Features
Pat Metheny Saves The World
© Monterey Jazz Festival / Tomas Ovalle – Pat Metheny
Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey Fairgrounds/Pattee Arena, Monterey, Calif.
Well, maybe Pat Metheny won’t save the planet but an evening with the jazz guitar virtuosos will lift your spirits. The multiple Grammy winner launches a Europe run in late June and begins his North America journey in early August.
Metheny’s most excellent quartet features drummer Antonio Sánchez, bassist Linda Oh and pianist Gwilym Simcock.
The tour routing for both sides of the pond includes headlining dates as well as festival gigs such as the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam and the legendary Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I.
The recipient of 20 Grammy Awards, Metheny was recently honored, along with singer Dianne Reeves, pianist Joanne Brackeen and producer / club owner Todd Barkan as NEA Jazz Masters during a tribute concert at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
“Metheny reinvented the traditional sound of jazz guitar, bringing a fresh sonic potential to the instrument while offering a deep reservoir of improvisational insight and musicality,” read the award citation. “While his music resists any easy description, his compositions cover a wide range of settings, from modern jazz to rock to country to classical.”
Metheny’s boxoffice results have reflected the artist’s popularity through the years. Data submitted to Pollstar includes several sold-out gigs. One example is Metheny’s Jan. 25, 2017 concert at the Music Center At Strathmore in North Bethesda, Md., where fans purchased 1,723 tickets and the night’s gross was upwards of $118,000.
Venues on Metheny’s North America tour include Merriam Theater in Philadelphia, Sony Centre For The Performing Arts in Toronto, the Chicago Theatre in Chicago and Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, N.J. Last stop listed on the schedule is Royce Hall Auditorium at the University Of California, Los Angeles.
Some shows are already on sale. Keep checking Pollstar’s Pat Metheny page for updates.