From This Place - Pat Metheny (2020)

One of my most-listened-to records during the early pandemic lockdown, I was happy to go back to it after a while off.

If you’ve ever listened to Pat Metheny’s music and mistaken it for easy listening or elevator music, I’d forgive you. He’s always elegant and chilled out, even when he’s playing furiously. But I’d encourage you to listen in detail and pick out how he approaches melodies.

The band he’s put together is worth mentioning here, since it’s practically a supergroup itself. Gwilym Simcock, a wunderkind pianist who straddles jazz and classical. Linda May Han Oh, a bassist who leads her own band as well as playing with Vijay Iyer. Antonio Sanchez, a drummer so talented and creative that he doesn’t need a band, as seen on his all-percussion soundtrack to Oscar Best Picture winner Birdman. They’d been touring extensively on old material before he introduced them to these new pieces, a move from Miles Davis’ playbook that works great to get them playing well together.

The tornado on the cover sums up the record pretty well. It alternates beauty and majesty with dark energy, like a storm front sweeping through. When Metheny himself takes over, his work here would fit on any of his best records he’s recorded over the years. When he lets his bandmates step forward, they add their own textures to it.

Tracks I liked:

America Undefined - Practically a whole album in one 13 minute masterpiece

Same River - Oh and Simcock stretch out here with a string section that was overdubbed later.

Everything Explained - lively and exciting