{"id":4087,"date":"2022-03-04T20:13:13","date_gmt":"2022-03-05T02:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=4087"},"modified":"2022-03-04T20:25:55","modified_gmt":"2022-03-05T02:25:55","slug":"metheny-side-eye-one-world-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/metheny-side-eye-one-world-austin\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Review: Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye Trio at Austin’s One World Theatre on February 24, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Who exactly is Pat Metheny? \u201cSmooth jazz\u201d enthusiasts claim him as one of their own. But the guitarist eschews that label and has even eviscerated their king, Kenny G, on several occasions. Metheny has ties to the avant-garde – recording albums with Ornette Coleman and John Zorn, and his own Zero Tolerance for Silence<\/em> (Geffen, 1994). Yet he is seldom listed alongside Sonny Sharrock or Derek Bailey among the great guitarists who play “out”. Bright Size Life<\/em> (ECM, 1976) is a fusion highpoint, but Metheny is equally adept at playing more straight ahead. Anyone seeking to limit Metheny\u2019s music to a specific box would be hard-pressed to do so. His Side Eye Trio\u2019s performance at Austin\u2019s One World Theatre on February 24, 2022*, was unlikely to clarify matters. Instead, another potential answer emerges; that he is a bluesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Do not misread that previous sentence. The blues is more than a specific aesthetic or set of chords. The blues is a raw feeling that unites much of modern music. Such was made evident in the performance. No, Metheny does not sound like BB King or Muddy Waters. But by approaching the blues differently – by visiting its various other manifestations – Metheny provided a better understanding of the form.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evening began with duets between Metheny and each of his sidemen. Pairing back the group even further from the already small trio further highlighted the talents of its younger artists. For the first, Metheny and drummer Joe Dyson explored Ornette Coleman\u2019s \u201cTurnaround.\u201d A piece frequently visited by Metheny, it was invigorated by the free rein given to Dyson. Dyson is truly a rhythmic polymath; someone who draws upon the rich drum tradition of his home city, a lineage that reaches from Baby Dodds to Ed Blackwell to Zigaboo Modeliste.<\/a> The fluidity in his sound seemingly created more space for Metheny to present a more distilled version of the song\u2019s theme. Although a father of free jazz, Ornette was always a bluesman at heart. By stripping away some of the song\u2019s edges, Metheny drove this point home. At the same time, Dyson\u2019s sonic flexibility asked the audience to consider the blues\u2019 roots to jazz, avant-garde music, and funk. Later, the full trio further underscored the blues ties of Ornette\u2019s works on \u201cTrigonometry,\u201d a song the saxophonist co-wrote with Metheny for Song X<\/em> (Geffen, 1986).<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>