NPC, Hall 1.

7:45 PM on a Saturday night, left for speculation before the day of the election.

I have already made up my mind. The fanatic inside me will vote for Patrick Bruce Metheny. I make myself comfortable behind the sound technician, slightly disappointed with the partially filled hall, despite the low ticket prices. This I can only explain with the fact that to understand Metheny’s music is a great feat, which even a big part of the audience has not achieved yet.

I boldly look around for our native musicians of all genres. Angel Zaberski- son, Kalin Veliov, Yavor Zachariev of Gravity Co., Vassil Parmakov... they’re all eagerly awaiting their encounter with the jazz virtuoso (some of them, also anticipating another distinguished musician- Sonny Emory, whose concert in Sofia Live Club is in two hours).

The eminent guitarist and the other two of his trio come on stage at 8:20. Without the unnecessary overture, with a nonchalant smile and an overt genius, the grown-up boy from Missouri took his listeners on a fusion journey through places, whose scenery is the sound of jazz! The genius showered us with music of many albums. This was definitely worth the long wait since he announced he will be visiting Bulgaria in an interview two days ago. Metheny was accompanied by the astounding Larry Grenadier (bass) and Bill Stewart (percussion). The trio presented us with the main piece of his album Bright Size Life (1975) from his ground breaking studio album, recorded with the late legend Jaco Pastorius. Question & Answer and Change of Heart loosened up the listeners, as a result of which a lot of us asked ourselves what galaxy the performers were from, since they were certainly not from ours. Every one of Petheny’s tones was a separate transistor, accepting some sort of alien signals; every one of Larry’s frets was a counterpoint to Pat’s sound, and every one of Billy’s basses and cymbals- a new paragraph in the musical magic. It was as if (at least) two people were on the drums- such was the sound of the combinations written by his drumsticks. For us- here and now. As well as in projects with renowned artists such as John Scofield, Maceo Parker ,Jim Hall, Joe Lovano,...

The poetical voyage continued with James (from Offtramp), Always & Forever (Secret Story, 1992) and the huge surprise- Find Me in Your Dreams, the studio version of which is enriched with the flamenco voice of Estrella Morente. Metheny’s last album- What’s It All About (2011), containing outrageous covers, was represented by the classics of Paul Simon (The Sound of Silence), Henry Mancini (Slow Hot Wind), and Lenon/McCartney (And I Love Her) in a monstrous electro-acoustic mix.

Every music verse was served with enviable ease and a certain lack of seriousness, without this affecting the deep ideas in the compositions. This virtuosity, which I am not able to comprehend, cannot be explain with words. It hits you right in the heart, and that is all to it!

The climax of the 2 hour long concert was the 42-string guitar Pikasso, which came alive in Metheny’s hands for his final performance of Orchestrion/ Soul Search. This literally filtered our brains, freeing some latent space in the crowded with absurdities hard disk. It through us, understandably, in an uncomprehendable trance and made everything seem insignificant up against Metheny’s sound.

I believe that there should not be people sitting at such concerts...

That is why I am standing, to express my gratitude towards not only Pat Metheny and his trio, but also Sofia Music Enterprise for giving me the opportunity to meet such a genius.

Rediscovering my dreams.

URL: http://cvetelin.com/2011/10/pat-metheny-in-sofia-musical-poetry/