's music also inspired Pat to find his own unique sound. Pat has played many of Coleman's songs and even recorded an album, Song X (1986), with him.

Pat lived in Brazil for a while and played with many Brazilian musicians. He is also a fan of pop artists like James Taylor, Bruce Hornsby, and Joni Mitchell. He has worked with singers from all over the world, including Pedro Aznar (Argentina) and David Bowie (UK).

Some of Pat's albums, like The Way Up (2005) and Orchestrion (2010), show the influence of composer Steve Reich. Pat even played on Reich's album Different Trains (Nonesuch, 1987).

His Amazing Guitars

The Pikasso Guitar

Metheny with the 42-string Pikasso

Pat Metheny plays a very special guitar called the 42-string Pikasso I. It was custom-made for him by Canadian guitar maker Linda Manzer. He uses it on many of his albums and live shows. Linda Manzer has made many other unique acoustic guitars for Pat, including a mini guitar and an acoustic sitar guitar.

Guitar Synthesizer

Metheny with the guitar synthesizer

Pat was one of the first jazz guitarists to use the Roland GR-300 guitar synthesizer. He says you have to think of it not as a guitar, but as a different instrument. He often uses a "high trumpet" sound with it.

Twelve-String Electric Guitar

Pat Metheny was also one of the first jazz guitarists to use the twelve-string guitar. He played it a lot during his 1975 tour with the Gary Burton Quartet. He used a twelve-string guitar on his first album, Bright Size Life (1976), and on many albums after that.

Hollow-Body Electric Guitars

Metheny with his Ibanez PM signature model

When he was 12, Pat bought a Gibson ES-175 guitar. He played it for many years. Later, he started working with Ibanez guitars, and they have made special "PM signature models" just for him.

Personal Life

Pat Metheny is the younger brother of jazz trumpeter Mike Metheny. He lives in New York City with his wife, Latifa, and their three children. Latifa has even taken photos for his album covers.

Awards and Honors

Grammy Awards

Pat Metheny has won 20 Grammy Awards! He is the only person to have won Grammys in ten different music categories. Some of his wins include:

• 2013: Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Unity Band
• 2012: Best New Age Album for What's It All About
• 2006: Best Contemporary Jazz Album for The Way Up (with Pat Metheny Group)
• 1999: Best Rock Instrumental Performance for "The Roots of Coincidence" from Imaginary Day (with Pat Metheny Group)
• 1993: Best Contemporary Jazz Performance for Secret Story

Other Awards

Pat Metheny has received many other important awards:

• He was inducted into the DownBeat Hall of Fame in 2013.
• He received the Miles Davis Award in 1995.
• He has been named "Guitarist of the Year" many times by DownBeat magazine.
• He received honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music and McGill University.
• He was named an NEA Jazz Masters in 2017, which is a very high honor in jazz music.

Discography

Collaborators

Pat Metheny has worked with many talented musicians, including:

See also

In Spanish: Pat Metheny para niños