It's one thing to gain popularity as a musician, but it's another to receive the kind of recognition Pat Metheny has received from critics and peers. Over the years, he has won countless "Best Jazz Guitarist" votes and awards, including three gold albums for (Still Life) Talking, Letter from Home and Secret Story. He has also won 20 Grammy Awards in various categories, including Best Rock Instrumental, Best Contemporary Jazz Recording, Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, Best Instrumental Composition, and on one occasion won seven consecutive Grammy Awards for seven consecutive albums. Metheny has spent much of his life touring, often giving more than 100 concerts a year. One of the jazz community's brightest stars, he devotes time to both his own projects and those of emerging artists and established veterans, helping them reach their audiences and realize their own artistic visions....
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It's one thing to gain popularity as a musician, but it's another to receive the kind of recognition Pat Metheny has received from critics and peers. Over the years, he has won countless "Best Jazz Guitarist" votes and awards, including three gold albums for (Still Life) Talking, Letter from Home and Secret Story. He has also won 20 Grammy Awards in various categories, including Best Rock Instrumental, Best Contemporary Jazz Recording, Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, Best Instrumental Composition, and on one occasion won seven consecutive Grammy Awards for seven consecutive albums. Metheny has spent much of his life touring, often giving more than 100 concerts a year. One of the jazz community's brightest stars, he devotes time to both his own projects and those of emerging artists and established veterans, helping them reach their audiences and realize their own artistic visions.
"Dream Box is an unusual record for me; a collection of solo tracks recorded over a few years that I discovered while touring. During the intense touring period that for me made up most of 2022, I found a forgotten folder on my hard drive. I often make quick recordings; a new tune, a new (or old) guitar, a standard tune, or just to try something out. I have a place on my laptop where I stash these things. And to tell you the truth; it's often to never hear them again.
I usually only get a chance to listen to my own stuff when I'm on the go. I often say that I live outwardly and have little or no time to absorb. That changes on tour, where suddenly I seem to have more free hours in the day, even if it's on a bus or in a remote hotel room. Occasionally, these moments give me the opportunity to rummage through files to see if there's anything interesting there.
Last year was a particularly intense year for me, with about 160 gigs around the world. Many times during my travels, I returned to the folder I had discovered and was genuinely surprised at what I found.
From these listening sessions I gradually lifted sections so that all these recordings and ideas could unfold as a coherent whole. I realised that I had unwittingly ended up in a place I hadn't planned, and I was excited to share what was buried there.
These nine songs were my favorite and for me, they came together as something unique. Of the initial tracks included here, I never played any of them more than once. They really are moments in time, and in fact I have almost no memory of ever recording them. They just popped up.
All but one of the tracks reflect a recording method that for me began with the track Unity Village on Bright Size Life; which starts with a harmonic section, followed by a melodic and improvisational section.
The emphasis is on the electric guitar, but perhaps even more so on the soft electric guitar. This is an area of particular interest to me. It has always been my goal to have a grip on the electric guitar that would allow me to get as close as possible to the dynamics that can naturally occur with an acoustic instrument. In fact, using an electric instrument in this way is much more difficult than what is naturally possible on an acoustic instrument.
Ballads. I seem to write one a day - actually more than I can keep track of. Charlie Haden was the guy who encouraged me to not just write a lead sheet, but to document every single thing I write, even if it's just a simple recording. So, thanks again, Charlie.
As for the title, box is musician slang for a hollow-bodied electric guitar. To use that vernacular, there are some super cool Dream Box instruments featured on this recording, including a prototype of the new instrument I've been working on with Ibanez, which reflects my interest in pre-war Charlie Christian style pick-ups.
But dreams in the broadest sense make up the mood on this set. Music exists for me in an elusive state, and is often at its best when it is discovered independently of any particular intention.
I hope people find their own dreams in this music."
- Pat
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