Oct 29, 2024 12:48 PM
Preview: London Jazz Fest Gets Ready!
Back for a triumphant 32nd edition and boasting over 350 gigs across 10 days of programming, the EFG London Jazz…
Nduduzo Makhathini leads a focus on South Africa at the EFG London Jazz Festival.
Oct 29, 2024 12:48 PM
Back for a triumphant 32nd edition and boasting over 350 gigs across 10 days of programming, the EFG London Jazz…
For someone named Guitarist of the Year in the 2022 DownBeat Readers Poll, Pat Metheny has a complicated relationship with his instrument.
Nov 23, 2022 1:19 PM
For someone named Guitarist of the Year in the 2022 DownBeat Readers Poll, Pat Metheny has a complicated relationship…
Side-Eye is Pat Metheny (left), Joe Dyson and James Francies.
Dec 7, 2021 1:44 PM
In mid-March 2020, Pat Metheny and his band flew into South America from the Asia-Pacific, just days after his latest…
Jon Batiste’s We Are garnered 12 Grammy nominations.
Nov 30, 2021 1:21 PM
The Recording Academy has announced the nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards. While there are plenty of potential…
Gerald Clayton directs the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Orchestra.
Oct 19, 2021 2:08 PM
Though reduced to just a third of its usual capacity, the 64th Monterey Jazz Festival (Sept. 24–26) somehow pushed…
John Pizzarelli hit the woodshed, literally, to develop material for his new recording Better Days Ahead: Solo Guitar Takes On Pat Metheny.
Jul 27, 2021 10:55 AM
It was in his darkest hour, during the early stages of the 2020 lockdown, that guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli…
The Monterey Jazz Festival, one of many reopening for late summer.
Jun 15, 2021 11:43 AM
In what has to be billed as the great jazz reopening, festivals are coming back online, many with late-breaking plans…
Bassist Christian McBride (left), saxophonist Joshua Redman, drummer Brian Blade and pianist Brad Mehldau reconvened in the studio after more than two decades for RoundAgain.
Dec 31, 2020 8:44 AM
In 2020, DownBeat sought to cover the breadth of jazz, while also working to represent what was going on in the country…
Guitarist Pat Metheny topped two DownBeat Readers Poll categories this year: Guitar and Jazz Album, for his disc From This Place (Nonesuch).
Dec 21, 2020 11:05 AM
A conversation with Pat Metheny is similar to one of his shows: Some parts seem carefully constructed, while others are…
George Benson is the newest inductee in the DownBeat Hall of Fame.
Nov 16, 2020 10:23 AM
DownBeat is proud to announce the results of its 85th Annual Readers Poll.
Readers have voted to induct…
Hi-resolution versions of the albums Pat Metheny recorded for the ECM label are being made available online.
Aug 4, 2020 8:07 AM
Guitarist Pat Metheny forged a singular and instantly recognizable sound during his relationship with the ECM label.
…
Saxophonist Noah Preminger said that the “U.S. government did nothing to help” him return home from Morocco.
Mar 30, 2020 2:33 PM
In a remote cabin about 20 miles from the nearest village, pianist and composer Romain Collin hunkers down.
Weeks…
Over the course of his career, Pat Metheny has edged closer to the orchestral vision reflected on his latest release, From This Place.
Nov 16, 2020 9:40 AM
During the first day of recording for From This Place, guitarist Pat Metheny’s new album on Nonesuch, the 20-time…
Lyle Mays (1953– 2020)
Dec 9, 2020 3:54 PM
Lyle Mays, the keyboardist who spent a significant portion of his career recording and performing as a member of the…
Carla Thomas (left), Dee Dee Bridgewater, Steven Bernstein, Craig Handy and Natalie Cressman onstage at the WBGO gala on Nov. 6 in Manhattan
Dec 20, 2019 1:54 PM
On Nov. 6, Newark’s jazz public radio station, WBGO, marked a milestone by throwing itself a 40th anniversary party.…
Herbie Hancock (left) and Evgeny Pobozhiy at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition on Dec. 4 in Washington, D.C.
Dec 4, 2019 8:32 PM
Evgeny Pobozhiy, a 30-year-old from Seversk, Russia, took first place at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz…
Fifty years ago, Manfred Eicher co-founded Edition of Contemporary Music, better known as ECM, and has issued more than 1,600 titles spanning jazz and classical sounds.
Oct 29, 2019 9:36 AM
A search for the heart of the ECM Records operation leads to a small, quiet space located on the second floor of a…
Danilo Pérez helms a big band on Aug. 30 during the Detroit Jazz Festival.
Sep 4, 2019 9:13 PM
The 40th annual Detroit Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend was a smorgasbord of style, spanning Detroit blues, North…
Terence Blanchard performs with his E-Collective ensemble during the Umbria Jazz Festival, which ran July 11–21 in Perugia, Italy.
Aug 9, 2019 5:55 PM
During the 43rd Umbria Jazz Festival, which ran July 11–21 in Perugia, Italy, crowds gathered in the streets for free…
James Francies arranged a version of Rufus’ “Ain’t Nobody” for his debut album, which was met with approval from the song’s original singer, Chaka Khan.
Apr 13, 2020 1:26 PM
Jazz pianism today stands at an apex.
There have been other moments in the music’s history when innovation rushed…
Bassist and bandleader Linda May Han Oh calls Aventurine her most ambitious compositional work to date.
May 31, 2019 9:18 AM
Linda May Han Oh has gotten used to carrying her double bass up the four flights of stairs to the Harlem walk-up she…
Dave Samuels (1948–2019)
May 2, 2019 4:18 PM
Dave Samuels, a master mallet player whose primary instruments were vibraphone and marimba, died on April 22 in New…
Gary Burton says his artistic pursuits were based on intuition.
Jan 31, 2019 10:57 AM
Gary Burton’s new release encapsulates a remarkable, unprecedented career. In his first interview in about two years,…
Melissa Aldana performs with Artemis on Sunday, Aug. 4 on the Fort Stage at the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.
Jan 10, 2019 12:08 PM
An intense and unrelenting rainstorm pummeled Rhode Island all day Saturday, taking some of the luster off the 2018…
Pat Metheny (left), Joanne Brackeen, Todd Barkan, bassist Christian McBride, singer Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves and guitarist Nir Felder at the 2018 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert on April 16 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
May 12, 2018 6:22 PM
“We’re all partners in time. And this music makes time our friend, not an implacable foe,” said Grammy-winning…
Marco Pereira (left) performs with Miriam Aida at Sweden’s Uppsala International Guitar Festival, held Oct. 11–15.
Nov 6, 2017 9:13 PM
At the 14th annual Uppsala International Guitar Festival in Sweden, a memorable highlight was the programming on Oct.…
Pat Metheny (left), Gard Nilssen and Arild Andersen perform at the Molde Festival in Norway.
Jul 26, 2018 4:59 PM
Up at the lovely and artistically rewarding Molde Jazz Festival in Norway (boasting status as one of Europe’s oldest…
Alexander von Schlippenbach (left), Rudi Mahall, Uli Jennessen and Axel Dörner perform at the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway. (Obscured: bassist Jan Roder)
Jul 28, 2017 11:24 AM
Vijay Iyer has done more than his share in the contemporary cause of musical border-crossing and idiom-fusing in—and…
The 2018 class of NEA Jazz Masters includes Dianne Reeves, Todd Barkan, Joanne Brackeen and Pat Metheny.
Jul 5, 2017 1:07 PM
Pat Metheny, Dianne Reeves, Todd Barkan and Joanne Brackeen have joined the ranks of the nation’s highest honor in…
Percussionist Christopher Deviney arranged three pieces from the 1997 album Pat Metheny album Imaginary Day for the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Apr 12, 2017 3:27 PM
Whether through the use of layered synths or the one-man symphony of his mechanical Orchestrion, Pat Metheny has long…
Pat Metheny was celebrated by likeminded guitarists at the Alternative Guitar Summit in New York City on March 10.
Mar 13, 2017 3:53 PM
Guitarist Joel Harrison hit on an inspired notion in 2011 when he decided to gather his favorite on-the-fringe and…
Pat Metheny will appear at the Kennedy Center as part of the DC JazzFest on June 12.
Feb 28, 2017 3:41 PM
The DC Jazz Festival has announced the addition of Pat Metheny to its illustrious lineup of headliners.
The…
Matthew Greif (left), Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser and John Dearman are the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.
Dec 15, 2016 10:41 AM
For more than 30 years now, the illustrious and versatile Los Angeles Guitar Quartet has earned its bragging rights as…
Pat Metheny (center) with members of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet prior to the group’s performance of Road To The Sun in Denver on Oct. 20
Oct 28, 2016 12:32 PM
On Oct. 20, guitarist Pat Metheny appeared at the University of Denver to oversee the performance of Road To The Sun, a…
Pat Metheny (center) directs the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet in advance of their performance at the University of Denver on Oct. 20.
Oct 28, 2016 12:28 PM
Many musicians have played Pat Metheny’s music over the decades, but few could say that he has composed something…
Pat Metheny plays his Pikasso guitar during a performance at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, California, on Sept. 14.
Oct 10, 2016 3:53 PM
Pat Metheny startled many longtime fans by actually taking some time off last year, but the prolific and restlessly…
Gwilym Simcock (left), Pat Metheny, Linda Oh and Antonio Sanchez perform at the SFJAZZ Center on Sept. 8.
Sep 28, 2016 11:21 AM
SFJAZZ launched its 2016–’17 season with a members-only Opening Night gathering on Sept. 8. The four-hour event…
Joss Stone performs at the Molde Jazz Festival in Molde, Norway, on July 23.
Aug 23, 2016 10:27 AM
Aside from being one of the world’s oldest jazz gatherings, the Molde Jazz Festival, which turned 56 this year, is…
Guitarist Pat Metheny (left) and bassist Ron Carter perform as a duo at Umbria Jazz in Perugia, Italy, on July 13.
Aug 12, 2016 1:35 PM
Over the course of its 44-year history, Umbria Jazz has evolved into a true people’s festival. The charming Italian…
The Pat Metheny Unity Group will release The Unity Sessions, one of two new albums from the guitarist on Nonesuch Records, on May 6
Mar 28, 2016 10:48 AM
Coming off a banner year that included a stint as artist-in-residence for the Detroit Jazz Festival, guitarist Pat…
