Pat Metheny

“Side Eye III +”

(Green Hill GHD6626)

Pat Metheny – guitars, sounds, synths, Chris Fishman – keyboards, piano, organ, Joe Dyson – drums

with;
Daryl Johns – bass, Brandee Younger – harp, Luis Conte – percussion, Vincent Peirani – accordion, Leonard Patton – vocals, James Francies - organ

plus;
Mark Kibble, Natalie Litza, Kim Fleming. Kim Mont, San Franklin, Stephanie Hall, Joel Kibble, Terry White, Armand Hutton – vocals

A rather belated look at this latest release from the great guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny.

This album in Metheny’s “Side Eye” series was first released in February 2026. It’s the second recorded instalment in a series of collaborations that sees Metheny, who is an outrageously youthful seventy two years of age,  linking up with younger, emerging musicians.

The first “Side Eye” recording, a collaboration with keyboard player James Francies and drummer Marcus Gilmore was released in 2021 and is reviewed here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/side-eye-nyc-v1.1v

The principal idea behind the project is for Metheny, now a comparative ‘elder statesman’ to ‘give something back’. In an interview with Stuart Nicholson for Jazzwise magazine he explained “I was given so many great opportunities by Gary Burton, Steve Swallow and all those guys and I said I’m going to do that too”.

The current line up represents the third edition of the core Side Eye trio. Metheny, Francies and Gilmore being the first, followed by the touring line up of Metheny, Francies and Dyson. Chris Fishman took over from Francies for the European leg of the first Side Eye tour and has remained, although Francies appears on one track of this latest recording.

 At this juncture I’d normally attempt some kind of career overview but Metheny’s back catalogue is so vast and so varied that space doesn’t really permit. Overall his has been a stellar career distinguished by consistent artistic growth and a willingness to experiment. Not quite everything has hit the mark, but Metheny’s successes vastly outweigh any comparative failures. Virtually everything in a rich and diverse catalogue is worth hearing and it’s no wonder that he has been a regular and multiple award winner.

I’ve been following Metheny and his music since 1978 and have been lucky enough to see him perform live on numerous occasions over the years in a variety of configurations – the Pat Metheny Group, trios with Dave Holland / Roy Haynes and Larry Grenadier / Bill Stewart, duos with Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau and the Antonio Sanchez/ Linda Oh/ GwilymSimcock quartet. I’ve also seen him with a quartet led by vibraphonist Gary Burton, the musician with whom Metheny first started to make a name for himself. I should qualify that the Burton date was part of a “Gary Burton Quartet Revisited” tour in 2008. 

Metheny has stated that at its heart Side Eye is an organ trio and this is reflected by the first Side Eye recording, which was documented at two live performances at at Sony Hall, New York City in September 2019. Metheny, Francies and Gilmore tackle a programme featuring a mix of compositions written specifically for the trio, a sprinkling of gems from the Metheny back catalogue and a version of the Ornette Coleman tune “Turnaround”.

Inevitably Side Eye is more than ‘just’ an organ trio and on the debut with Metheny deploys the latest guitar technology while Francies plays multiple keyboards. It’s very much a 21st century updating of the organ trio tradition and is also readily recognisable as a Pat Metheny album, the guitarist is a musician who has developed a unique approach to music making that is unmistakably his own.

The latest Side Eye recording expands upon the basic ‘organ trio’ concept to create a sound that is much bigger and almost orchestral in scope. It’s closer in spirit to the music of the Pat Metheny Group (PMG) and also makes extensive use of vocals.

The use of the human voice on Metheny’s albums dates back all the way to 1980 and the duo album “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls”, recorded with PMG keyboardist Lyle Mays and guest percussionist / vocalist Nana Vasconcelos.

From “First Circle” (1984) onwards the regular deployment of vocals, usually wordless, was a characteristic of all PMG albums with an ever changing cast of vocalists, these often doubling on other instruments, passing through the Group’s ranks over the course of the next twenty years or so.

Following the demise of the PMG in 2005 Metheny has focussed on all instrumental projects but as he told Stuart Nicholson in an interview for Jazzwise magazine the music he had written for this latest Side Eye project “was asking for something bigger”.

With this in mind he approached Mark Kibble, the leader of the gospel vocal group Take 6, who was very keen to become involved. Meanwhile Daryl Johns was recruited to play bass on the recording and appears on the majority of the tracks. Other guests include harpist Brandee Younger, percussionist Luis Conte and accordionist Vincent Peirani. Leonard Patton takes the lead vocal on one track, while a returning James Francies plays organ on another.

Metheny comments;
“It has been said that I make two kinds of records: the documentary ones, a few guys playing together in the studio for a few days, and what I jokingly call my Steven Spielberg records, where the studio itself becomes an instrument. This one is a very interesting mix of both.”

He adds;
“People will recognize a lot of my thing in this music, but I think they will also be surprised by it. There is nothing about it that is off-putting, even though much of it is very complex. That balance — making sophisticated music that still feels accessible — has always been one of my goals. I think this record achieves that in a way I have been striving toward for years.”

As previously mentioned this latest release sounds more obviously like the old PMG than many of Metheny’s recent recordings. Album opener “In On It” sets the tone and at nearly eight minutes in duration is suitably epic in scope – none of the eight pieces on the album clock in at under five minutes.  In addition to Metheny’s effortlessly fluent guitar soloing this episodic composition also includes the use of ‘found objects’, the ‘sounds’ with which Metheny is credited. The piece also makes effective use of Conte’s percussion, voices weave in and out and Fishman is featured on synthesiser -  indeed it’s tempting to think of him as occupying the role that was once the province of the late, great Lyle Mays. Central to the success of Side Eye is Metheny’s fertile creative partnership with Joe Dyson, who is in terrific form here and adds a series of colourful drum breaks.

At eleven minutes plus “Don’t Look Down” is even more ambitious. Metheny has always written episodically, emphasising the importance of “compositional development” and of colour, texture and rhythm. His compositions take the listener on a journey,  combining a strong narrative arc with memorable melodies and an acute sense of place, often inspired by the big, open skies of his native Mid West. It’s something that he has called the “trip factor”, and listeners across the globe have been more than happy to come along for the ride.
That’s very much the case here as the piece develops organically, taking in several distinct phases along the way. The leader’s typically mellifluous guitar features early on with Dyson, Johns and Conte also making significant contributions to the arrangement. A series of drum and percussion breaks provide the bridge into a lyrical and expansive acoustic piano solo from Fishman. When Metheny returns voices add extra colour to the mix as the guitarist eventually breaks free with a soaring solo that features his trademark guitar synthesiser sound, first developed as far back as 1982 on the “Offramp” album. But even here Metheny is not quite yet done and we get to enjoy a gently atmospheric coda. Metheny has announced himself as being particularly proud of this epic opus, and justifiably so. 

Featuring one of Metheny’s most memorable melodies “Make A New World” look set to become an audience favourite. It’s another piece that demonstrates his close rapport with Dyson, this time in a gentler setting with the young drummer’s deft brush work complementing Metheny’s lush guitar work and Johns’ melodic double bass. Metheny’s mellifluous guitar soloing gradually leads to an increase in momentum with Dyson switching to sticks. The guitar synthesiser eventually makes another appearance and the vocal ensemble adds a welcome splash of colour and texture.

“Urban and Western” (great title) introduces elements of blues, gospel and soul and features Francies guesting on Hammond organ. The tune builds slowly, from quiet gospel inspired beginnings, with Metheny, Francies and Dyson combining effectively in a passage that recalls the Side Eye project’s organ trio origins. The singers add a further splash of gospel flavourings as the momentum begins to build via the soloing of both Metheny and Francies, with the latter’s augmented by ecstatic, soulful, gospel inspired vocalising, the voices soaring heavenwards as we’re all transported to church.

“SE-O” features the vocals of Leonard Patton as Fishman takes over on organ and Peirani adds a sprinkling of accordion. It’s another joyous piece that incorporates bubbling Brazilian and African rhythms with Fishman delivering his own blistering Hammond solo before Metheny takes flight on guitar with a thrilling and mercurial solo. Patton’s voice then swoops and soars above the vibrant and colourful rhythms generated by Dyson and Conte. This energetic item is surely destined to become a live favourite and Patton has become part of a Side Eye touring band that also includes the core trio of Metheny, Fishman and Dyson plus bassist Jermaine Paul.

Metheny has always written beautiful ballads and “Our Old Street” continues this tradition with the leader switching to nylon string acoustic guitar and linking up with Younger’s harp. Fishman features on acoustic piano with voices and percussion providing additional colouration.

The near ten minute “Risk and Reward” returns us to ‘epic’ territory with another narrative piece that evolves from relatively simple beginnings to embrace the usual widescreen magnificence. Metheny delivers an extended guitar solo that is both fluent and melodic before Fishman conjures a flute like sound from his keyboards during the more meditative middle section. The main theme then returns, triggering more Metheny soloing over a typically dense percussive backdrop.

The album concludes with Metheny back on acoustic for the ballad “So Far, So Good”, which has the same kind of wistful quality as such much loved tunes as “Farmer’s Trust” and “Travels”. The gospel singers add warm choruses at suitable moments while Fishman’s keyboards provide appropriately lush soundscapes when required as the album closes on a bucolic, elegiac note.

“Side Eye III +” has generally been well received by both the critical fraternity and by Metheny’s huge (in jazz terms) global fan base. It’s an immaculately crafted album filled with impeccable playing and typically intelligent writing from a musician who has been consistently creative for over fifty years.

I like it, but still have the reservations of a fan who has been listening to Metheny’s music for most of that time. For all its accomplishments “Side Eye III +” was never likely to surprise me in quite the same way as Metheny’s albums did in the early days with recordings such as “Bright Size Life”, “Pat Metheny Group”, “Offramp” “First Circle” or even “The Way Up”. Then there were the non PMG recordings such as “New Chautauqua” “80/81” and the incendiary “Song X”, not to mention trio recordings like “Rejoicing” and “Question and Answer”, all breaths of fresh air at the time of their release.

For an artist as restlessly creative as Metheny the questions arise – “what’s my style?, what’s my cliché?,  what’s my experiment?” and it becomes harder to distinguish between the three as the decades go on.

Those questions were originally asked of himself by the British singer and songwriter Peter Hammill, whose music I’ve been following for even longer than Metheny’s. He too has been consistently creative for a very long time and the quality of his output has been commendably high, but again my favourite recordings will always be his early ones, mainly from the 1970s. I guess it’s a symptom common to all artists with a creative longevity approaching Metheny’s or Hammill’s – insert your own favourite here.

For me, the first Side Eye recording was probably more of a surprise than this one, which sounds more like a PMG recording and which contains pretty much everything you’d expect to hear on a Pat Metheny album.

It’s to Pat’s credit that he’s retained such a consistently high standard of creativity over the course of half a century, there are very few genuinely duff recordings in his discography, but for long time fans the excitement of a new release has now largely been replaced by respectful admiration. I genuinely like “Side Eye III +” and appreciate its craftsmanship, but I’m not as thrilled by it as I was by those early albums. My fault, or that of the artist? Discuss.

Perhaps a more salient point is that despite the large cast of instrumentalists and singers Metheny himself does rather tend to dominate proceedings and enjoys the lion’s share of the solos. His partnership with Dyson is great, and key to the success of the recording, but Fishman seems rather underused, as does Younger among the guests, although Johns and Conte both make substantial contributions.

However as is often said by Metheny fans the proof of the pudding is seeing the music played live. The quintet of Metheny, Fishman, Dyson, Paul and Patton is currently on tour with UK dates as follows;

17th July 2026 – Factory International, Manchester

18th - 19th July 2026 – The Barbican, London (three shows)

I’m not local to either of these venues so will probably miss out, but I would love to see this material performed in the live environment. As a live performer Metheny never disappoints and I’ve seen truly memorable shows over the years, including events in both Manchester and London. It’s the live shows that really put the music into context. To those of you lucky enough to be going, enjoy. I’d like to join you, but at the moment it looks unlikely.

For details of all Pat Metheny shows please visit;
https://www.patmetheny.com/schedule/

 

 

 

 

 

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