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pat metheny F E AT U R E Interview Text by Susan Lukito Photograph by Jimmy Katz Acclaimed Pat Metheny, Grammy winning guitarist, bandleader and recording artist, is passionate about performing live and has been performing an average of 120 concerts per year over the past 40 years. This is no small accomplishment for an instrumental guitar jazz musician. HM: Can you speak about what has influ- enced your performances in the past and what factors you take into account now to shape your concerts? PM: For me, I have al- ways thought that the whole idea of playing was to tell a story, to have a narrative sensi- bility that would allow the musicians that I had chosen to bring along with me to shine, and be challenged to play their best, while at the same time being considerate of the audience. There was a kind of evolution throughout the late 60's and early 70's in the way con- certs were presented that was something different from the more club-based way that jazz had developed over the years. I certainly paid attention to the kind of production val- ues that the average rock-type concert in- voked and wondered if it might be possible to play a more challenging kind of music, but with that same kind of vibe that a con- cert could take on the feeling of an event rather than just a "set". I always tried to do my best to offer whatever it is that I was pre- senting during a certain period, with an eye towards really inviting the audience into the music rather than keeping it in this sort of mysterious, foreboding zone that many jazz guys seemed to serve up. I do tend to want to go where the fire is, where there is the most intensity and ur- gency. I have always had very strong in- stincts about what that is at a particular moment in time.. HOOK 2021 HOOK 15

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