Pat Metheny Unity Group
Since "The Way Up" Pat Metheny realized various other projects. The end of the "The Way Up Tour" in 2006 was de facto also the end of the Pat Metheny Group. But then, 2012, Metheny released with Nonesuch Records "Unity Band". This was de facto the birth of the new Pat Metheny Unity Group - a quartet with changed in 2014 to a quintet. The debut album follows a second release called "Kin (<-->)".
In the year 2013 was a banner one for Pat Metheny. After being awarded his 20th Grammy, for Unity Band, and the release of his critically acclaimed recording of Tap: John Zorn’s Book of Angels, Vol. 20, Metheny received word that the readers of DownBeat magazine had voted to induct him into its Hall of Fame. Not only is Metheny the youngest member, but he is also only the fourth jazz guitarist to be chosen for that honor, joining Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, and Wes Montgomery.
The coming year promises to be equally exciting. As Metheny says: “The Unity Band record and tour was life changing for me, and I really wanted to find a way to keep it going and take it to the next level. One night, I woke up with the tantalizing idea of taking the concept of ‘unity’ even further. With this next project, I envisioned building a platform capable of addressing the entire spectrum of things I have done over the years, from Bright Size Life to Secret Story, from my Group projects to the Orchestrion, and more, all in one place.” He continues: “With this incredible lineup of musicians—Chris Potter, Ben Williams, Antonio Sanchez, and the addition of multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi—just about anything is possible.”
With this mission statement, the scene was set for Metheny to deliver a career-encompassing recording. With the release of "Kin (<-->)", Metheny has, not for the first time in his complex and ever-evolving career, re-invented himself.
“The core quartet of Chris, Ben, Antonio, and me played more than 100 concerts over the year that followed the release of our Unity Band record. Over the course of that period, the band became one of those rare combinations of players where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; it gelled in every way, and that just seemed to beg for expansion and further research.” He continues, “Simultaneously, I had been itching to write using more of a lush and orchestrated kind of concept that went beyond the sonic limits of what a straight-ahead quartet might invoke. But I really didn’t want to lose the energy, focus, and intensity of what this band had developed. I wanted to take it further. If the first Unity Band record was a thoughtful, black and white documentary of four musicians in a recording studio playing, this record is more like the Technicolor, IMAX version of what a band like this could be—but with that hardcore thing still sitting right in the middle of it all.”
Bandmember:
Since 2012 ("Unity Band"):
Pat Metheny - Electric and acoustic guitars, guitarsynthesizer, orchestronic
Chris Potter - Tenorsaxophon, Bassclarinet, Sopransaxophon
Ben Williams - Acoustic and electric basses
Antonio Sánchez - Drums and cajon
The fifth member came with the 2nd album 2014 "Kin (<-->)":
Giulio Carmassi - Piano, Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn, Cello, Vibes, Clarinet, Flute, Recorder, Alto Sax, Wurlitzer, Whistling and Vocals
Discography:
2012 - Unity Band
2014 - "Kin (<-->)" - Pre-order CD
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