The album contains nine new Metheny compositions. The Pat Metheny Unity Band will tour the United States this summer and fall, with stops in 39 cities.
“In many ways my bands were envisioned as an alternative to the more conventional kinds that I had come up playing in,”says Metheny about the three-decade gap since his last project to feature saxophonists (the late Dewey Redman and Michael Brecker). “The fact that it has taken another 30 years to get to it again is kind of a testament to how busy those ‘alternative’ ways of thinking have kept me.
“We all always talked about revisiting that band at some point, but with both Mike and Dewey gone now, that will never happen,” he continues. “But then Chris Potter came along. As a fan, I have watched as he has become one of the greatest musicians of our time, and when we were both invited to play on Antonio Sanchez’s debut record, I immediately saw that we had a natural way of playing and phrasing that suggested something more. I started thinking right then of somehow building a project around that.”
For the rhythm section, Metheny explains, “Antonio was kind of an obvious choice; he has been one of my closest associates over the past ten years and has also played a lot with Chris. He is such a special musician. There was a certain kind of power I knew that Chris and I would be getting to and I can’t think of anyone who could take us to that place better than Antonio.” He continues, “A few years ago, Christian McBride invited me to an event that he was leading with the jazz students at Juilliard. Ben Williams was featured on a few tunes and his playing spoke to me immediately. I used Ben a few times to sub for Christian with the trio and found him to be a great playing partner and a great person too. He and Antonio had an instantly effortless rapport.”
“It’s funny, I have heard so many guitar/tenor records that have been clearly influenced by that 80/81 sound, and yet I really wanted to try to take it to a different place this time, even though that record was certain to be a reference point along the way,” Metheny says. “One of Antonio’s specialties is this even eighth-note thing he does, and in a lot of ways that set a direction for the writing. But still, this is a group of musicians who can do just about anything.”
Over the course of more than three decades, guitarist Pat Metheny has set himself apart from the jazz mainstream, expanding and blurring boundaries and musical styles. His record-setting body of work includes 19 Grammy Awards in 12 separate categories; a series of influential trio recordings; award-winning solo albums; scores for hit Hollywood motion pictures; and collaborations and duets with major artists such as Ornette Coleman, Steve Reich, Charlie Haden, Brad Mehldau, and many others. His band the Pat Metheny Group, founded in 1977, is the only ensemble in history to win Grammys for seven consecutive releases.
Pat Metheny Unity Band on Tour:
Jun 24 Alter Schlachthof Dresden, GERMANY
Jun 25&26 Shinkel-Kirche Neuhardenburg, GERMANY
Jun 27 Technical Academy Concert Tent Bielsko Biala, POLAND
Jun 28 Boby Centrum Brno, CZECH REPUBLIC
Jun 29 Wiener Konzerthaus Vienna, AUSTRIA
Jul 2 Montreux Jazz Festival Montreux, SWITZERLAND
Jul 3 Stadthalle Memmingen Memmingen, GERMANY
Jul 4 Jazz A Vienne Vienne, FRANCE
Jul 5 Stadthalle Kreutzal, GERMANY
Jul 6 Herdecke Saal Herdecke, GERMANY
Jul 7 North Sea Jazz Festival Rotterdam, NETHERLANDS
Jul 8 Barbican Hall London, UK
Jul 11 Stadio Euganeo Padova, ITALY
Jul 12 Arena Santa Guiliana Perugia, ITALY
Jul 13 San Marino Jazz Festival San Marino, SAN MARINO
Jul 15 Bard Fortress Bard, ITALY
Jul 18 Palais Longchamp Marseille, FRANCE
Jul 20 Polideportivo de Mendizorrotza Vitoria, SPAIN
Jul 21 Centro Internacional das Artes Guimarães, PORTUGAL
Jul 22 Jardim Marques de Pombal Lisbon, PORTUGAL
Jul 29 Caramoor Festival Katonah, NY
Jun 30 Bergen Performing Arts Center Englewood, NJ
Jul 31 Musikfest Cafe Bethlehem, PA
Aug 1&2 Rams Head Annapolis, MD
Aug 3 Boarding House Park Lowell, MA
Aug 4 Newport Jazz Festival Newport, RI
Aug 5 Westhampton Beach PAC Westhampton Beach, NY
Aug 7&8 The Birchmere Alexandria, VA
Aug 9 Longwood Gardens Kennett Square, PA
Aug 10 Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA
Aug 11 Belleayre Music Festival Highmount, NY
Sep 1 German House Theater Rochester, NY
Sep 2 Detroit Jazz Festival Detroit, MI
Sep 4&5 Dakota Jazz Club Minneapolis, MN
Sep 7 Denver Botanic Gardens Denver, CO
Sep 8 Wheeler Opera House Aspen, CO
Sep 9 The State Room Salt Lake City, UT
Sep 11 Alladin Theater Portland, OR
Sep 12 Woldson Theater at the Fox Spokane, WA
Sep 13-16 Jazz Alley Seattle, WA
Sep 18 Napa Valley Opera House Napa, CA
Sep 19-21 Yoshi’s San Francisco, CA
Sep 23 Monterey Jazz Festival Monterey, CA
Sep 24 The Broad Stage Santa Monica, CA
Sep 26 Anthology San Diego, CA
Sep 27 Lobero Theater Santa Barbara, CA
Sep 28 Segerstrom Center for the Arts Costa Mesa, CA
Sep 29 Mesa Performing Arts Center Mesa, AZ
Oct 1 Fox Theatre Tucson, AZ
Oct 2 The Lensic Santa Fe, NM
Oct 4 Moody Theater Austin, TX
Oct 5 House of Blues Dallas, TX
Oct 6 MSU Reilly Center Meridian, MS
Oct 7 Variety Playhouse Atlanta, GA
Oct 9 Mercyhurst College Erie, PA
Oct 10 Onandega Community College Syracuse, NY
Oct 11 Ridgefield Playhouse Ridgefield, CT
Oct 13 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT
Oct 14 Berklee Performance Center Boston, MA
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