Music

1977 Watercolors

Label: ECM

Musicians: Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Eberhard Weber, Danny Gottlieb

“Pat Metheny was virtually defining a new musical form on this 1977 date, blending folk, country, and pop elements with jazz and creating a gentler, more intimate idiom than fusion had been. His distinctively chorused electric guitar often floats over the smooth textures created by his own acoustic six-stringer, Lyle Mays’ piano, and Danny Gottlieb’s discreet drumming, while Eberhard Weber’s electric and acoustic bass lines rise to ricochet with the guitar leads. The song titles abound with watery images, and they’re perfectly in keeping with this flowing music, which tends to a pale, even pastel, palette and an ethereal lightness. “River Quay,” particularly, suggests the sound of the Pat Metheny Group that would come later.” —Amazon.com