30 de gener, 2010

Pat Metheny, l'home orquestra

 

Ahir a la nit, el Teatre de Coutances, a França, ha donat el tret de sortida a la impressionant nova gira de Pat Metheny i el seu projecte Orchestrion, que s'acabarà el 22 de maig al Town Hall de Nova York.

És un projecte sorprenent: sol a l'escenari, Pat Metheny recrea una orquestra completa que manipula ell mateix en directe. Avui, Nate Chinen li dedica un extens article a The New York Times (amb títol ben irònic), a banda d'unes reflexions paral·leles al seu blog, que inclouen part d'un correu electrònic que el guitarrista va enviar al periodista reflexionant sobre l'essència d'aquest projecte tan engrescador:

There is a kind of jazz-centric take that seems to wed the jazz mythology to a kind of distant black-and-white past where one is more likely to invoke images of Citizen Kane than the kinds of films I referenced before -- or even unimaginable new ones in the future. I have always sort of rejected that line of thinking all along the way, obviously.

To me, the whole idea of imitating previous successes in jazz, invoking the shield of “tradition” and calling it a day just doesn’t work and never has. My take on it is and always has been, for better or worse, jazz is a one-time deal. Each individual brings his or her song to the table, and when that person is gone, it is gone.


Metheny i Orchestrion inauguren el pròxim 21 de febrer, a l'Auditori de Barcelona, el Festival de Guitarra. Un dels concerts de l'any.