- Jazz star Pat Metheny: Methuselah is turning 70
The life of a touring musician can be a grind for many, but for jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, who turns 70 today, it's his preferred lifestyle, as he revealed to the German Press Agency. "It's easier for me than civilian life. I just have to play as well as I can in the evenings, I'm used to that - and that's how I get by."
While the multiply award-winning guitarist has spent most of his life on tour, he also values his family with three children. "What matters is finding the balance," he says, and it seems he has found it in both his private and professional life.
His reputation as a guitarist couldn't be greater: at 14, he won a prestigious guitar competition, at 15 he played with the jazz greats of Kansas City, at 18 he was a guitar teacher at the University of Miami, and a year later at the world-renowned talent factory, the Berklee College Of Music in Boston.
39 Grammy nominations and 20 Grammy Awards
Metheny has played with jazz legends like Herbie Hancock, Gary Burton, and Michael Brecker, but also with acts from pop and folk - like Joni Mitchell, Bruce Hornsby, and David Bowie. Pat Metheny has released over 30 solo albums and around a dozen long players with his Pat Metheny Group, which he leads.
39 Grammy nominations and 20 Grammy Awards point to the long-haired artist as one of the most successful musicians of all time. But Metheny isn't getting carried away: "I'm certainly grateful for these awards," he says. "But the reality is that we had musicians like Bach - and no one comes close to that standard."
New album recently released
His proximity to classical music is also evident on his new album "MoonDial" (BMG), which was released at the end of July. On it, he interprets 13 foreign and self-compositions on a specially made baritone guitar - great instrumental music in which jazz, Latin, classical, Beatles evergreens, and melodies from the Great American Songbook find a common denominator.
But Metheny would probably protest now, because he doesn't like standardized style drawers. "Music is a big thing," he says. "If someone is creative, no matter what form, I feel drawn to it. Genre classifications are completely irrelevant to me."
So he had no qualms in 1984 when he recorded the song "This Is Not America" with David Bowie. The encounter with the British pop eccentric still makes him swoon 40 years later: "Bowie was one of the smartest people I've ever met. He was brilliant. Watching him work and sing was an extremely enriching experience."
No party for the milestone birthday
He looks forward to his upcoming birthday with his usual calm. He has "nothing to do with a party." And the number 70 can't shock him.
"It's funny," he says cheerfully, "when I was 18, our drummer Bob Moses called me 'Methusalem'. For him, I was super-old at 18. And today, I'm probably incredibly immature at 70."
Despite his numerous Grammy awards, Pat Metheny humbly acknowledges, "I'm certainly grateful for these awards, but the reality is that we had musicians like Bach - and no one comes close to that standard." Furthermore, the Grammy-winning artist recently released a new album titled "MoonDial," showcasing his versatility in interpreting various genres.
