| Quartet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1996 | |||
| Recorded | May 1996 | |||
| Studio | Right Track, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz, jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 66:01 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Producer | Pat Metheny | |||
| Pat Metheny chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [2] |
Quartet (1996) is the eighth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. The album features Pat Metheny on guitar, Lyle Mays on keyboards, Steve Rodby on bass, and Paul Wertico on drums. The approach for the album was to not write lengthy compositions before recording but instead use merely sketches and rely mostly on improvisation in a setting with just acoustic instruments. A departure from the usual thoroughly orchestrated sound using synthesizers and sequencing the Group is usually known for. The result is experimental, moody, and loose, even dark in some moments. The instrumentation relies mostly on acoustic instruments including various keyboard instruments such as the spinet piano, Harmonium, Fender Rhodes, autoharp and various guitars including the 42-string Pikasso guitar. The Roland GR-303 makes appearances on "Oceania" and "Language of Time".
With the exception of "When We Were Free" on the Group's final Songbook Tour, the Group itself never played these songs live. "When We Were Free" however has been played in various other trios and groups centered around Metheny including a version recorded on Day Trip. Michael Brecker recorded versions of "As I Am" (on Time Is of the Essence), "Seven Days" and "Sometimes I See" (on Nearness of You: The Ballad Book).
Track listing
All tracks are written by Pat Metheny except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Introduction" | 0:56 | |
| 2. | "When We Were Free" | 5:39 | |
| 3. | "Montevideo" | Metheny, Mays, Rodby, Wertico | 2:55 |
| 4. | "Take Me There" | Metheny, Mays | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Seven Days" | 4:04 | |
| 6. | "Oceania" | Mays | 3:47 |
| 7. | "Dismantling Utopia" | Metheny, Mays, Rodby, Wertico | 6:52 |
| 8. | "Double Blind" | Mays | 4:15 |
| 9. | "Second Thought" | 2:50 | |
| 10. | "Mojave" | 3:37 | |
| 11. | "Badland" | Metheny, Mays, Rodby, Wertico | 7:31 |
| 12. | "Glacier" | Mays | 1:25 |
| 13. | "Language of Time" | Metheny, Mays | 7:33 |
| 14. | "Sometimes I See" | 6:01 | |
| 15. | "As I Am" | 5:04 |
Personnel
- Pat Metheny – acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synthesizer, 12-string guitar, slide guitar, 42-string Pikasso guitar
- Lyle Mays – autoharp, celeste, clavichord, harmonium, piano, electric piano
- Steve Rodby – double bass, piccolo bass
- Paul Wertico – drums, percussion
Production
- Pat Metheny – producer
- David Oakes – associate producer, technical coordinator
- Rob Eaton – engineer (mixing)
- Ted Jensen – engineer (mastering)
- Joe Lizzi – assistant engineer
References
- ↑ Yanow, Scott (2011). "Quartet - Pat Metheny | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 995. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.