Pat Metheny : American Garage

SUBJECT:	New Album - From This Place Back to Subjects
facing west Nov 14 2019 at 3:56 PM	Great news--the wait is finally over. From This Place is out in February 2020, and from Pat’s comments it sounds like what we’ve all been waiting for. Beyond a political statement, it’s a summation of his work to date. I’ve been listening to America Undefined on repeat all afternoon, and it’s stunning. The idea that Pat not only brought a killer band into the studio, but worked with Alan Broadbent and Gil Goldstein, is phenomenal news. Things are looking up in 2020!
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MarcNebo Sep 01 2020 at 11:03 PM	I loved this record from the first time I played it and numerous times I listened to it again. Then during the Shutdown I pretty much covered my entire Pat Metheny CD collection. Over the last two nights I listened to it again with no distractions and most of it with my lights turned off. Doing this brought it to another level, I really really love it. The compositions are some of Pat’s best, it’s almost a 100percent ballads record and the band is incredible. I also realized that Pat doesn’t play as much as a typical record by him and Linda, Antonio and Gwilym get a lot of playing time and great solos. They are playing the intros to many of the pieces. The orchestra parts are beautiful and really compliment the compositions. I’ve hear to many records with orchestras that interfere or overpower the songs. From This Place is now one of my favorite and definetly the most beautiful he has done. I can’t wait to see what he will do next.
broph Jun 27 2020 at 11:13 PM	YOSSARIAN - I wish the American Garage Forum included a feature that allowed me to share the natural imaginary that I was referring to. When you put the music that we all love to a natural landscape it really brings to life the depth of what this type of musics brings to us all.
yossarian Jun 22 2020 at 8:10 PM	Broph: what an excellent picture you paint and what great work you are doing on your farmland, vital work actually. I wouldn’t be able to imagine a finer setting in which to listen to this monumental music. Great post.
broph Jun 20 2020 at 5:13 PM	After a long day of tending to an area of our farmland that we have been working on converting to prairie & pollinator attracting plants and grasses for the last 4 years next to our house, I am sitting on my front porch facing this piece of land enjoying the shade after working in the sun for hours. Using my iphone that is connected to a Fender Monterey tweed bluetooth speaker, I decided to revisit this recording. The music starts playing, and I am taking in the vastness of the land, colors and the barn swallows doing flybys. Shortly after Pat starts a solo on the first track two Monarch butterflies coast by in the breeze and seem to fly as if they were putting his notes on a blank music sheet.
yossarian Jun 07 2020 at 7:58 PM	Facing West... I totally agree. And I’m glad you put a ’the’ in your first sentence :-) Just can’t get over how the record speaks to this moment in time. I listened to the Way Up this afternoon for the first time in a couple of months this afternoon. It hit me right between the eyes too; another very emotional masterpiece and yet so different - truly great art: the perfect antidote to the racism, indecency, greed and ugliness in our countries at present.
CoolKeith Jun 06 2020 at 3:27 PM	From here, I say I cannot breathe!
facing west Jun 05 2020 at 9:23 PM	This album is the total shit. Brilliantly conceived and performed. Absolute classic. Speaks to this moment, and all moments.
yossarian May 31 2020 at 7:30 PM	Some more thoughts on this record in the two months since I last commented. I play it in its entirety about two times a week and I’m still hearing new things. In every way this is a great record. Every song has great development, a lot of emotion, a beautiful sound, energy and drive. Linda and Antonio are just amazing the whole time... the elegance of that double bass riff on Same River, the intricate bass playing on American Undefined and Pathmaker. For me it’s Pat’s best since The Way Up and almost a Secret Story part II. I’d be interested to know when the songs were written; some I know are recent but I wonder if anything was an older tune that just hadn’t made it on to a record before. The orchestrations and production are ridiculously good - pure sonic gold. And very emotional, the whole thing. It manages to be ’different’ yet also hard core Pat. Really knocked out... when I commented previously I knew it was special but hadn’t quite got it yet. And as many have said, the timing of the release seems eerily prescient ... no need to spell it out but clearly the US is in turmoil.
MarcNebo Mar 18 2020 at 4:11 PM	I saw the quartet at the University of Wisconsin in a mid-sized concert hall and the year before at the Kennedy Center in the large Concert Hall. Both times they played Pat’s old songs from a new perspective of rearranging for these great musicians and for what they would do when soloing. Linda and pianist were hard to hear when the band was playing. The recording really blew me away because the mix was excellent. All the instruments can be hear and they all are fantastic. So far one of my favorite records of his.
yossarian Mar 16 2020 at 5:12 PM	After two listenings I now pronounce this ’a great album’. A lot of detail, some interesting decisions taken sonically and in the arrangements and brilliant orchestrations providing support and colour without obtrusiveness. Top marks. But then, what did we expect?
naut Feb 24 2020 at 3:34 PM	I agree wholeheartedly with your take, fw. From the early release of "Wide and Far" I thought Linda sounded terrific, and hearing her on all the tracks only confirms that initial impression. I hear a ton of Lyle influence in Gwilym’s playing, moreso than on any other Pat recording, but of course while maintaining the overall Simcock signature. Antonio is tremendous, as always, and there’s some of his finest cymbal work yet. I really love Pat’s guitar on the intro to "Everything Explained," which regrettably doesn’t get revisited. I could certainly do with more of that chorded riff. I think Pat, Gil, and Alan have taken the CTI orchestral aesthetic and sent it into the stratosphere. How come nobody has said, "Now when’s Pat’s next album coming out?" hehehe j/k, of course....
facing west Feb 24 2020 at 2:09 PM	Some initial thoughts. This record highlights something that Pat does better than anyone else in music: write to other musicians’ individual strengths while making the whole thing sound cohesive and coherent. Everyone shines, yet there is also a sense that everyone is supporting the project. Simcock and Oh fit seamlessly into the overall aesthetic, while bringing something distinctively their own. Sanchez brings less fire, but more power. The orchestration is organic, cinematic and somehow necessary. The Metheny / Rodby production standards are off the charts--the overall sound is stunning and spacious. This is a record that could only be made by PM, a great artistic statement by an artist working at the peak of his powers.
tilbanup Feb 24 2020 at 2:10 AM	I haven’t received my copy yet, suppose it will take a week to get to Australia. In the meantime I’m listening on Spotify on extreme quality mode. Just as I said in my initial post I hear snippets of all Pat has done and I’m lovin’ it. On first listen of Sixty six I thought a last train home type tune then something from the speaking of now album Linda’s second solo similar to Rodby’s bass solo on the way up part 3, then the outro, a blend of the roots of coincidence and TWU part 3. Can’t pick a favourite, maybe Sixty six by a whisker. It sure has been worth the wait. Perth concert 4th March will be interesting to hear if any of the tunes will be arranged for performing without an orchestra. I don’t mind what’s performed, I know it will be a knockout.
naut Feb 23 2020 at 7:33 PM	FROM THIS PLACE: "From this place I cannot see / Heart is dark, / Beneath rising seas // From this place, I don’t believe / All my hopes, / My sweet relief // From here, I say I cannot breathe / Fear and hurt / Again we bleed // Unsafe, unsound, unclear to me / Don’t know how to be // From this place, I must proceed / Trust in love, / Truth be my lead / From here I will stand with thee / Until hearts are truly free" -- As an aside: some narrow-minded, self-righteous, lame-brained cretin at amazoo one-starred the new album and condemned Pat and any other artist for bringing politics into his art. That’s as ludicrous as admonishing an artist for bringing trains, or flowers, or weather, or food into his or her art for fear that it might break "the common bond his diverse fans the world over share." That kind of thoughtless criticism really creams my corn. Sheesh....
wrobison Feb 23 2020 at 1:17 PM	Does anyone have the exact lyrics for From this Place? No liner notes on my download from itunes, and I can’t find them online.
hman01 Feb 23 2020 at 12:56 PM	Wow! What a beautiful recording! I love all of it. The last track is simply lovely with Pat’s guitar and lovely string arrangement. And the vocals and lyrics on the title track speak of hope in these hard times. They particularly speak to me as I aspire to take the best care of my wife who suffers from Alzheimer’s....
nobledave Feb 23 2020 at 1:19 AM	Simply, and always with Pat: it was worth the wait! Refreshing new sounds, rhythms and tonal perspectives. Thank you!
naut Feb 22 2020 at 8:33 AM	Still absorbing this wonderful record, but wanted to mention the last minute of "Pathmaker" is especially extraordinary and wonderful, almost like something out of Mahavishnu’s "Apocalypse." What a sublime way to end a great tune.
aloc Feb 21 2020 at 4:02 PM	Mugsy: perhaps "Change the Sky" was a working title for "America Undefined" since that is the only track that is not listed in the "orchestration by" -credits. This guess is also supported by the fact that the orchestration credits (between Alan and Gil, that is; Pat’s credit for "Everything Explained" appears separately after the aforementioned gentlemen) are listed in the same order as the tunes appear on the album. Of course it is also possible that "Change the Sky" is a separate composition that was left off the album. If someone has certain information on this issue, I’d be curious to know, too.
Antoñete Feb 21 2020 at 2:44 PM	Yes Mugsy, I noticed that too, and I’m also curious about. Is it a previous name of American undefined or is it a song that din’t save the cut?
eric Feb 21 2020 at 2:43 PM	Qobuz offers hi res for those so inclined
Antoñete Feb 21 2020 at 2:41 PM	My standout songs at this particular moment are Sixty-six and Far and wide, followed by Same river. And yes thehague, I totally agree with you about Linda.
thehague Feb 21 2020 at 9:02 AM	The album is stunning from beginning to end. It holds everything that is encapsulated in Pat’s career and development until now. Everything is in place, like it was always there in Pat’s mind. I so missed this side of Pat, and I’m over the moon this album, with this feel and sound, is finally hete for us fans to enjoy. Thank you, Pat. Great musicianship also from Antonio, Gwilym and Linda. Special accolades to Linda, beautiful bass sound. I guess it wasn’t meant as such, however: a fabulous tribute to Lyle. ‘The past is in us’.
mugsy Feb 20 2020 at 9:32 PM	On the liner notes of this new gem, there is a paragraph dedicated to who did all of the arrangements for each song. In the third paragraph, it says that Orchestral arrangements for Change The Sky, Wide And Far, Same River, Pathmaker and The Past In Us are arranged by Gil Goldstein. On my copy there is no song called Change The Sky. Can anyone explain this?
northernvatiger Feb 20 2020 at 8:46 PM	Can’t wait to hear this album!
naut Feb 20 2020 at 2:38 PM	I like "Same River" pretty well.
broph Feb 20 2020 at 11:02 AM	The America Undefined track gets better and better with each listen. So many layers that it takes time to take it all in. Each song has its own emotion to it that it’s hard to pick my favorite tune. I guess it’s going to end up like Secret Story where they are all standouts.
mountain Feb 19 2020 at 3:49 PM	Received the CD yesterday in the mail along with a signed poster of the album cover. Trying to find that one stand out tune...
mountain Dec 07 2019 at 12:14 AM	You Are track is now available. I could hear this tune expand very nicely in a live setting. Almost expected the guitar synth to appear as it builds in intensity.
Bikenjazz Dec 06 2019 at 1:53 PM	"You are" is a beautiful unfolding composition.........on my 2nd listen.......a lump came into my throat........enough said...
facing west Nov 18 2019 at 3:22 PM	Funny thing, naut, earlier today I came across a YouTube video of a tornado touching down on Unity Village in 2015. Coincidence? Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSmDkVnEj1A
saxond Nov 18 2019 at 3:01 PM	One other thought. I’ve said I’m feeling this new album could be more an extension of The Way Up than the Unity stuff, and to illustrate that—combine the titles and you get The Way Up from This Place. Both titles seem to be pointing from an unhappy present to a better future.
saxond Nov 18 2019 at 2:46 PM	naut, that’s a great point about the cover and the feel of climate disruption in the music. Yet from Pat’s notes, the thematic inspiration is a more general reaction to what happened in the last US presidential election. Pat always stresses that he leaves it to the listener to create their own mental pictures. The cyclone could be climate AND serve as a larger metaphor. As someone who came up on 70s prog-rock, I’m very comfortable with letting the music create all kinds of cinema in my mind. This one, like The Way Up, really does that, right down to the voices and the train. What’s that train all about? I felt there was a whole epic story inside The Way Up, based on what Pat said in his contemporaneous notes about the crisis of that time--in that way, this new album could be a sequel. The Way Up was a warning, with a very positive "way up" resolution in the final section. We can expect more anger in what is to come. I can’t wait.
naut Nov 18 2019 at 10:44 AM	Seems to me, the cover is a pretty in-your-face, big, honkin’ illustration of climate disruption, upheaval, "change"--whatever you wish to call it. Of course, there have always been tornadoes, but that one on the cover is particularly massive.
saxond Nov 16 2019 at 11:43 PM	Just beyond thrilled, and for a particular reason. I do like the sax; I realize its essential place in jazz; but Pat’s guitar with piano is my first love, always will be. For that reason, I enjoyed the Unity Group but it wasn’t quite up to his early Group sound for me. Which is fine--I want Pat to pursue his own muse. I’m just delighted, though, that he comes back to something very close to the kind of ensemble that pleases so many of us, and even with an orchestra for that Secret Story feel. This new track gets better the more times you hear it. Builds and builds, tells a story without words that provokes the imagination, and yes, is one more part of the "culmination" phase of his career, in which it seems all the wonderful birds he’s sent flying are coming back home to roost. How will we ever wait for late February?
imeubu Nov 16 2019 at 8:46 PM	The more I’ve listened to America Undefined the more I Love Pat’s use of harmonic ’tension-release’ and his continued attention and use of ’creative-soundflooring’. Pat YOU are a Master! Thank you ... This piece is my newest ’ear worm’ ...
tilbanup Nov 16 2019 at 8:07 PM	facing west, bright size life was before I had heard of Pat. I was loaned the travels album from my guitar teacher back in 1981 after hearing the first 30 seconds of the first track, it changed my music pleasures forever. I’ve always had the taste for contemporary jazz before that, but from that day on Pat is my most favourite. I had the pleasure of meeting Pat back stage in Perth 2006, but like they say, you shouldn’t meet your heroes/idols, I was awe struck and just didn’t know what to say. Talk about gracious, he obliged me with a photo with him. I’ll never forget that night!
terryhickmott Nov 16 2019 at 5:43 AM	Does anyone yet know if they will release a high definition download?
facing west Nov 15 2019 at 4:49 PM	You know, tilbanup, I think I once heard Pat say that his new music always transcends and includes everything he’s done up to that point. It’s kind of integral music--all one thing. I would love to have 2020 tickets in my hands. Enjoy the show! By the way, I remember Pat also saying that when Bright Size Life came out, it didn’t sell many copies. One person in Australia bought it. Pat wanted to send him (or her) a letter, but ECM couldn’t track down the buyer. Maybe that person will be at the show, too. Or maybe that person is you!
tilbanup Nov 14 2019 at 10:43 PM	facing west; I have just downloaded and listened to American Undefined and thought there was snippets of every thing he has done in that piece, before I read your comments. I have my tickets to the Perth concert next March. After hearing that I’m hangin’ out even more now!
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MarcNebo
Sep 01 2020
at 11:03 PM

I loved this record from the first time I played it and numerous times I listened to it again. Then during the Shutdown I pretty much covered my entire Pat Metheny CD collection. Over the last two nights I listened to it again with no distractions and most of it with my lights turned off. Doing this brought it to another level, I really really love it. The compositions are some of Pat’s best, it’s almost a 100percent ballads record and the band is incredible. I also realized that Pat doesn’t play as much as a typical record by him and Linda, Antonio and Gwilym get a lot of playing time and great solos. They are playing the intros to many of the pieces. The orchestra parts are beautiful and really compliment the compositions. I’ve hear to many records with orchestras that interfere or overpower the songs. From This Place is now one of my favorite and definetly the most beautiful he has done. I can’t wait to see what he will do next.

broph
Jun 27 2020
at 11:13 PM

YOSSARIAN - I wish the American Garage Forum included a feature that allowed me to share the natural imaginary that I was referring to. When you put the music that we all love to a natural landscape it really brings to life the depth of what this type of musics brings to us all.

yossarian
Jun 22 2020
at 8:10 PM

Broph: what an excellent picture you paint and what great work you are doing on your farmland, vital work actually. I wouldn’t be able to imagine a finer setting in which to listen to this monumental music. Great post.

broph
Jun 20 2020
at 5:13 PM

After a long day of tending to an area of our farmland that we have been working on converting to prairie & pollinator attracting plants and grasses for the last 4 years next to our house, I am sitting on my front porch facing this piece of land enjoying the shade after working in the sun for hours. Using my iphone that is connected to a Fender Monterey tweed bluetooth speaker, I decided to revisit this recording. The music starts playing, and I am taking in the vastness of the land, colors and the barn swallows doing flybys. Shortly after Pat starts a solo on the first track two Monarch butterflies coast by in the breeze and seem to fly as if they were putting his notes on a blank music sheet.

yossarian
Jun 07 2020
at 7:58 PM

Facing West... I totally agree. And I’m glad you put a ’the’ in your first sentence :-) Just can’t get over how the record speaks to this moment in time. I listened to the Way Up this afternoon for the first time in a couple of months this afternoon. It hit me right between the eyes too; another very emotional masterpiece and yet so different - truly great art: the perfect antidote to the racism, indecency, greed and ugliness in our countries at present.

CoolKeith
Jun 06 2020
at 3:27 PM

From here, I say I cannot breathe!

facing west
Jun 05 2020
at 9:23 PM

This album is the total shit. Brilliantly conceived and performed. Absolute classic. Speaks to this moment, and all moments.

yossarian
May 31 2020
at 7:30 PM

Some more thoughts on this record in the two months since I last commented. I play it in its entirety about two times a week and I’m still hearing new things. In every way this is a great record. Every song has great development, a lot of emotion, a beautiful sound, energy and drive. Linda and Antonio are just amazing the whole time... the elegance of that double bass riff on Same River, the intricate bass playing on American Undefined and Pathmaker. For me it’s Pat’s best since The Way Up and almost a Secret Story part II. I’d be interested to know when the songs were written; some I know are recent but I wonder if anything was an older tune that just hadn’t made it on to a record before. The orchestrations and production are ridiculously good - pure sonic gold. And very emotional, the whole thing. It manages to be ’different’ yet also hard core Pat. Really knocked out... when I commented previously I knew it was special but hadn’t quite got it yet. And as many have said, the timing of the release seems eerily prescient ... no need to spell it out but clearly the US is in turmoil.

MarcNebo
Mar 18 2020
at 4:11 PM

I saw the quartet at the University of Wisconsin in a mid-sized concert hall and the year before at the Kennedy Center in the large Concert Hall. Both times they played Pat’s old songs from a new perspective of rearranging for these great musicians and for what they would do when soloing. Linda and pianist were hard to hear when the band was playing. The recording really blew me away because the mix was excellent. All the instruments can be hear and they all are fantastic. So far one of my favorite records of his.

yossarian
Mar 16 2020
at 5:12 PM

After two listenings I now pronounce this ’a great album’. A lot of detail, some interesting decisions taken sonically and in the arrangements and brilliant orchestrations providing support and colour without obtrusiveness. Top marks. But then, what did we expect?

naut
Feb 24 2020
at 3:34 PM

I agree wholeheartedly with your take, fw. From the early release of "Wide and Far" I thought Linda sounded terrific, and hearing her on all the tracks only confirms that initial impression. I hear a ton of Lyle influence in Gwilym’s playing, moreso than on any other Pat recording, but of course while maintaining the overall Simcock signature. Antonio is tremendous, as always, and there’s some of his finest cymbal work yet. I really love Pat’s guitar on the intro to "Everything Explained," which regrettably doesn’t get revisited. I could certainly do with more of that chorded riff. I think Pat, Gil, and Alan have taken the CTI orchestral aesthetic and sent it into the stratosphere. How come nobody has said, "Now when’s Pat’s next album coming out?" hehehe j/k, of course....

facing west
Feb 24 2020
at 2:09 PM

Some initial thoughts. This record highlights something that Pat does better than anyone else in music: write to other musicians’ individual strengths while making the whole thing sound cohesive and coherent. Everyone shines, yet there is also a sense that everyone is supporting the project. Simcock and Oh fit seamlessly into the overall aesthetic, while bringing something distinctively their own. Sanchez brings less fire, but more power. The orchestration is organic, cinematic and somehow necessary. The Metheny / Rodby production standards are off the charts--the overall sound is stunning and spacious. This is a record that could only be made by PM, a great artistic statement by an artist working at the peak of his powers.

tilbanup
Feb 24 2020
at 2:10 AM

I haven’t received my copy yet, suppose it will take a week to get to Australia. In the meantime I’m listening on Spotify on extreme quality mode. Just as I said in my initial post I hear snippets of all Pat has done and I’m lovin’ it. On first listen of Sixty six I thought a last train home type tune then something from the speaking of now album Linda’s second solo similar to Rodby’s bass solo on the way up part 3, then the outro, a blend of the roots of coincidence and TWU part 3. Can’t pick a favourite, maybe Sixty six by a whisker. It sure has been worth the wait. Perth concert 4th March will be interesting to hear if any of the tunes will be arranged for performing without an orchestra. I don’t mind what’s performed, I know it will be a knockout.

naut
Feb 23 2020
at 7:33 PM

FROM THIS PLACE: "From this place I cannot see / Heart is dark, / Beneath rising seas // From this place, I don’t believe / All my hopes, / My sweet relief // From here, I say I cannot breathe / Fear and hurt / Again we bleed // Unsafe, unsound, unclear to me / Don’t know how to be // From this place, I must proceed / Trust in love, / Truth be my lead / From here I will stand with thee / Until hearts are truly free" -- As an aside: some narrow-minded, self-righteous, lame-brained cretin at amazoo one-starred the new album and condemned Pat and any other artist for bringing politics into his art. That’s as ludicrous as admonishing an artist for bringing trains, or flowers, or weather, or food into his or her art for fear that it might break "the common bond his diverse fans the world over share." That kind of thoughtless criticism really creams my corn. Sheesh....

wrobison
Feb 23 2020
at 1:17 PM

Does anyone have the exact lyrics for From this Place? No liner notes on my download from itunes, and I can’t find them online.

hman01
Feb 23 2020
at 12:56 PM

Wow! What a beautiful recording! I love all of it. The last track is simply lovely with Pat’s guitar and lovely string arrangement. And the vocals and lyrics on the title track speak of hope in these hard times. They particularly speak to me as I aspire to take the best care of my wife who suffers from Alzheimer’s....

nobledave
Feb 23 2020
at 1:19 AM

Simply, and always with Pat: it was worth the wait! Refreshing new sounds, rhythms and tonal perspectives. Thank you!

naut
Feb 22 2020
at 8:33 AM

Still absorbing this wonderful record, but wanted to mention the last minute of "Pathmaker" is especially extraordinary and wonderful, almost like something out of Mahavishnu’s "Apocalypse." What a sublime way to end a great tune.

aloc
Feb 21 2020
at 4:02 PM

Mugsy: perhaps "Change the Sky" was a working title for "America Undefined" since that is the only track that is not listed in the "orchestration by" -credits. This guess is also supported by the fact that the orchestration credits (between Alan and Gil, that is; Pat’s credit for "Everything Explained" appears separately after the aforementioned gentlemen) are listed in the same order as the tunes appear on the album. Of course it is also possible that "Change the Sky" is a separate composition that was left off the album. If someone has certain information on this issue, I’d be curious to know, too.

Antoñete
Feb 21 2020
at 2:44 PM

Yes Mugsy, I noticed that too, and I’m also curious about. Is it a previous name of American undefined or is it a song that din’t save the cut?

eric
Feb 21 2020
at 2:43 PM

Qobuz offers hi res for those so inclined

Antoñete
Feb 21 2020
at 2:41 PM

My standout songs at this particular moment are Sixty-six and Far and wide, followed by Same river. And yes thehague, I totally agree with you about Linda.

thehague
Feb 21 2020
at 9:02 AM

The album is stunning from beginning to end. It holds everything that is encapsulated in Pat’s career and development until now. Everything is in place, like it was always there in Pat’s mind. I so missed this side of Pat, and I’m over the moon this album, with this feel and sound, is finally hete for us fans to enjoy. Thank you, Pat. Great musicianship also from Antonio, Gwilym and Linda. Special accolades to Linda, beautiful bass sound. I guess it wasn’t meant as such, however: a fabulous tribute to Lyle. ‘The past is in us’.

mugsy
Feb 20 2020
at 9:32 PM

On the liner notes of this new gem, there is a paragraph dedicated to who did all of the arrangements for each song. In the third paragraph, it says that Orchestral arrangements for Change The Sky, Wide And Far, Same River, Pathmaker and The Past In Us are arranged by Gil Goldstein. On my copy there is no song called Change The Sky. Can anyone explain this?

northernvatiger
Feb 20 2020
at 8:46 PM

Can’t wait to hear this album!

naut
Feb 20 2020
at 2:38 PM

I like "Same River" pretty well.

broph
Feb 20 2020
at 11:02 AM

The America Undefined track gets better and better with each listen. So many layers that it takes time to take it all in. Each song has its own emotion to it that it’s hard to pick my favorite tune. I guess it’s going to end up like Secret Story where they are all standouts.

mountain
Feb 19 2020
at 3:49 PM

Received the CD yesterday in the mail along with a signed poster of the album cover. Trying to find that one stand out tune...

mountain
Dec 07 2019
at 12:14 AM

You Are track is now available. I could hear this tune expand very nicely in a live setting. Almost expected the guitar synth to appear as it builds in intensity.

Bikenjazz
Dec 06 2019
at 1:53 PM

"You are" is a beautiful unfolding composition.........on my 2nd listen.......a lump came into my throat........enough said...

facing west
Nov 18 2019
at 3:22 PM

Funny thing, naut, earlier today I came across a YouTube video of a tornado touching down on Unity Village in 2015. Coincidence? Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSmDkVnEj1A

saxond
Nov 18 2019
at 3:01 PM

One other thought. I’ve said I’m feeling this new album could be more an extension of The Way Up than the Unity stuff, and to illustrate that—combine the titles and you get The Way Up from This Place. Both titles seem to be pointing from an unhappy present to a better future.

saxond
Nov 18 2019
at 2:46 PM

naut, that’s a great point about the cover and the feel of climate disruption in the music. Yet from Pat’s notes, the thematic inspiration is a more general reaction to what happened in the last US presidential election. Pat always stresses that he leaves it to the listener to create their own mental pictures. The cyclone could be climate AND serve as a larger metaphor. As someone who came up on 70s prog-rock, I’m very comfortable with letting the music create all kinds of cinema in my mind. This one, like The Way Up, really does that, right down to the voices and the train. What’s that train all about? I felt there was a whole epic story inside The Way Up, based on what Pat said in his contemporaneous notes about the crisis of that time--in that way, this new album could be a sequel. The Way Up was a warning, with a very positive "way up" resolution in the final section. We can expect more anger in what is to come. I can’t wait.

naut
Nov 18 2019
at 10:44 AM

Seems to me, the cover is a pretty in-your-face, big, honkin’ illustration of climate disruption, upheaval, "change"--whatever you wish to call it. Of course, there have always been tornadoes, but that one on the cover is particularly massive.

saxond
Nov 16 2019
at 11:43 PM

Just beyond thrilled, and for a particular reason. I do like the sax; I realize its essential place in jazz; but Pat’s guitar with piano is my first love, always will be. For that reason, I enjoyed the Unity Group but it wasn’t quite up to his early Group sound for me. Which is fine--I want Pat to pursue his own muse. I’m just delighted, though, that he comes back to something very close to the kind of ensemble that pleases so many of us, and even with an orchestra for that Secret Story feel. This new track gets better the more times you hear it. Builds and builds, tells a story without words that provokes the imagination, and yes, is one more part of the "culmination" phase of his career, in which it seems all the wonderful birds he’s sent flying are coming back home to roost. How will we ever wait for late February?

imeubu
Nov 16 2019
at 8:46 PM

The more I’ve listened to America Undefined the more I Love Pat’s use of harmonic ’tension-release’ and his continued attention and use of ’creative-soundflooring’. Pat YOU are a Master! Thank you ... This piece is my newest ’ear worm’ ...

tilbanup
Nov 16 2019
at 8:07 PM

facing west, bright size life was before I had heard of Pat. I was loaned the travels album from my guitar teacher back in 1981 after hearing the first 30 seconds of the first track, it changed my music pleasures forever. I’ve always had the taste for contemporary jazz before that, but from that day on Pat is my most favourite. I had the pleasure of meeting Pat back stage in Perth 2006, but like they say, you shouldn’t meet your heroes/idols, I was awe struck and just didn’t know what to say. Talk about gracious, he obliged me with a photo with him. I’ll never forget that night!

terryhickmott
Nov 16 2019
at 5:43 AM

Does anyone yet know if they will release a high definition download?

facing west
Nov 15 2019
at 4:49 PM

You know, tilbanup, I think I once heard Pat say that his new music always transcends and includes everything he’s done up to that point. It’s kind of integral music--all one thing. I would love to have 2020 tickets in my hands. Enjoy the show! By the way, I remember Pat also saying that when Bright Size Life came out, it didn’t sell many copies. One person in Australia bought it. Pat wanted to send him (or her) a letter, but ECM couldn’t track down the buyer. Maybe that person will be at the show, too. Or maybe that person is you!

tilbanup
Nov 14 2019
at 10:43 PM

facing west; I have just downloaded and listened to American Undefined and thought there was snippets of every thing he has done in that piece, before I read your comments. I have my tickets to the Perth concert next March. After hearing that I’m hangin’ out even more now!

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