Strictly Jazz: The Music of Pat Martino and Pat Metheny ft. Gerard Harris

Pat Metheny was born in 1954 in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Both his parents and his brother played instruments, so there was always music in his family setting. He started playing the trumpet at age 8, and switched to the guitar at age 12. He cites the Beatles, Miles Davis, and Wes Montgomery as having the biggest impact on him as a musician. He became the youngest ever faculty member at the University of Miami at age 18, and then the youngest ever faculty at Berklee College of Music at 19. It was also during his time at Berklee that Pat Metheny began a 3 year collaborative stint with vibraphonist Gary Burton. Pat Metheny’s style is a wide ranging and deep one. His influences come from all areas of music including classical guitar, rock, and folk music, and he displays them all in whatever medium he chooses. Pat Metheny was an early adopter of the synthesizer, using its sound to the benefit of his music and the music as a whole. He has recorded many albums seminal to jazz, including Bright Size Life, Kin, Pat Metheny Group, The Way Up, and Beyond the Missouri Sky only to name a few. He has played with the likes of Jaco Pastorius, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden, Lyle Mays, Mark Egan, Chris Potter, John Scofield, Michael Brecker, Jack Dejohnette, McCoy Tyner, Bill Frisell, and many others.