Those anticipating that Pat Metheny and bassist Larry Grenadier would be playing material from the guitarist’s recent solo album of pop covers, What’s It All About (Nonesuch), at the Somerville Theatre in suburban Boston were in for a surprise. The duo’s Oct. 9 set ignored the new disc in favor of music largely drawn from tunes they had tackled together before in a trio with drummer Bill Stewart or in collaboration with Grenadier’s longtime pianist employer, Brad Mehldau.
The idea, Metheny explained during a pause to announce tune titles, was for him and Grenadier to more fully explore the deep rapport they discovered on those earlier outings. Putting together a tour of duo performances in Europe would have been a breeze, Metheny noted, but the two of them had also managed to line up roughly 20 concerts in the U.S., including a run still in progress at the Blue Note in New York.
