"This whole new edition is probably one of most interesting ones we've had," the 47-year-old guitarist says of the new Pat Metheny Group.
The latest version of the PMG features two longtime members, pianist Lyle Mays and bassist Steve Rodby, along with a supporting cast of musicians with international credentials. The sextet is currently touring behind its new release, Speaking of Now, an adventurous yet soothing collection. Longtime fans of Metheny's dreamy cotton-ball tone may be intrigued by some of the new sounds and musical ideas -- albeit not from his guitar.
"I've made some records where every guitar is some weird hybrid guitar with 42 strings or something like that," he says. "This record's not about that. This is more about the sound of the group with six guys."
While Metheny sticks with his signature Ibanez PM 120, the new members' international flair steers the group into new worlds. The drummer hails from Mexico, the trumpet player is Vietnamese and the percussionist is from Cameroon; the latter two add vocals as well. Though multiculturalism seems to be the "in" thing these days, Metheny denies it played a part in his choice of new bandmates.
"I never really have bought into the idea of music having a nationality," he says. "As the world is getting smaller and smaller and smaller, it's going to become more and more difficult to sustain the mythology that says, 'Oh, jazz is America's greatest art form,' or 'Jazz is America's classical music and blah, blah, blah.' All these things I hear, terms like 'world music,' are just marketing. It doesn't hold up in the face of the actual reality of music."
Instead, Metheny made his choices based on musicianship alone -- and drummer Antonio Sanchez is no exception. "I had heard Antonio playing with Danilo Perez," Metheny recalls. "His playing just stunned me in a way. It was so advanced and so versatile. It occurred to me that maybe this guy could be good for us, even though he was playing in a different zone stylistically than we generally function in."
Sanchez is one of three new band members who have forced Metheny to "re-evaluate everything." "There are certain kinds of things that I can play or write with these guys that I just couldn't play with anybody else or write for anybody else," he says.
Singer/percussionist Richard Bona -- already successful as a solo artist -- joined the PMG after Metheny called to ask if he knew any other percussionists. "He thought for a second," Metheny says, "and he said, 'Me! You should have me do it.'"
Trumpeter/vocalist Cuong Vu brings a more avant-garde approach -- not to mention a new instrument -- to the group. "Having players like Cuong in the band allow us the latitude to think about things that we hadn't thought about before," Metheny says.
When the six first played together, the new PMG resembled what a friend of Metheny's called a United Nations band.
"It was this sort of far-flung band," says Metheny. "But when we all got together and played, it was kind of a magical combination that just clicked. There were lots of different things that different people could do at different times. But at the same time, we could harness the troops to make a sound that I think is represented well on the record. It's been a really great thing for both contingents -- the old cats and the new cats."
