Pat Metheny

Patrick Metheny was born on August 12, 1954, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, into a musical family. His father Dave played trumpet, his mother Lois sang, and his grandfather was a professional trumpeter. At age eight, Metheny began on trumpet under his older brother Mike’s instruction. At twelve, inspired by the Beatles’ guitar sound, he switched to guitar. By fifteen, he performed six nights weekly with Kansas City jazz musicians. Attila Zoller, his instructor at a Down Beat jazz camp, invited him to New York to hear Jim Hall and Ron Carter.

In the early 1970s, Bill Lee, dean of the University of Miami, offered Metheny a scholarship. Metheny left college after less than a week, recognizing that years of practice had left him academically unprepared. Lee then offered him a position as the school’s first electric guitar instructor at age eighteen, making him the university’s youngest faculty member. By nineteen, Metheny moved to Boston to teach at Berklee College of Music under vibraphonist Gary Burton. He became Berklee’s youngest faculty member. In 1974, Burton recruited him for his ensemble, where he joined guitarist Mick Goodrick. Metheny introduced the electric twelve-string guitar to the group’s sound, a signature innovation that defined his early approach.

Metheny recorded his 1976 debut album Bright Size Life in December 1975 at Ludwigsburg Studios in Germany with bassist Jaco Pastorius and drummer Bob Moses. Producer Manfred Eicher initially resisted electric bass, but Burton persuaded him to accept Pastorius. The album redefined the possibilities of jazz guitar with its crystalline tone and melodic clarity. Watercolors (1977) featured pianist Lyle Mays, bassist Eberhard Weber, and drummer Danny Gottlieb. This album marked the beginning of Metheny’s most enduring collaboration, as Mays remained his primary musical partner for decades. Metheny formed the Pat Metheny Group in 1977 with Mays, Gottlieb, and bassist Mark Egan. American Garage (1979) topped the Billboard jazz chart and crossed over to pop audiences. The Pat Metheny Group (1978) introduced his fusion sound to global listeners. Throughout the 1980s, the group released albums on ECM Records: Offramp (1982), Travels (1983), First Circle (1984), and The Falcon and the Snowman (1985). The last album featured the hit single “This Is Not America” with David Bowie, which reached number 14 on the British Top 40. Bassist Steve Rodby and percussionists Nana Vasconcelos and Armando Marçal joined for later albums. By 1984, Metheny parted with ECM following disagreements with founder Manfred Eicher and moved to Geffen Records.

Metheny pursued side projects that showcased his stylistic range outside the group. Song X (1986) featured free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman. Beyond the Missouri Sky (1997) presented acoustic duets with bassist Charlie Haden. He released the orchestral work Secret Story in 1992. His technical innovations extended to experimental instruments, including the 42-string Pikasso guitar and custom-built mechanical instruments featured on Orchestrion (2010). Metheny is the only artist to win Grammy Awards in ten different categories, accumulating twenty Grammy Awards total across diverse genres. A dedicated educator, he holds an honorary doctorate from Berklee and earned NEA Jazz Master status. With over twenty million albums sold, Metheny continues performing 120 to 240 shows annually.