Pat Metheny

Pat Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer born in Lee’s Summit, Missouri — a Kansas City–metro suburb — who became one of the most decorated artists in Grammy history. Raised in the KC metro, he cut his teeth gigging with Kansas City jazz musicians as a teenager before building an international career as bandleader of the Pat Metheny Group and as a wide-ranging innovator in modern jazz guitar.

Biography

Early life in Lee’s Summit

Patrick Bruce Metheny was born August 12, 1954, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.¹² He grew up in a musical family: his father Dave played trumpet, his mother Lois sang, and his maternal grandfather Delmar was a professional trumpeter.¹ Inspired after seeing the Beatles on television, Metheny received his first guitar around age 12 and switched to the instrument after early study on trumpet.¹³ By the age of 15 he was already working regularly with leading jazz musicians in the Kansas City area, gaining bandstand experience at an unusually young age.³ As a teenager he won a Down Beat scholarship to a jazz camp, where he was mentored by guitarist Attila Zoller.³

Career

Offered a scholarship to the University of Miami, Metheny instead joined its faculty, then moved to Boston in the early 1970s to teach at the Berklee College of Music under the mentorship of vibraphonist Gary Burton, establishing an early reputation as a prodigy.¹³ He cited the Beatles, Miles Davis, and guitarist Wes Montgomery as the biggest influences on his music.¹ His work spans progressive and contemporary jazz, Latin jazz, and jazz fusion.¹

Pat Metheny Group

Metheny led the Pat Metheny Group from 1977 to 2010.¹ The group’s 1979 album American Garage reached number 1 on the Billboard jazz chart and crossed over onto the pop charts.¹ Across his career he has earned three gold albums, and the Pat Metheny Group won an unprecedented seven consecutive Grammy Awards for seven consecutive recordings.¹² He continues to work in small-combo, duet, and solo settings alongside other projects.³

Awards & legacy

Metheny has won 20 Grammy Awards from 39 nominations.² He has been nominated in 13 different Grammy categories and won in 10 of them — and no one else has won Grammys in 10 different categories.² His winning categories range across jazz, rock, country, new age, and instrumental composition, reflecting an unusually wide stylistic reach.² Other honors include induction as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master (2018), the DownBeat Hall of Fame (2013), the Missouri Music Hall of Fame (2016), and honorary doctorates from McGill University and the University of Missouri (2019).²

Sources

See also

• kansas-city-music-scene

Footnotes

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Metheny — asserts: born August 12, 1954 in Lee’s Summit, Missouri; musical family (father Dave trumpet, mother Lois sang, grandfather Delmar professional trumpeter); first guitar ~age 12 after seeing the Beatles; influences the Beatles, Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery; taught at University of Miami then Berklee under Gary Burton; led Pat Metheny Group 1977–2010; American Garage (1979) reached No. 1 on Billboard jazz chart; 20 Grammys; three gold albums; styles span progressive/contemporary jazz, Latin jazz, jazz fusion. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. https://www.patmetheny.com/awards/ — asserts: 20 Grammy wins from 39 nominations; nominated in 13 categories, won in 10; “No one else has won in 10 different categories”; seven consecutive Grammys for seven consecutive PMG recordings; NEA Jazz Master (2018); DownBeat Hall of Fame (2013); Missouri Music Hall of Fame (2016); honorary doctorates from McGill and University of Missouri (2019). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. https://www.patmetheny.org/bio — asserts: started trumpet at age 8, switched to guitar at 12; by age 15 working regularly with top Kansas City jazz musicians; won Down Beat scholarship to jazz camp, mentored by Attila Zoller; scholarship/professorship at University of Miami; moved to Boston to teach at Berklee under Gary Burton; continues work in small-combo, duet, and solo settings. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵