Review: Jazz Guitar Legend Pat Metheny, CAP UCLA

Jazz legend guitarist and composer Pat Metheny played UCLA’s majestic Royce Hall last week to an adoring crowd.

Jazz Legend Pat Metheny

Metheny, who has released 53 albums, garnered 38 Grammy nominations with 20 wins. He was on tour for his new album “Dream Box.” The meditative and reflective album features only the guitarist, sometimes playing lead lines atop his own rhythm guitar layers. Like the album, the tour features just Metheny, his guitars and his songs – but there were a few surprises.

The first surprise of the evening was hearing the guitarist speak. As Metheny came out he mentioned how he usually never speaks at shows and on this tour, he has spoken more than he has in the last 50 years. Surprise two was when the guitarist said, “I rarely write on the guitar. It is almost always on piano or just direct to paper. It is often a challenge for me to find a guitar part, but since I am supposed to be known as a guitar player, I have to figure out something for me to play.”

Musician Stories

He told stories of how he picked up the electric guitar after seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. Before that, he was a third-generation trumpet player. Metheny also shared that it was Miles Davis who led him to jazz. His early days with Gary Burton were huge for him as a player.

At the outset, Metheny described the show as a personal outline of his projects over time. In the process, the audience received a guitar lesson. First up was the nylon string guitar followed by the steel string. Metheny seemed as mesmerized as anyone in the room. Watching both of his hands in motion with his head bent over his, his wild thatch hair obscuring his face.

After his early focus on both nylon and steel string guitars, Metheny switched to the baritone guitar. He explained that it sits in the middle between a guitar and a bass. He showed his mastery through two selections by The Beatles – “Here There and Everywhere” then “And I Love Her.” Metheny also spoke fondly about his friendship/collaboration with fellow Missourian Charlie Haden. Then he followed with a beautiful medley of songs off the pair’s Beyond the Missouri Sky.

Specialty Guitars

Metheny also gave proper due to the forty-two-string Pikasso guitar built by luthier Linda Manzer. Manzer has been building guitars for Metheny for around 40 years.

After playing solo for two hours came another surprise. The curtain behind Metheny opened to unveil a compact variation of the elaborate Erector Set musical machinery Metheny calls the “orchestrion”. The machine was a sight to behold. It played a mix of percussion to accompany Metheny on both his synth guitar and his trademark hollow body electric.

Then came the final surprise. All night there had been items covered in dark draping on stage. One by one, Metheny uncovered each draped guitar across the stage. He would stroll over to aguitar, take off the draping, strum a lush chord sequence, put it on a loop and then jam off the chords. 

By the end, there were ten guitars on stage, and Metheny’s impeccable guitar technique was unquestioned. The maestro’s display of creative genius provided plenty in the audience to savor and delivered far more than just mere delightful surprises as he explored the sonic possibilities of the guitar.

Visit the website to find out more about upcoming performances presented by CAP UCLA – https://cap.ucla.edu