Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny (pronounced ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.

One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progressive and contemporary jazz, post-bop, latin jazz and jazz fusion. Pat Metheny has three gold albums and 17 Grammy Awards. He is the brother of jazz flugelhornist and journalist Mike Metheny.

Biography

The angular compositions, asymmetrical lines, relentless rhythmic drive, and deep blues feeling of Ornette Coleman's ''New York is Now'' (Blue Note) inspired Metheny to find his own direction. He has recorded Coleman compositions on a number of his records (starting with a medley of "Round Trip" and "Broadway Blues" on his debut ''Bright Size Life''); worked extensively with Coleman collaborators such as Charlie Haden, Dewey Redman, and Billy Higgins; and has even made a record, ''Song X'', with Coleman.

Metheny's playing (as well as his tone) also show significant influence by Jim Hall, Joe Diorio, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, and other classic jazz players. Metheny has often been quoted saying that he is as likely to name non-guitarists as significant stylistic influences as fellow guitar players, giving as examples players like Clifford Brown and John Coltrane. He has stated that Miles Davis' live album Four & More was hugely influential on his pursuit into jazz music. He has also admitted to being heavily influenced by The Beatles, going so far as to say that everything by The Beatles has impacted him as a musician. He has paid significant attention to the evolution of guitar playing across genres, however, and is familiar with the playing of notables from the likes of rocker Eddie Van Halen to Leo Kottke.

In particular, he has been influenced by Brazilian music--both the European-influenced jazz sound of the bossa nova and the intensely polyrhythmic Afro-Brazilian sounds of the country's northeast. Metheny made 3 albums on ECM with the Brazilian vocalist and percussionist Naná Vasconcelos in the early 1980s. He also lived in Brazil from the late 1980s to the early 1990s and performed with several local musicians such as Milton Nascimento and Toninho Horta. He also played with Antonio Carlos Jobim as a tribute, in a live performance in Carnegie Hall Salutes The Jazz Masters: Verve 50th Anniversary before Jobim’s passing away.

He is also a fan of several pop music artists, especially singer/songwriters including The Beatles; James Taylor (after whom he named the song "James" on ''Offramp''); Bruce Hornsby, Cheap Trick, Joni Mitchell, with whom he performed on her Shadows and Light (1980, Asylum/ Elektra) live tour. Metheny is also fond of Buckethead's music. He also worked with, sponsored or helped to make attractive recordings of unique singer/songwriters from all over the world such as Pedro Aznar (Argentina), David Bowie (UK), Silje Nergaard (Norway), Noa (Israel), and Anna Maria Jopek (Poland).

Two of Metheny's recordings, ''The Way Up'' and ''Orchestrion'', evidence the influence of American minimalist composer Steve Reich and utilize similar rhythmic figures structured around pulse. Reich's composition ''Electric Counterpoint'' was first recorded by Metheny and appears on the ''Different Trains'' CD released by Nonesuch Records in 1987.

The Metheny Brothers

Bibliography

Discography

Early recognition

Awards

References

External links

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Lee's Summit, Missouri Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Lead guitarists Category:American jazz guitarists Category:Jazz fusion guitarists Category:Post-bop guitarists Category:Berklee College of Music faculty Category:Grammy Award winners Category:University of Miami alumni Category:University of Miami faculty Category:Musicians from Missouri Category:ECM artists Category:Geffen Records artists Category:Nonesuch Records artists

He joined the Pat Metheny Group in 1981. Prior to joining Metheny, he was a member of the Simon-Bard Group and the Fred Simon ensemble. Rodby continues to collaborate with Simon .

Rodby studied bass at Northwestern University, a student of Warren Benfield of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. While at Northwestern, Rodby fell under the influence of master jazz artist Rufus Reid who both taught at NU and also studied with Benfield. Rodby quickly became the call bassist for the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, playing with many famous jazz artists. Rodby currently lives in Chicago, Illinois.

He has collaborated with Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. In 2011 Rodby joined forces once again with drummer Paul Wertico (alongside Israeli musicians Danny Markovitch (sax), and Dani Rabin (guitar)) on Marbin's record Breaking the Cycle.

References

Sources

Category:American jazz double-bassists Category:American jazz bass guitarists Category:Bienen School of Music alumni Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:Grammy Award winners

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (born June 12, 1941) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.

Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever. He, along with Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Keith Jarrett, have been described as some of the major jazz piano voices to emerge in the post-John Coltrane era.

His career has been driven by his will to operate as a free agent and compulsively explore different avenues of music making. This hunger has positioned him as an important catalyst in the world of serious, mainstream acoustic jazz, and he is one of the most influential and widely studied figures in the last 40 years.

Corea continued to pursue other collaborations and to explore various musical styles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is also known for promoting and fundraising for a number of social issues, such as eradicating social illiteracy, and is a Scientologist.

Life and career

Youth

Corea developed his piano skills by exploring music on his own. A notable influence was concert pianist Salvatore Sullo from whom Corea started taking lessons at age eight and who introduced him to classical music, helping spark his interest in musical composition. He also spent several years as a performer and soloist for The Knights of St. Rose, a Drum & Bugle Corp based in Chelsea.

Given a black tuxedo by his father, he started doing gigs when in high school. He enjoyed listening to Herb Pomeroy's band at the time, and had a trio which would play Horace Silver's music at a local jazz club.

He eventually decided to move to New York where he studied musical education for one month at Columbia University and six months at The Juilliard School. He quit after finding both disappointing, but liked the atmosphere of New York where the musical scene became the starting point for his professional career.

Early career

His first album as a leader was ''Tones for Joan's Bones'' in 1966, two years before the release of his album ''Now He Sings, Now He Sobs'', with Roy Haynes on drums and Miroslav Vitouš on bass.

He made another sideman appearance with Stan Getz on 1967's ''Sweet Rain'' (Verve Records).

Avant garde period

In September 1968 Corea replaced Herbie Hancock in the piano chair in Davis' band and appeared on landmark albums such as ''Filles de Kilimanjaro'', ''In a Silent Way'', and ''Bitches Brew''. In concert, Davis' rhythm section of Corea, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette combined elements of free jazz improvisation and rock music. Corea experimented using electric instruments with the Davis band, mainly the Fender Rhodes electric piano.

In live performance he frequently processed the output of his electric piano with a device called a ring modulator, producing sounds reminiscent of composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. Using this style, he appeared on multiple Davis albums, including ''Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West'' and ''Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East.'' His live performances with the Miles Davis band continued into 1970, with a great touring band of Steven Grossman, tenor sax, Keith Jarrett, additional electric piano and organ, Jack DeJohnette, drums, Dave Holland, bass, Airto Moreira, percussion, and Miles on trumpet.

Holland and Corea left to form their own group, Circle, active between 1970 and 1971. This free jazz group featured multi-reed player Anthony Braxton and drummer Barry Altschul. This band was documented on Blue Note and ECM. Aside from soloing in an atonal style, Corea sometimes reached in the body of the piano and plucked the strings. In 1971 or 1972 Corea struck out on his own.

The concept of communication with an audience became a big thing for me at the time. The reason I was using that concept so much at that point in my life – in 1968, 1969 or so – was because it was a discovery for me. I grew up kind of only thinking how much fun it was to tinkle on the piano and not noticing that what I did had an effect on others. I did not even think about a relationship to an audience, really, until way later.

Jazz fusion

In the early 1970s Corea took a profound stylistic turn from avant garde playing to a crossover jazz fusion style that incorporated Latin jazz elements. He founded Return to Forever in 1971. This band had a fusion sound and even though it relied on electronic instrumentation it drew more on Brazilian and Spanish-American musical styles than on rock music. On its first two records, Return to Forever featured Flora Purim's vocals, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, and Joe Farrell's flute and soprano saxophone. Airto Moreira played drums. Corea's compositions for this group often had a Brazilian tinge. In 1972 Corea played many of the early ''Return to Forever'' songs in a group he put together for Stan Getz. This group, with Stanley Clarke on bass and Tony Williams on drums, recorded the Columbia label album ''Captain Marvel'' under Getz's name.

Only Clarke remained from the group's first lineup; Bill Connors played electric guitar and Lenny White played drums. No one replaced vocalist Purim. (Briefly, in 1977, Corea's wife, Gayle Moran, served as vocalist in the band.) In 1974 Al Di Meola joined the band, replacing Connors. In this second version of Return to Forever, Corea extended the use of synthesizers, particularly Moogs. The group released its final studio record in 1977. Thereafter, Corea focused on solo projects.

Corea's composition "Spain" first appeared on the 1972 Return to Forever album ''Light as a Feather''. This is probably his most popular piece, and it has been recorded by a variety of artists. There are also a variety of subsequent recordings by Corea himself in various contexts, including an arrangement for piano and symphony orchestra that appeared in 1999, and a collaborative piano and voice-as-instrument arrangement with Bobby McFerrin on the 1992 album ''Play''. Corea usually performs "Spain" with a prelude based on Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (1940), which earlier received a jazz orchestration on Miles Davis' and Gil Evans' "Sketches of Spain".

In 1976 he issued ''My Spanish Heart'', influenced by Latin American music and featuring vocalist Moran and electric violinist Jean-Luc Ponty.

The late Ana Mazzotti, a Brazilian jazz pianist and vocalist, dedicated what is perhaps her last ever recorded track, "Grand Chick", to Chick Corea. The song may be found on her "Ao Vivo Guaruja 1982" album. As Ana Mazzotti worked with Brazilian jazz fusion masters Azymuth in her first album, it was further testament to Chick Corea's influence in the genre.

Duet projects

In the 1970s Corea started working occasionally with vibraphonist Gary Burton, with whom he recorded several duet albums on ECM, including 1972's ''Crystal Silence''. They reunited in 2006 for a concert tour. A new record called ''The New Crystal Silence'' (which has received 3 nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards) was issued shortly into 2008. The package includes a disc of duets and another disc featuring the Sydney Symphony.

Later, toward the end of the 1970s, Corea embarked on a series of concerts and two albums with Herbie Hancock. These concerts were presented in elegant settings with both pianists formally dressed, and performing on Yamaha concert grand pianos. The two jazz greats traded playing each other's compositions, as well as pieces by other composers such as Béla Bartók.

In December 2007 Corea recorded a duet album, ''The Enchantment'', with banjoist Bela Fleck. Fleck and Corea toured extensively behind the album in 2007. Fleck was nominated in the Best Instrumental Composition category at the 49th Grammy Awards for the track "Spectacle."

In 2008 Corea collaborated with Japanese pianist Hiromi Uehara on the live album ''Duet (Chick Corea and Hiromi)''. The duo played a concert at Tokyo's Budokan arena on April 30.

Later work

Corea's other bands include the Elektric Band, the Akoustic Band, and Origin.

The Akoustic Band released a self-titled album in 1989, and featured John Patitucci on bass and Dave Weckl on drums. It marked a turn back toward traditional jazz in Corea's career, and the bulk of his subsequent recordings have been acoustic ones. The Akoustic Band also provided the music for the 1986 Pixar short Luxo Jr. with their song ''The Game Maker''.

In 1992 Corea started his own record label, Stretch Records.

In 2001 the Chick Corea New Trio, with Avishai Cohen and Jeff Ballard on bass and drums, respectively, released the album ''Past, Present & Futures''. The 11-song album includes only one standard composition (Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz"). The rest of the tunes are Corea originals.

He also participated in 1998's ''Like Minds'', which features Gary Burton on vibes, Pat Metheny on guitar, Dave Holland on bass and Roy Haynes on drums.

Recent years have also seen Corea's rising interest in contemporary classical music. He composed his first piano concerto – and an adaptation of his signature piece, ''Spain'' for a full symphony orchestra – and performed it in 1999 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Five years later he composed his first work not to feature any keyboards: His ''String Quartet No. 1'', specifically written for and performed by the highly acclaimed Orion String Quartet on 2004's Summerfest.

Corea has continued releasing jazz fusion concept albums such as ''To the Stars'' (2004) and ''Ultimate Adventure'' (2006). The latter album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group.

In 2008 the second version of Return to Forever (Corea, keyboards; Stanley Clarke, bass; Lenny White, drums; Al Di Meola, guitar) reunited for a worldwide tour. The reunion received positive reviews from most jazz and mainstream publications. Most of the group's studio recordings were re-released on the compilation ''Return to Forever: The Anthology'' to coincide with the tour. A concert DVD recorded during their performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival was released in May 2009. He is recently working on a collaboration CD with the Grammy Award winning jazz vocal group The Manhattan Transfer, due to be released in August 2009.

A new group, the 5 Peace Band, which features Corea and guitarist John McLaughlin began a world tour in October 2008. Corea previously worked with McLaughlin in Miles Davis' late-1960s bands, including the group that recorded Davis' album ''Bitches Brew''. Joining Corea and McLaughlin in the 5 Peace Band are saxophonist Kenny Garrett, and bassist Christian McBride. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta played with the band in Europe and on select North American dates; Brian Blade played all dates in Asia and Australia, and most dates in North America.

Scientology

Corea claimed that Scientology became a profound influence on his musical direction in the early 1970s:

:''I no longer wanted to satisfy myself. I really want to connect with the world and make my music mean something to people.''

Due to Corea’s religious affiliation, he was banned from performing in a concert to be held in Stuttgart, Germany, on Aug 15, 1993. Members of U.S. Congress sent letters to the German government concerning a violation of basic human rights that are upheld by the German Constitution. The ban was not upheld and in later years Corea performed in festivals in Germany, including several times at the government-supported International Jazz Festival in Burghausen where was awarded with a plaque in Burghausen's "Street of Fame" in 2011.

In 1998 Chick Corea and fellow entertainers Anne Archer, Isaac Hayes, and Haywood Nelson attended the 30th anniversary of ''Freedom Magazine'', the Church of Scientology's investigative news journal, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to honor 11 human rights activists.

Discography

Awards

His 1968 album ''Now He Sings, Now He Sobs'' was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

In 2010, he was named ''doctor honoris causa'' at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

See also

References

External links

Category:1941 births Category:Living people Category:Post-bop pianists Category:Jazz fusion pianists Category:American jazz pianists Category:American Scientologists Category:Crossover (music) Category:American jazz composers Category:Miles Davis Category:People from Suffolk County, Massachusetts Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Latin Grammy Award winners Category:American people of Spanish descent Category:Return to Forever members Category:Keytarists Category:GRP Records artists Category:ECM artists Category:American jazz musicians of Italian descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent

Paul gained world recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001, leaving the group to spend more time with his family and to pursue other musical interests. Pat Metheny heard the Simon Bard Group with Wertico and bassist Steve Rodby and effectively took Paul and Steve into his own band. During his tenure with Metheny, he performed on ten recordings and four videos, appeared on many television shows, and toured across the world. Also during those years, he won seven Grammy Awards (for Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Best Contemporary Jazz Performance, and Best Rock Instrumental Performance), some magazine polls, and received several gold records.

In recent years, Wertico has continued to perform regularly around the world, as well as around Chicago metropolitan area, where he is based. This led to the creation of his own band, the Paul Wertico Trio, and also several successful collaborations with other jazz notables, such as Larry Coryell, Kurt Elling, and Jeff Berlin. These collaborations also allowed Wertico to be featured on numerous recordings with various groups in a variety of musical genres, and also gave Wertico the opportunity to produce music for many of these recordings. In 2009 Paul Wertico's trio joined forces with Marbin (Israeli musicians Danny Markovitch (saxophone), and Dani Rabin (Guitar)). The Group is now performing under the name Paul Wertico's Mideast-Midwest Alliance. The Group recorded a critically acclaimed album for record label Chicago Sessions. The album received praise from major publication such as: The Chicago Tribune, Drum!, Modern Drummer, and a 4.5/5 stars rating by Downbeat Magazine (4-great, 5-masterpiece), and was recognized as one of the best 50 albums of 2010.

When Paul is not touring, he divides his musical career between session work, producing, teaching, composing, and leading his own groups. Paul has played with such jazz greats as Eddie Harris, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Sam Rivers, Bob Mintzer, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco, Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, Jay McShann, Herbie Mann, Randy Brecker, Jerry Goodman, Ramsey Lewis and many others. He's currently a member of the Larry Coryell Trio. From 2000 to 2007 he was a member of the platinum-record winning Polish progressive rock band, SBB.

In reviews, his playing has been compared to that of an "Impressionist painter," while Paul has also been described as "an inspired madman", "a restless innovator", "a true legend of jazz drums", "a master of drumming insanity", and "a genius of the sticks". In 2004, Wertico was honored as a "Chicagoan of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune, and he has also been honored by both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times with numerous album of the year nods.

Paul is also extremely active in the field of education. In addition to teaching drums privately for 40 years, Paul is Assistant Professor of Jazz and Head of Jazz Studies at Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL. He has also on the faculty of the percussion and jazz studies programs at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He's written educational articles for magazines such as Modern Drummer, DRUM!, Drums & Drumming, Drum Tracks, and Downbeat, as well as for Musician.com. He also performs drum clinics and master classes at universities, high schools, and music stores in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, he's released two instructional videos, "Fine Tuning Your Performance" and "Paul Wertico's Drum Philosophy."

Paul's debut CD as a leader, "The Yin And The Yout," received great critical acclaim including 4 stars in Downbeat magazine. Paul's 1998 CD is a live recording of the Paul Wertico Trio titled "Live In Warsaw!" It received 4½ stars in Downbeat, and features guitarist John Moulder and bassist Eric Hochberg. This trio's 2000 release was a studio recording titled "Don't Be Scared Anymore" that received reviews such as: "This album is like the soundtrack to the world's coolest vacation" by All About Jazz and "Jazz-rock in the truest sense" by Allmusic. Paul's 2004 CD, "StereoNucleosis" was released to positive reviews. The Chicago Tribune wrote "A brilliant release - Wertico shows a thrilling disregard for stylistic boundaries. "StereoNucleosis" is one of the most intelligent, creative and alluring percussion recordings of the past decade. Wertico reaffirms his position among the most restlessly inventive drummers working today." and Allmusic proclaimed "Wertico and his players have done something wonderful and rare: they've actually created something not only different, but also truly new." LA Weekly wrote "His recent records, such as 2000's "Don't Be Scared Anymore" and the new "StereoNucleosis," are stunning examples of the electronic, rhythmic and intellectual directions jazz could be going." Paul's 2006 CD "Another Side" is on the audiophile Naim Label and has been described as "a brilliant collaborative effort between these three uniquely talented musicians."

Paul's also released nine co-led recordings: a self-titled LP, "Earwax Control," and a live Earwax Control CD entitled ,2 LIVE"; a self-titled LP, "Spontaneous Composition"; a drums/percussion duo CD (with Gregg Bendian) titled "BANG!"; a double guitars/double drums 3-CD set (with Derek Bailey, Pat Metheny, and Gregg Bendian) titled "The Sign Of 4"; and two piano/bass/drums trio CDs (with Laurence Hobgood & Brian Torff) titled "Union" and "State Of The Union." In 2007, Brian Peters and Paul released their CD "Ampersand," which Drummerszone.com called "Simply a musical masterpiece" and Classic Drummer magazine described as "One of the most ambitious records ever released. Recorded over a period of four years, it documents a completely new approach to combine elements of both Rock and Jazz music while resulting in a very listenable and captivating final product." Also in 2007, Paul released "Jazz Impressions 1" with pianist Silvano Monasterios and bassist Mark Egan. Chicago Jazz Magazine wrote "From the first note of Jazz Impressions, you know you're in for something interesting and different. What these three do with that format, however, is nothing short of breathtaking."

Paul played drums on Paul Winter's 1990 Grammy nominated release, "Earth: Voices Of A Planet," and he's also played on and produced a number of CDs for various artists including vocalist Kurt Elling's 1995 Grammy nominated release, "Close Your Eyes," Elling's 1997 Grammy nominated release, "The Messenger," Elling's 1998 Grammy nominated release, "This Time It's Love" and Elling's 2003 Grammy nominated release, "Man In The Air." Paul also served three terms on the Board of Governors of the Chicago Chapter of NARAS (The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences).

In addition to winning numerous awards as a member of the PMG, Paul was also voted "Fusion Drummer Of The Year" in DRUM! magazine's Reader's Poll and he's placed in the "Top Five in the Electric Jazz Category" in Modern Drummer magazine's Reader's Polls. Paul's been featured on the covers of magazines such as Drum Tracks, Modern Drummer and Chicago Jazz Magazine, as well as on international drum publications such as Italy's Percussioni, Belgium's Belgo Beat, Poland's PerQsja and South America's Bateristas al Sur. He was also one of the featured clinicians at the 1994, 1999 & 2002 Percussive Arts Society International Conventions and the 1997 Modern Drummer Drum Festival. His performances are included in videos of two of those events. Paul is also one of the featured artists on Drum Workshop's videos, "The American Dream II" and "The American Dream III." Paul also has his own "signature" drum sticks: the Paul Wertico model - TX808W, as well as new "signature" products that he invented called "Tubz" and "KidzTubz," all made by Pro-Mark.

References

External links

Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:American jazz drummers