The Pat Metheny Unity Band—featuring a new ensemble from the guitarist with Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, longtime collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, and the up-and-coming Ben Williams on bass—launches its European summer tour this weekend with a Sunday night set at the Alter Schlachthof in Dresden, Germany, followed by stops throughout the continent, including Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, San Marino, Spain, and Portugal, and in the UK. The band returns to the United States to tour later this summer and into the fall. See below for all of the currently scheduled tour dates; for additional details and ticket links, go to nonesuch.com/on-tour.

On the road, the Unity Band performs songs from its new album of the same name, released earlier this month on Nonesuch Records. The album includes nine new compositions from Pat Metheny and marks the first time since his 1980 release 80/81 that he has recorded with a band that features tenor saxophone. The combination has already earned critical acclaim, receiving four stars in the Guardian, Evening Standard, and now the Financial Times, whose Mike Hobart says that Metheny "remains taste personified, gently on acoustic, acerbic when required." All About Jazz says it's "unequivocally one of Metheny's finest—an album that's sure to find its way to 'best of' lists for 2012."

To pick up a copy of Unity Band, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include an instant download of the album at checkout; the album is also available to purchase there as MP3s and FLAC lossless files.

PAT METHENY UNITY BAND ON TOUR