On this episode of 100 Guitarists, we’re talking about Pat Metheny. He’s one of the most commercially successful jazz guitarists to pick up the instrument, and he’s covered a lot of ground throughout his long career. Swinging jazz albums? Check. Arrangement-focused, production-heavy collaborative band records? Check. Noise guitar albums, free jazz blasters, intimate solo acoustic baritone guitar performances? Check, check, check.
This episode is sponsored by Lehle.
Guitarist John McLaughlin’s career has been long and winding. From his early solo records and work with Miles Davis, he possessed a unique approach to the guitar that encompassed jazz and rock vocabulary, played with a biting tone and stellar, virtuosic technique. He’s never stopped developing, and we’re covering our favorite highlights of McLaughlin’s career: his acoustic (and later electric) take on Indian music with Shakti, his more traditional jazz projects, and much more.
There are lots of listening highlights in this episode and we’ve covered as much as we can: Mahavishnu Orchestra’s first two records are undisputable; Tony Williams Lifetime’s Emergency may be the birth of fusion guitar; McLaughlin’s mid-career studies in Indian music are inspiring; his take on Coltrane in an organ-jazz setting is monumental. But we could still cover a whole other episode’s worth.
