Kin (←→)

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

On 2012's Grammy-winning album Unity Band, Pat Metheny recorded with a band that highlighted tenor saxophone for the first time since 1980, featuring Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, Antonio Sanchez on drums, and Ben Williams on bass. With Kin (←→), Metheny has added multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi and christened the ensemble Pat Metheny Unity Group. The album "takes guitar-led improvisation to new aesthetic levels," says Mojo, Metheny's "eloquent guitar etching a kaleidoscope of sonic hues." The vinyl includes two 140-gram LPs pressed at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany.

Description

Last year, for the first time since 1980, guitarist Pat Metheny recorded with a band that highlighted tenor saxophone. Unity Band, which went on to win Metheny his 20th Grammy Award, featured Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, longtime collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, and Ben Williams on bass. Now, Metheny has added another musician, multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi, and christened the ensemble Pat Metheny Unity Group. The Group’s first record, Kin (←→), will be released by Nonesuch on February 4, 2014. The vinyl includes two 140-gram LPs pressed at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany. 

The Pat Metheny Unity Group will tour to 44 cities throughout North America this winter, beginning February 3, then tour Europe from April through June. 

Metheny says of this new Group, “The core quartet of Chris, Ben, Antonio, and me played more than 100 concerts over the year that followed the release of our Unity Band record. Over the course of that period, the band became one of those rare combinations of players where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; it gelled in every way, and that just seemed to beg for expansion and further research.” He continues, “Simultaneously, I had been itching to write using more of a lush and orchestrated kind of concept that went beyond the sonic limits of what a straight-ahead quartet might invoke. But I really didn’t want to lose the energy, focus, and intensity of what this band had developed. I wanted to take it further. If the first Unity Band record was a thoughtful, black and white documentary of four musicians in a recording studio playing, this record is more like the Technicolor, IMAX version of what a band like this could be—but with that hardcore thing still sitting right in the middle of it all.”

Over the course of more than three decades, guitarist Pat Metheny has set himself apart from the jazz mainstream, expanding and blurring boundaries and musical styles. His record-setting body of work includes 20 Grammy Awards in 12 separate categories; a series of influential trio recordings; award-winning solo albums; scores for hit Hollywood motion pictures; and collaborations and duets with major artists such as Ornette Coleman, Steve Reich, Charlie Haden, Brad Mehldau, and many others. His band the Pat Metheny Group, founded in 1977, is the only ensemble in history to win Grammys for seven consecutive releases.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Pat Metheny
Associate Producer: Steve Rodby
Recorded and Mixed by Pete Karam
Recorded June 2013 at MSR Studios, New York, NY
Assistant Engineer: Fred Sladkey
Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
Technical Direction: David Oakes
Guitars and Orchestrion Technician: Carolyn Chrzan
Orchestrion Technician: Austin Stillwell
Piano Technician: Mike Micciov
Production Coordination: David Sholemson

Art Direction and Design: Doyle Partners
Photograph of the Pat Metheny Unity Group by Jimmy Katz

All Compositions by Pat Metheny

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Ben Williams appears courtesy of Concord Jazz

Antonio Sanchez plays Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals and Sticks, Remo Drumheads, LP Percussion, and Cympad Fets exclusively. Chris Potter plays Rico Jazz Select reeds.

Nonesuch Selection Number

536354

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
Album Status
Artist Name
Pat Metheny
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Pat Metheny, electric and acoustic guitars, guitar synth, electronics, orchestrionics, synths
Chris Potter, tenor sax, bass clarinet, soprano sax, clarinet, alto flute, bass flute
Antonio Sanchez, drums and cajon
Ben Williams, acoustic and electric basses
Giulio Carmassi, piano, trumpet, trombone, french horn, cello, vibes, clarinet, flute, recorder, alto sax, wurlitzer, whistling and vocals

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597956467
Label
MP3
Price
10.00
UPC
075597958096
Label
LP+MP3
UPC
075597956474
Label
FLAC
Price
11.00
UPC
075597951110
Label
CD+MP3+Signed Print
Price
0.00
UPC
075597956535
Label
LP+CD+MP3+Signed Print
Price
0.00
UPC
075597956528
Label
96/24 HD FLAC
Price
17.00
UPC
075597958072
  • 536354

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • The Jazz Journalists Association has announced the 2021 JJA Jazz Awards nominations, including three for Rob Mazurek for the new Exploding Star Orchestra album, Dimensional Stardust; all four members of the RoundAgain quartet, Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade; performers on Pat Metheny's album From This Place, including Metheny, Linda May Han Oh, and Grégoire Maret; Jeff Parker for Suite for Max Brown; and Cécile McLorin Salvant, whose Nonesuch debut album is forthcoming.

  • Pat Metheny has released a video for "America Undefined," the opening track to his critically acclaimed album From This Place, which you can watch here. The new video, by Robert Edridge-Waks, follows a video for the album's title track, released earlier this week.

  • About This Album

    Last year, for the first time since 1980, guitarist Pat Metheny recorded with a band that highlighted tenor saxophone. Unity Band, which went on to win Metheny his 20th Grammy Award, featured Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, longtime collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, and Ben Williams on bass. Now, Metheny has added another musician, multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi, and christened the ensemble Pat Metheny Unity Group. The Group’s first record, Kin (←→), will be released by Nonesuch on February 4, 2014. The vinyl includes two 140-gram LPs pressed at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany. 

    The Pat Metheny Unity Group will tour to 44 cities throughout North America this winter, beginning February 3, then tour Europe from April through June. 

    Metheny says of this new Group, “The core quartet of Chris, Ben, Antonio, and me played more than 100 concerts over the year that followed the release of our Unity Band record. Over the course of that period, the band became one of those rare combinations of players where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; it gelled in every way, and that just seemed to beg for expansion and further research.” He continues, “Simultaneously, I had been itching to write using more of a lush and orchestrated kind of concept that went beyond the sonic limits of what a straight-ahead quartet might invoke. But I really didn’t want to lose the energy, focus, and intensity of what this band had developed. I wanted to take it further. If the first Unity Band record was a thoughtful, black and white documentary of four musicians in a recording studio playing, this record is more like the Technicolor, IMAX version of what a band like this could be—but with that hardcore thing still sitting right in the middle of it all.”

    Over the course of more than three decades, guitarist Pat Metheny has set himself apart from the jazz mainstream, expanding and blurring boundaries and musical styles. His record-setting body of work includes 20 Grammy Awards in 12 separate categories; a series of influential trio recordings; award-winning solo albums; scores for hit Hollywood motion pictures; and collaborations and duets with major artists such as Ornette Coleman, Steve Reich, Charlie Haden, Brad Mehldau, and many others. His band the Pat Metheny Group, founded in 1977, is the only ensemble in history to win Grammys for seven consecutive releases.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Pat Metheny, electric and acoustic guitars, guitar synth, electronics, orchestrionics, synths
    Chris Potter, tenor sax, bass clarinet, soprano sax, clarinet, alto flute, bass flute
    Antonio Sanchez, drums and cajon
    Ben Williams, acoustic and electric basses
    Giulio Carmassi, piano, trumpet, trombone, french horn, cello, vibes, clarinet, flute, recorder, alto sax, wurlitzer, whistling and vocals

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Pat Metheny
    Associate Producer: Steve Rodby
    Recorded and Mixed by Pete Karam
    Recorded June 2013 at MSR Studios, New York, NY
    Assistant Engineer: Fred Sladkey
    Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
    Technical Direction: David Oakes
    Guitars and Orchestrion Technician: Carolyn Chrzan
    Orchestrion Technician: Austin Stillwell
    Piano Technician: Mike Micciov
    Production Coordination: David Sholemson

    Art Direction and Design: Doyle Partners
    Photograph of the Pat Metheny Unity Group by Jimmy Katz

    All Compositions by Pat Metheny

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

    Ben Williams appears courtesy of Concord Jazz

    Antonio Sanchez plays Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals and Sticks, Remo Drumheads, LP Percussion, and Cympad Fets exclusively. Chris Potter plays Rico Jazz Select reeds.