1. The Way Up
....I. Opening
....II. Part One
....III. Part Two
....IV. Part Three
Total time: 68.2 minutes
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This Way Up
Pay Metheny Group
Nonesuch
Kicking it off with the five-minute “Opening,” Metheny & Co. lay down a strange, oddly syncopated march, beginning with a low morse-code sound and metronomic percussion that together gradually build in volume. Layers of sounds and instruments are slowly added: street noises, a bit of cello that gives way to drums, piano and darting sitar. Four long notes make their way from a trumpet, and are so subtle their source is unidentifiable at first. Out of the blue come a couple of harmonica trills, followed by a tag team of synthesizer and synth guitar doing call-and-response with piano and trumpet, before electric slide meanders in from the ether. The whole affair swirls to a wild crescendo, eventually ending on the notes of a peaceful acoustic guitar.
This is no ordinary Pat Metheny album – or ordinary jazz album, for that matter. It’s one long song, co-written with keyboardist Lyle Mays, comprising four sections. Joining Metheny, Mays, bassist Steve Rodby and recently added drummer Antonio Sanchez are newest members Cuong Yu on trumpet and Gregoire Maret on harmonica. Percussionists Richard Bona and David Samuels work on call.
Never content to stay in the same space, the Pat Metheny Group surprises with each album. This time, however, they’ve broken through to the fourth dimension.
external links
artist’s website
amazon.com
iTunes music store
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