Release date: 21.02.2020
Label: Nonesuch Records
Production: Pat Metheny
Length: 76:38
Genre: jazz fusion
Rating: 9.5/10
»From This Place« is the latest studio effort from cult American jazz-fusion guitar great Pat Metheny, featuring ten brand-new compositions. Alongside Mr. Metheny, »From This Place« features his longtime drummer Antonio Sanchez, Malaysian/Australian bassist Linda May Han, British keyboardist Gwilym Simcock, and the California-based Hollywood Studio Symphony orchestra under the baton of Joel McNeely. »From This Place« is Metheny’s first studio album since 2014’s »Kin«. This time around, Metheny delivers an exceptionally effective collaboration between his jazz fusion quartet and an orchestra.
The title track, »From This Place«, is Pat’s critique of the election of US President Trump and a condemnation of his regime. It was created together with guest vocalist Meshell Ndegeocello, who nails her part on the album’s only vocal track. The orchestral arrangements give individual compositions an almost cinematic feel, as if they were the soundtrack to some Hollywood production, while blending beautifully with the sonic vocabulary of Pat’s classic jazz fusion quartet.
You can hear all of this already on the opening track »America Undefined«, which builds up a romantically tinted, ambient journey on the wings of Pat’s guitar artistry and eclectic piano passages, all while keeping the balance between guitar, rhythm section and orchestral arrangements in perfect harmony throughout.
Tracks like »Wide and Far« reflect an almost perfect symbiosis between Pat’s remarkable guitar finesse and technical mastery and often hypnotic orchestral arrangements, while creations like »You Are«, with its long build-up in the intro and shift into orchestral grandeur, offer a gorgeous ambient still life. »Same River« opens with melodic bass lines before sliding into a pleasantly ambient section with plenty of delicate orchestral arrangements and astonishingly subtle guitar passages. The whole thing sounds like the soundtrack to some romantic film from the seventies.
»From This Place« is a real treat for fans of refined, old-school jazz fusion dressed up with superb orchestral touches, and a wonderful experience for anyone who worships Metheny’s guitar artistry. At the same time, it’s an album that offers a great window into the musical and worldview philosophy of this American guitar legend. Six years was a long wait, but it was well worth it for enough new, high-quality ideas to pile up, with which Metheny has once again confirmed his status as one of the finest guitarists and composers in jazz fusion, someone on whom the passing of decades has practically no noticeable effect, musically or compositionally.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. America Undefined
2. Wide and Far
3. You Are
4. Same River
5. Pathmaker
6. The Past in Us
7. Everything Explained
8. From This Place
9. Sixty-six
10. Love May Take a While
Musicians:
Pat Metheny – guitar
Meshell Ndegeocello – vocals on “From This Place”
Gwilym Simcock – piano
Linda May Han Oh – bass guitar
Antonio Sanchez – drums
Gregoire Maret – harmonica
Luis Conte – percussion
Joel McNeely – composer
Hollywood Studio Symphony – orchestra
