He may have won 17 Grammys and dozens of other musical accolades, but that doesn't make him a popular guy.
At least that's what the guitarist Pat Metheny had to say to about 100 sweat-drenched New Jersey high school jazz musicians here earlier this month.
"In 2008 the culture is openly hostile to jazz," Mr. Metheny said at the South Orange Performing Arts Center during a 90-minute question-and-answer session — a "high school master class" — organized by Jazz House Kids, a Montclair group devoted to jazz education. "The fact that we're sitting here having this conversation on a 100-degree day, it's almost like a cult thing."
"In your 14 or 15 years on earth you've gravitated toward .001 percent of people — people who are hip," he said. "But you're rubbing up against the extremes of culture," he warned.
This did not discourage the clusters of students who boarded buses from Mountain Lakes High School, Millburn High School, Columbia High School in Maplewood, Randolph High School and Arts High School in Newark.
"It was awesome the way he explained how he started out and his experiences as a jazz player," said Michele Arenas, a 16-year-old pianist and member of Randolph High's jazz band. "It made you want to work hard."
Ms. Arenas was one of just a handful of girls in the audience. "Somehow, jazz appeals to them more," she said, meaning boys.
Tim Egan, 18, a saxophone player at West Orange High, said, "What I took from it is that music is hard, and that I need to have a lot of confidence and keep at it." He drove himself to the arts center even though his school had canceled the trip, and the school day, because of triple-digit temperatures.
For the nonprofit Jazz House Kids, formed in 2002 by the vocalist Melissa Walker, 43, getting Mr. Metheny to speak was a big deal, if not a surprising one. Ms. Walker's husband, the bassist Christian McBride, is a member of the Pat Metheny Trio.
In addition to organizing events like the one with Mr. Metheny, Jazz House Kids conducts programs for students from second through eighth grades at schools throughout New Jersey.
Its "Let's Build a Jazz House" workshop series introduces up to 100 students at a time to jazz culture and history and lets children explore individual instruments. A performance by professional musicians is part of the package.
Jazz House Kids also offers retreats for teachers interested in incorporating jazz into class work. Though only seven schools of about 40 that Ms. Walker had invited participated (St. Benedict's in Newark joined West Orange High in canceling because of the heat), she said she was pleased with the turnout.
"Some schools have already ended their school year, and others had conflicts," she said.
Whether they had conflicts or not, those that passed up the event missed a rare opportunity.
"This was pretty special," said Mr. Metheny, 54, a Missouri native who lives in Manhattan and played a five-minute song for the group in addition to answering questions. "I'm usually doing 29 concerts every 30 days. I guess I get to do something like this maybe three or four times a year."
If the tone of his question-and-answer session lacked both scholarly formality and sugar coating, it's because that's the nature of the music, Mr. Metheny said, and he is a believer in following its bylaws.
"The institutionalization of jazz is something that rarely works," he said. "As soon as you start to go there, it turns into this murky-brown mall-like thing. But what Melissa is doing with Jazz House Kids actively resists that.
"This presentation was alive," he said.
That may have had something to do with where it took place. "New Jersey has always been something different," Mr. Metheny said. "There's a level of passion mixed with a lack of jadedness here — an unbridled enthusiasm. We've been a lot of places, but people never give it up like they do in Jersey.
Artist Suzanne Cerny is now offering a print featuring Pat’s image for sale exclusively through www.jazz.com. For more information regarding Suzanne’s jazz art prints, please visit her onlineArt Gallery. Inquiries regarding licensing, purchase or reproduction of her works can be sent to galleries@jazz.com.
Suzanne Cerny is known for her jazz art imagery. She likes to sketch on site at jazz clubs when musicians are performing, and then transforms the images on on canvas. She has recently added computer art to her portfolio.. Suzanne attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City and then graduated from The Cooper Union in Fine Art and Design in 1959. She studied plastic arts with Michelle Behar and Celito Medeiros in Brazil in 2004.
"That tune somehow just kind of came in response to some really horrible, awful things, but yet at the same time it sort of is descriptive of a potential as much as a condition."- Pat Metheny
Pat and Christian McBride on Is This America? (Katrina 2005)
Pat Metheny Trio - Is This America? (Katrina 2005)
Kickoff Fundraiser for the new Metheny Music Foundation to feature the Pat Metheny Trio
In June 2007 the newly formed Metheny Music Foundation of Lee's Summit, Missouri
hometown of guitarist Pat Metheny and his brother, trumpeter Mike Metheny
enabled two area high school students to attend the annual University of Missouri/Kansas City Jazz Improv Camp.
"Awarding these scholarships is an important first step," said Pat, a world renowned recording artist, bandleader and 17-time Grammy winner. About the Foundation itself, Pat added, "This is an exciting endeavor with many promising possibilities."
On Friday, March 7, 2008, the Metheny Music Foundation will hold its first major fundraiser at Unity Village (near Lee's Summit) featuring the Pat Metheny Trio (Metheny, guitar; Christian McBride, bass; Antonio Sanchez, drums) along with special guests.
The concert begins at 8:00 p.m. at the Unity Activities Center. From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. light appetizers will be served, which is included in the $40 per person ticket price. There will also be a cash bar. For the concert only, tickets are $35 per person. Concert seating will be first come, first seated. For those traveling from out of town, the Unity Village Hotel is directly across the street from the Activities Center. Call 816-251-3540 or (toll free) 866-34-UNITY for reservations.
Mike Metheny has this to say about the Foundation: "At the heart of the Metheny Music Foundation is the family's musical side, of course, but there is also the historical component. Our grandfather came to Lee's Summit in 1915 and was a prominent member of the community just as our parents have been over the decades. So those family roots are another important reason for this."
The organization's mission statement reads: "The Metheny Music Foundation preserves, promotes, and perpetuates an informed appreciation for all styles of music, honoring the history of the Metheny family through four generations and the rich musical heritage of the city of Lee's Summit, the state of Missouri, and the surrounding region."
The March 7 concert will raise money for the Foundation's educational and historical endeavors, which include summer music camp scholarships for Lee's Summit high school students. Musicians from the Lee's Summit school district will be featured on March 7, and Mike will join his brother's trio as a guest.
Tickets went on sale December 1, 2007. There are 3 ways to purchase tickets:
Purchase tickets at Cameron's in downtown Lee's Summit, 26 SE Third Street.
Purchase online via Credit Card, Debit Card, eCheck or PayPal from our Donations's page.
Purchase tickets by mail. Send check or money order made out to Metheny Music Foundation to:
Metheny Music Foundation PO Box 7004 Lee's Summit, MO 64064
The Falcon and the Snowman- Pat Metheny Group (Capitol Records, 1985)
Chris - Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny on Chris:
"1984, Cambridge, Mass. Written the night I came back from Mexico City where I had been invited to watch a day of shooting for the film The Falcon and the Snowman. This piece felt like the mood of the film to me. It went on to become the main theme for the character Chris Boyce, played in the movie by Tmothy Hutton. This is the same piece that is the foundation for the song This Is Not America."
The newly re-mastered version of Pat's 1992 masterpiece Secret Story will be released on September 25, 2007 as part of the "Remasters from the Vault" series. Great news fans! The release will contain a bonus disc containing 5 new tunes from the original sessions that were never released and will also include newly added artwork. Pre-order your copy today!
Secret Story - Pat Metheny (Nonesuch Records, 2007)
Antonia - Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny on Antonia:
"1988, Angra, Brazil. Originally used in a piece written for Le Ballet Jazz de Montreal for the Montreal Jazz Festival that year."
Next to John Coltrane, Michael Brecker – a 13-time GRAMMY winner in a career that spans more than three decades – is unquestionably the most influential tenor player in the history of jazz. As a result of his stylistic and harmonic innovations, he is the most studied contemporary jazz musician in music schools throughout the world today. Sadly, after a two-and-a-half-year battle with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and leukemia, Brecker passed away on January 13, 2007.
While in the midst of his debilitating illness, however, Brecker persevered. His work in the studio at the time of his death includes some of the finest music he has ever recorded. Set for release on Heads Up International on May 22, 2007, Pilgrimage (HUCD 3095) features the all-star lineup of pianists Herbie Hancock and Brad Mehldau, guitarist Pat Metheny, drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist John Patitucci.
Pilgrimage, chronicles Brecker's final journey – one in which the music itself served as a sustaining force. Those present in the studio recall moments when the rigors of recording were so physically taxing – nearly to the point of collapse – for the leader whose health was compromised. In the end, it was Brecker's sheer will, and a dedication to completing the recording, that pushed him, his colleagues and the project as a whole across the finish line.
While the artist himself may be gone, the passion of life burns in the recording that survives him. "Mike just left us some of the greatest music of his career – and of his life," says Metheny. "Mike's efforts to get his final message out to all of us – which is really what it is, a message – will go down as one of the great codas in modern music history. What happened in the studio during those few days in August is impossible to describe. It's one of the most amazing, powerful, unbelievable things that I – and all who were there – have ever experienced or will ever see."
And yet, for all of the extraordinary moments that gave birth to Pilgrimage, this recording almost didn't happen. "There was the only the briefest of intervals in which this recording was possible, and in the end, Mike created the possibility," says Darryl Pitt, Brecker's longtime friend and manager. "We didn't know until the first day of rehearsal whether Mike would feel up to the task that lay before him – and we never knew what tomorrow would bring. Almost immediately following the sessions, Mike again became quite ill."
As is often the case, the adversity working against the creator only makes the creation that much stronger and richer – and all the more sublime. Every one of the nine tracks composed by Brecker on Pilgrimage is a portrait of an artist at the peak of his creative powers. The album is the first in Brecker's stellar discography which consists solely of his original compositions. Each tune is compelling in this 75-minute set, and there are moments within each that are absolutely transcendent.
Consider "Tumbleweed," a midtempo track with an undercurrent of melodic and percussive urgency. The improvisational vamp at the end of the track – an uptempo, burning segment with a life of its own and an undeniable power – is likely to raise the hairs on the back of any listener's head, just as it did for everyone on-hand when this singular musical moment occurred in the studio.
The title of the quiet and poignant "When Can I Kiss You Again?" comes from a question posed by Brecker's teenage son, Sam, during a portion of one of Brecker's hospital stays when physical contact with family and friends was prohibited. While Brecker blew kisses to his loved ones, his son kept hoping for a chance to be closer to his father.
"Loose Threads" first performed by Brecker in "Directions in Music," his co-led venture with Hancock and Roy Hargrove glides along effortlessly in a playful counterpoint of melody and rhythm set up by Brecker, Hancock and DeJohnette, with Patitucci expertly holding down the groove.
The title track, which was the last track Brecker ever recorded, is the album's final coda. The track is paradoxical in its tone and execution, with alternating shades of melancholy and optimism constantly vying for the upper hand. The resulting tug-of-war resolves itself in its majestic final measures.
The Pilgrimage sessions were unquestionably an inspiration to everyone present. During the recording, several musicians spoke of a spiritual dimension to the proceedings that tapped into something much more than just music.
"Everybody loves and respects Mike a lot," said DeJohnette. "There's a spirit of celebration that's a part of everything we're doing here. It's like a cheering section. Everybody's rooting everybody else on – not just musically but personally and spiritually."
"Michael has gone up yet another notch with his writing and playing," said Hancock, who has recorded and performed with Brecker since the '80s and appeared on one of Brecker's biggest selling albums, Nearness of You (2001). "There's always good news that comes with bad news, and that's the good news – in spite of his condition, or maybe even because of it, he continues to climb mountains and move forward. That's the best way to take a poison and turn it into medicine. He's taken something that's destructive and turned it into something extremely constructive."
Indeed, Brecker's sense of creative optimism and humanitarianism has touched the lives of people who never knew him. Despite being aware that the likelihood of finding a matching bone marrow (or blood stem cell) donor – his only hope for survival – was especially remote in his case, the usually reserved Brecker decided to go public when he realized the potential benefit to others in a similar predicament. Each year, approximately 9,000 people die in the U.S. alone while waiting for a matching donor to provide relief from diseases such as myeloma, leukemia, anemia and lymphoma. Bone marrow drives in Brecker's name took place at jazz festivals throughout the world. To date, fifteen matching donors have been found for those in need as a result of testing at "Brecker" sponsored events.
"Michael has a very clear vision, so much so that it's difficult to define exactly where the man ends and the music begins," said Mehldau during the Pilgrimage sessions. "This music really just sounds like him harmonically, melodically and rhythmically. But it's also sort of dense and urgent at the same time. In the end, I think it's just one huge creative statement."
Pilgrimage is a singular phenomenon in the annals of recorded music. It's a consummate creative statement with a vision that speaks to us from a place we can't comprehend. It's an invitation to take the spiritual journey of an artist whose legacy will outlast us all.
More great music from the same recording that produced METHENY MEHLDAU. This record is a bit different in that it features more quartet music. Joining Pat and Brad on seven of the tunes are drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier. Pat and Brad offer 3 duets to complete the recording. The four musicians go on a 27-city North American tour beginning in March, followed by a tour of Europe and Japan.
Tribute to Michael Brecker (1949-2007) by Pat Metheny
Here is the text of Pat Metheny's talk at the memorial service held for Michael in New York's Town Hall, February 20, 2007. Also speaking and/or performing were Sam Brecker, Jessica Brecker, Susan Brecker, Randy Brecker (w/Joey Calderazzo, James Genus & Jeff "Tain" Watts, David Liebman, Darryl Pitt, James Taylor, Herbie Hancock (w/John Patitucci & Jack DeJohnette) and Paul Simon. The event was a celebration of Michael Brecker's amazing life. More than 1600 people were in attendence.
The cure for many life-threatening blood diseases such as lymphoma, leukemia and MDS already exists - it's us. Raising funds to pay for the testing of more donors is crucial. Time is of the Essence, a fund created in Michael's honor, will help make this possible. 100% of all donations are used for testing new donor registrants. Please make a tax deductible donation today. Call 1-800-627-7692 or go to www.themarrowfoundation.org.
"The piece I just played was written many years ago, especially for Mike. We played it together lots of times. It was called "Every Day (I Thank You)".
Somehow those words have an extra special meaning today. We all have so much to thank Mike for.
Music was, of course, what gave me, and probably many of us here today, the chance to know Mike, through music. In my case, first as an admirer and then as a collaborator.
I have often mentioned that the most treacherous location in the jazz world was to be on a bandstand as the guy who has to play the solo right after Mike Brecker.
I was lucky to have been in that situation many times over the years, and I learned so much from Mike on so many levels, as all of us who ever had the good fortune to play with him always did.
There's been, from the very earliest days, so much to talk about Mike, the musician. There's just the whole thing about the way he played. It was just so amazing to hear somebody play like that. Every single time.
For musicians, there are hundreds of nuts and bolts things going on there to marvel at, to study, to learn from, to enjoy. Things that have literally set the bar for all of us in so many areas over the past 35 years, as they will for future musicians for countless generations to come.
In many ways, I think at various points everyone was so blinded by the brilliance and ingenuity and strength of this guy, coming along with perfect time, who had found another 150,000 ways to navigate through any given set of chord changes while simultaneously displaying a level of saxophone technique and a sound that seemed almost superhuman.
So many things in action there in fact, that the deepest treasure of Mike's amazing gift was sometimes hard to pick out in the wealth of all of it.
Because even with all of that, the real thing that made Mike so special as a musician, as a player, was his incredible ability to communicate what it is to be human. The complications of it. The struggle of it. The joy of it. To manifest a sound that could describe things about what it is to be here on earth that everyone, musician or not, could feel and recognize as being true.
That is the rarest thing.
His communicative skills were evolved far beyond any particulars of any given style of music, or the advanced level of technique that he possessed, or the assimilation of his influences, or even music itself, as it turns out.
Because the thing underneath it all was this;
Mike had a way of connecting with people in every important human transaction, that was kind of the fundamental currency that in turngave his playing and his music the illuminating quality that made him stand so apart.
In retrospect, the diligence that he applied towards music was simply a symptom of the transcendent quality to touch people deeply that was pervasive in so many aspects of his life.
I know that for me, my interactions with Mike over the years all retain an almost indelible quality in my memory that is very unique. From the smallest moments, to the I know that for me, my interactions with Mike over the years all retain an almost indelible quality in my memory that is very unique. From the smallest moments, to the biggest concerts, somehow I remember everything about being around him in such detail.
In the past several years, during his fight, and in particular in the weeks since his passing, the outpouring of love for Mike has been so bountiful, so beautiful.
It's notable how in almost every description of an encounter with Mike, no matter who is talking, you can feel the person reflecting on those minutes, or hours or months or years that they were around him as being among the best moments of their lives.
Mike really paid attention. And in his quiet and gentle way, he noticed and appreciated all the things that make each one of us around him exactly who we are. It seems that he had that gift with just about everyone he encountered. And as musicians, he saw and brought out the best in all of us. Musically, and maybe more importantly, in every other way too.
The timelessness and weight of Mike's contribution may ultimately be traced in equal measure to the humility that he naturally and effortlessly carried with him at all times. Mike's ability to make every person in every room feel like a valuable and genuine peer - especially given the incredible skills and accomplishments that he himself possessed - really put him in category entirely of his own.
Last summer, Mike was well enough to finish a new album. By that time, his fight had been an ongoing battle for more than two years and Mike had not been able to physically play for most of that time.
What happened in the studio during those few days in August is almost impossible to describe. It's one of the most amazing, powerful, unbelievable things that I, and all of us who were there, have ever seen, or ever will see.
We just finished mixing and mastering the record a couple days ago and in a little while here you will hear a brief fragment of it. You'll hear right away what I'm talking about.
Mike just left us some of the greatest music of his career. Of his life. And his efforts to get this final message out to all of us - which is really what it was - a message - will go down as one of the great codas in modern music history.
It is said that the best way to honor someone who has left us is to try to emulate their best qualities in the way that we live the remainder of our own days.
May that start here with all of us today.
We'll never have a better model than Mike about what it is to be here on earth, and how to live our lives.
Along with Susan, Jess and Sam, Mike is a hero for all of us."
A Map Of The World - Pat Metheny (Warner Bros. Records, 1999)
A Map Of The World - Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny on A Map Of The World:
"1999, New York, NY. Jane Hamilton's book provided the inspiration for this piece. The complexity of small town culture in the American midwest is fully explored in her powerful novel. Written using a miniature Linda Manzer steel-string guitar tuned up a fourth from conventional tuning. Dedicated to my son, Nicolas Djakeem Metheny."
