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INSIDE REVIEWSMasterpiece AAAAA Excellent AAAA Good AAA Fair AA Poor A56 Jazz58 Blues61 Beyond62 Historical66 BooksPat MethenyOrchestrionNONESUCH 516668AAAThe most recognizable jazz guitarist in the world has joked thateither “vacuum cleaners or garage-door openers” helped drivehis latest project’s retro-futurism, which finds him not onlywielding six strings, but a Rube Goldberg array of orchestralinstruments that are triggered by a solenoid here or a toggleswitch there. Guess Pat Metheny, responsible for some of themusic’s most heartfelt moments, loves himself some robots. Butwhat can they do for his music?The answer coming from Orchestrion is, “Not as much asone might hope.” The process of connecting the marimbas,bells, vibes and other instruments to a metaphoric motherboardof old-school mechanics fits snuggly into Metheny’s progressivepersona—the guy’s always had an itch to move the conceptualneedle forward, and creating five very elaborate new tunescontrolled by a blend of real-time and pre-programmed maneuversis an interesting approach. But it doesn’t take long for theprocedural rigmarole of his postmodern music box to drift intothe background, and as Orchestrion’s program unfolds, itbecomes unimportant whether a gaggle of pneumatics or a harddrivingrhythm section is at the rudder: We’re heading for familiarterritory.The dewy guitar notes that spell out the melody of “EntryPoint,” the galloping beats that bolster the liftoff of“Expansion,” the capital-P poignancy that’s at the center of“Soul Search”—Metheny may surround himself with the whizand whirr of experimental bells and whistles, but there’s a gooddeal of business as usual in the air. That doesn’t rob the music ofsingularity, however. The pulse that enlivens “Spirit In The Air”is effective and refreshing, almost brokering a gamelan vibe.The unique orchestral attitude that he introduced around thetime of Still Life (Talking) remains in play (one critic hasdeemed Orchestrion “several classic Pat Metheny Groupalbums rolled into one”); rather than a human voice swoopingaround to approximate a string section, a series of cross-hatchedstrummings help decorate things quite nicely. My favorite partis when a passage that echoes the Beach Boys’ “Let’s Go AwayFor Awhile” bubbles up in “Entry Point.” There may be somethingslightly stiff about the disc’s clatter, but this effervescentmusic has plenty of high-flying moments.In a YouTube explanation as to why he conceived the project,Metheny paraphrases Ray Kurzweil, saying that there’s a“basic human desire to extend our reach through tools.” Whoknows, after the insight picked up on his current Orchestriontour, this one-man band might be a mere vacuum cleaner awayfrom the next “Body And Soul.”—Jim MacnieJIMMY KATZOrchestrion: Orchestrion; Entry Point; Expansion; Soul Search; Spirit Of The Air. (52:06)Personnel: Pat Metheny, guitar and orchestrionics (pianos, marimba, vibraphone,orchestra bells, percussion, cymbals, blown bottles, custom-fabricated acousticmechanical instruments, keyboard).»Ordering info: nonesuch.comMay 2010 DOWNBEAT 51