Pat Metheny Returns With 'Side-Eye III+'
(The Press House) Acclaimed guitarist and composer Pat Metheny releases Side-Eye III+, his first major studio album in six years and the inaugural release on his new imprint, Uniquity Music, created in partnership with Primary Wave, the parent company of Green Hill Music under the Sun Label Group umbrella. Available now worldwide, the album is led by focus track "Make A New World," a sweeping composition that captures both the scale and intimacy at the heart of the project.
Side-Eye III+ continues the evolution of Metheny's Side-Eye concept, originally conceived as a platform for collaborating with exceptional younger musicians. At the core of the album is the touring trio of Metheny, keyboardist Chris Fishman, and drummer Joe Dyson, whose deep musical connection shaped the foundation of the record before it expanded in the studio to include an extended cast of players.
"The core energy comes from the three of us playing together, especially my ongoing connection with Joe Dyson," Metheny says. "Joe has incredibly deep roots in his playing, grounded in the New Orleans tradition he grew up in, and that spirit allowed me to get to my own Kansas City thing in a way I have not often done. This music is complex and detailed, but it feels inevitable - it sounds like what the world feels like to me now."
Recorded in the studio with additional collaborators including Daryl Johns, Brandee Younger, Luis Conte, and a vocal ensemble led by Mark Kibble of Take 6, the album expands the original trio framework into a broader sonic landscape.
"It has been said that I make two kinds of records: the documentary ones, a few guys playing together in the studio for a few days, and what I jokingly call my Steven Spielberg records, where the studio itself becomes an instrument," Metheny explains. "This one is a very interesting mix of both."
Reflecting on the album's character, he adds, "People will recognize a lot of my thing in this music, but I think they will also be surprised by it. There is nothing about it that is off-putting, even though much of it is very complex. That balance - making sophisticated music that still feels accessible - has always been one of my goals. I think this record achieves that in a way I have been striving toward for years." Stream or purchase here
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