Bright Size Life

Pat Metheny | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Label: ECM
• ASIN: B0000031PK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,315 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Redefines The Jazz Guitar Trio Idea, December 3, 2004

By 

P. McKenna "theowlwatches" (Atlanta GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Bright Size Life (Audio CD)

28 years later, this debut disc by a young upstart guitarist from Lee's Summit MO STILL sounds as fresh, engaging and surprising as the day it was first unleashed!

What an amazing chemistry that took place here! Start with Pat's Jim Hall-meets-rural country and lyrical post-bop sensibilities, combined with another then-young upstart, Jaco Pastorious playing a supremely singing fretless bass and the explosive and yet detailed drumming of Bob Moses made for a whole new sound in jazz, with lots of wide-open spaces, impressionistic pastel-like harmonies, a Country inflected yearning and challenging intricate melodies that stay with you for days.

Pat wrote all but one track, the closing medley of Ornette Coleman's "Round Trip/Broadway Blues", in which Pat gets to the essence of Ornette's music and shows a very lyrical, compelling side of it that I think many people miss when they think of Ornette, he wasn't ALL skronk and honk, that's for sure! The original Metheny pieces are by turns fiery yet lyrical and loaded with subtle colorings not normally associated with jazz-guitar, which up until that point either stayed very conservatively bluesy with extended harmonies, or went to the opposite extreme of atonality, but here, Pat begins his rich musical journey and finds a well-defined voice normally associated with players twice his age in those days.

Not one bad track, this will haunt you for days and live in your CD player for long periods I'm sure.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Listening, November 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bright Size Life (Audio CD)

This album is required listening for anyone who calls themselves a jazz listener. On this album you will hear Pat Metheny at his purist. No effects and no studio wizardry. Just good pure jazz.

This album is not just another collection of jazz standards done in the mainstream fashion by another young guitar stud. Each title is original except for the last track, "Round Trip/Broadway Blues" which was written by Ornette Coleman. Each composition has a fresh and contemporary sound. You will hear all of Metheny's skills as a guitarist, sideman and composer. In addition we are given a glimpse of the things that were later to come as Pat Metheny developed into what is arguably one of the most influential musicians of his generation.

While instrumentation is basic, the musicianship is superb. Pat is accompanied by the late Jaco Pastorius who gives us one of his greatest recorded performances. Bob Moses accompanies Pat on drums and even though his drumming can almost be called minimal it's perfect for situation. Perhaps the best thing about this combination of musicians is way they all played off of each other, each musician coming in just when needed.

This album is part of jazz history. "Bright Size Life" is to Pat Metheny what "Kind of Blue" was to Miles Davis

You cannot miss this one!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, February 14, 2005

By 

JJ (Mid Atlantic) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bright Size Life (Audio CD)

I'm not going to spend a lot of time writing a professional like review. In summary, this is one of Pat Metheney's best albums (certainly in the top 2 or 3).

I love the simplicity and pure talent. Pat, Jaco, and drummer Bob Moses. Who could ask for more?

I have a lot of Pat Metheny's work, but I tend to like his solo efforts as opposed to the PMG (with Lyle Mays) recordings.

I also tend to like his trio recordings (guitar, bass, and drums) over everything else.

No fluff, no nonsense, no horse sh__.

This is the perfect CD for when sitting by the pool, smoking a cigar, sipping wine, and just sitting back and relaxing...

One other thing...I think some of the other reviewers touched on this as well, but it is really hard to believe this was released way back in 1976. This CD simply sounds way too fresh for that. If you didn't know, and had to guess, you would probably say mid 1990s.

Buy it, listen, and see for yourself.