Pat Metheny

Song X: 20th Anniversary (with Ornette Coleman)

About this Album

“A joint triumph ... Metheny’s most stunning album ...” —Newsweek

Originally recorded in 1985 over two days, Song X was a collaboration between acclaimed guitarist Pat Metheny and legendary saxophone player Ornette Coleman. The remixed and remastered album, released in August 2005, includes six new opening songs in addition to the original eight tracks. 

Of the 20th anniversary edition release, Pat Metheny says: “There might have been a few different decisions made about what did and didn't get included on the record and especially about how the whole thing actually sounded. With this opportunity to look at things again two decades later, it seems upon review that although I did pick the right takes of the tunes that were on the original version of the release, there were in fact major improvements to be made in the mixing and mastering of the record.”

Following the original release, Song X received extraordinary critical acclaim. People magazine remarked that the “sax and synthesized guitar lines sound like an aural impression of a flash fire”; it was named Top Album by the New York Times, USA Today, Jazziz, and Downbeat.

With the improvements in technology allowed by compact-disc technology, the remastering and remixing help to create “a more complete picture of our efforts,” says Metheny. In addition to Metheny and Coleman's acclaimed performance on Song X, the record also features Charlie Haden on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Denardo Coleman on drums and percussion. The album was remastered by Ted Jenson at Sterling Sound, and remixed by Peter Karam.

Over the course of three decades as a recording artist, guitarist Pat Metheny has set himself apart from the jazz mainstream, expanding and blurring boundaries and musical styles at every opportunity. His impressive body of work includes sixteen Grammys in nine separate categories (the record for multi-category wins), a series of highly influential trio recordings, award winning solo albums, scores for hit Hollywood motion pictures, and collaborations and duets with major artists such Steve Reich, Charlie Haden, Jim Hall, and many others. The Pat Metheny Group, founded in 1977, is the only ensemble in history to win seven consecutive Grammy awards for seven consecutive releases.

Ornette Coleman is one of the most important and controversial innovators in the history of jazz. Ever since the late 1950s, his artistic vision has helped to expand contemporary musical boundaries. A revolutionary saxophonist, Coleman defies musical categorization and is one of the major contributors to the free jazz movement of the 1960s. He is one of the most influential figures today for modern jazz saxophonists.