Pat Metheny kicked off his Orchestrion tour in France this weekend and has now added stops in Asia in June. The New York Times calls Metheny "easily one of the most enterprising jazz musicians of his generation" and says of seeing it all in action that "the performance dazzled," not least the album's "shimmering, labyrinthine title track, an overture of palpable ambition." Billboard says Orchestrion "surprises and exhilarates." The Cleveland Plain Dealer gives it an A-; the Detroit Free Press says Metheny opens up "new avenues of creativity."
Pat Metheny kicked off his international tour with the music and instruments of his latest Nonesuch release, Orchestrion, in northern France this past weekend. As he now embarks on the next tour stops in Europe, Metheny has just announced that he and his orchestrion will swing through South Korea and Japan in June, following this spring's US dates. You'll find the new dates at the end of this article and all of upcoming tour information at nonesuch.com/on-tour.
Orchestrion the project—the instruments, the album, and the tour—is the subject of a feature article in the Sunday New York Times Arts & Leisure section. Jazz writer Nate Chinen visited the Brooklyn studio where Metheny—"easily one of the most enterprising jazz musicians of his generation"—and his crew were working through the logistics of taking it all on the road.
For all the intricate workings of the machines, there's no lack of the "human touch" from Metheny on the album. "So beyond the obvious technical feat" of watching it all in action, says Chinen, "the performance dazzled on a basic level. Mr. Metheny and the unmanned orchestra were making his kind of music." He calls particular attention to "the shimmering, labyrinthine title track, an overture of palpable ambition."
You can read the article at nytimes.com.
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In the Billboard review, Orchestrion is seen as "an entirely innovative spin" on the concept of the solo album, resulting in an album that both "surprises and exhilarates." You can read the complete review at reuters.com.
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The Cleveland Plain Dealer gives the album an A-. "Give Pat Metheny this much: He doesn't take the easy way out," writes reviewer John Soeder. "With the orchestrion providing whimsical accompaniment, his fleet-fingered guitar floats like a feather across five meandering instrumental numbers." Read more at cleveland.com.
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Detroit Free Press music critic Martin Bandyke sees the album as an "ambitious idea," in which Metheny opens up "new avenues of creativity." His "virtuosic, mellow guitar playing is still happily front and center," Bandyke assures his readers. "There's no reason to be too concerned about the technology—just enjoy." Read the review at freep.com.
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Below are the scheduled June tour dates through Asia. For more information and venue links, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
PAT METHENY'S ORCHESTRION ASIA TOUR
| June 2 | LG Arts Center | Seoul, SOUTH KOREA |
| June 3 | LG Arts Center | Seoul, SOUTH KOREA |
| June 4 | LG Arts Center | Seoul, SOUTH KOREA |
| June 5 | LG Arts Center | Seoul, SOUTH KOREA |
| June 9 | Sankei Hall Breeze | Osaka, JAPAN |
| June 10 | Prenier Hall | Nagoya, JAPAN |
| June 11 | Sumida Triphony Hall | Tokyo, JAPAN |
| June 12 | Sumida Triphony Hall | Tokyo, JAPAN |
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