SECRET STORY

The one problem I have with Pat Metheny is simply that he has just down right released too many albums. How is a voracious music lover like myself supposed to keep up with all of his material and be able to listen to everything else I desire to hear? Both good and bad here is that Pat's albums are not all essential; so we can pick and choose which ones stay in our rotations. Secret Story is one of those albums. It is quite possibly his most diverse and large-scale release to date (just look at that huge lineup of musicians on this disc!). This disc features Pat's signature sounds, with an added lush, orchestral and new-age blend, whose ebb and flow throughout the disc are a really unique and exciting touch. The world elements are not omnipresent or even overt, but they have a very strong, albeit inconspicuous, effect on the atmosphere. It isn't a very catchy jazz record, but it is truly a magnificent and memorable experience that anyone interested at all in jazz should hear.