Jazz Master

Living at Lake Wenatchee in the late 70s, I first saw Pat Metheny at The Moore Theatre a couple blocks away from the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. I immediately became a true believer in his eclectic style of jazz guitar. This year, Metheny was recognized as an NEA Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.

A 20-time Grammy winner, Metheny and a talented group of musicians played a collection of his earlier works at The Shedd Institute in downtown Eugene last week. “I love playing Eugene,” he noted in a rare moment of conversation between songs. “You keep asking me back, even after 40 years.”

In addition to his long and distringuished career as a performer, Metheny has also taught music at the University of Miami and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Playing for nearly three hours at The Shedd, Metheny covered a wide ranging opus from his catalog, which harkened memories from days of yore.