A new Metheny record – minus Metheny

    The famed guitarist steps back to take on the composer's mantle

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    Jason Vieaux. Photo by GMD Three

    Pat Metheny, one of the most influential jazz guitarists of the post-bop period, steps back from the front line to work as composer on his new album, coming out 5 March 2021. It’s titled Road To The Sun and features two pieces described as “major works”.

    The music is performed by five classically oriented guitarists – Jason Vieaux and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. It’s promised that the Metheny sound comes through, despite the absence of the leader’s instrument.

    The pieces are a four-movement solo guitar suite, Four Paths Of Light, performed by Vieaux, and the six-movement title work, played by the LA Guitar Quartet.

    Road To The Sun, released on Modern Recordings/BMG, follows over 40 albums from Metheny, who is no stranger to the kind of extended composition featured on the new record. Many of his pieces strive for an epic dimension, both sonically and formally.

    A six-minute excerpt from the record, Road To The Sun, Part 2, was released on 4 December and can be seen on YouTube.