PAT METHENY GROUP: LETTER FROM HOME

This is another great, modern & exotic urban jazz album from Pat Metheny. After the ethereal & refined "Still life" album, it seems that Pat Metheny comes back a little here with earlier elements: "Letter from home" have many parts sounding like on "Still life", but one can find the "Falcon & the snowman" sound on the "Slip away" track; plus, the return of Pedro Aznar who produces here synchronized chant with the other instruments is enough to make this album sounding different to "Still life". Paul Wertico's delicate and fast cymbals patterns are very pleasant and refined here again. Pat Metheny's short, fast & clean electric guitar notes constitute a big part of this album. His typical trumpet-like guitar-synth is still present on a couples of tracks. Lyle Mays' floating keyboards in the background sound like light orchestral arrangements; he seems more melodic here than on the "Sill life" album; his delightful rhythmic piano is still omnipresent. There are some extra instruments, like melodica, marimba, pan flute, accordion, caja, charango, and miscellaneous percussions, which give African and Latin ambiences to the whole. On the relaxing "Dream of the Return", Pedro Aznar sings in a catchy, addictive & melodic manner; he is accompanied with romantic piano and electric guitars. "Vidala" has an obscure & atmospheric bit, rather sounding like a film music: indeed, Lyle's keyboards are unusually strange, as reveals the echoed ambience, similar to the Mark Isham's "Film music" album. The last track, "Letter from home", is a BEAUTIFUL, catchy, tender and melodic piano solo, embellished by Lyle's ethereal floating keyboards: the album cannot better end than like that!

Rating: 4.5 stars