 
Pat Metheny Group In its 30 years of existence, the Pat Metheny Group has consistently challenged the ears of its listeners and the limits of its vision. On this, the 12th studio album by the PMG and debut for Nonesuch Records, Pat Metheny, Lyle Mayes & Company have once again ridden their trademark sound to a new horizon. The Way Up is an epic composition in four parts (or “movements”) that clocks in at 68:10. It’s use of sonata form as well as its decent into brilliant madness recalls Hector Berlioz more than Louis Armstrong in what one might call a “Modern Jazz Symphony”. While similar to both Imaginary Day & Speaking of Now in instrumentation, there is a fiery, neurotic quality to this work. Metheny & Mayes paint from a darker emotional palette bringing, anger, vengeance, vulnerability, and sadness to life with drama & unabashed virtuosity. Definitely the highest point of the band’s career (so far), this work could be characterized as the record they have been trying to make for 30 years. One could hardly imagine what comes next for the PMG. – Jeff Kalmbach, Buyer/punk manager |
