Next Of Kin

On Saturday, March 1, we witnessed once again why multi-dimensional guitarist Pat Metheny defies definition. Jory and I had seats up front for a performance by the Pat Metheny Unity Band at the Jaqua Concert Hall in downtown Eugene, one of 200 dates this year alone with his new group to mark their latest release, “Kin.”

The show marked a return to progressive jazz -- much in the style of Miles Davis, the jazz trumpeter who first drew Metheny to the genre. Having “discovered” the guitar maestro in a small and rather obscure venue near the University of Washington campus in Seattle in the late 70s, I have now seen him in concert a half dozen times.

Beginning the concert alone onstage, Metheny sat on a stool while improvising on a Pikasso acoustic guitar. The chords were familiar and within a few bars, he had the audience mesmerized by his music. The full band then appeared on the stage and played a couple of tunes from the first Pat Metheny Unity Band album.

The quintet then played the new album in its entirety. In an interview, Metheny noted that “kin is a word that implies connection or family or lineage.” He noted that he likes the idea of making connections “with all the other music I love.” The band played for nearly three hours without taking a break -- or missing a beat.