A debut album of Pat Metheny’s new project Unity Band has been announced on guitarist’s web site.
After two solo albums, the innovating Orchestrion and Grammy awarded What’s It All About where he plays baritone guitar, Pat Metheny is coming back to the discography scene with a Unity Band.
For this quartet he chose young and talented bassist Ben Williams, winner of the 2009 Thelonious Monk competition, famous saxophonist Chris Potter, and long term collaborator, drummer Antonio Sánchez.
After more than 30 years after the 80/81 album, Pat Metheny is putting a tenor saxophone on the front line and explains why: “It’s simple, I did it because of Chris Potter! As a fan, I have watched as he has become one of the greatest musicians of our time. When Antonio Sánchez invited us both to play on his debut, I immediately saw his natural way of playing and phrasing and I started thinking right then of somehow building a project around that.”
The album opens with a song called New Year with a prevailing acoustic guitar, followed by the Celtic rock inspired Roofdogs. Come and See begins with a wonderful Picasso guitar, then This Belongs To You, Leaving Town, Interval Waltz i Signals (Orchestrion Sketch) follow; the album ends with a ballad Then and Now and a rousing closer Breakdealer.
The first album of Pat Metheny’s Unity Band will be released by Nonesuch Records, right in time before the summer tour that will bring the band to Europe in June and July.