FROM THIS PLACE

The American jazz guitar icon PAT METHENY was more active recording albums in the early 2010's than he has been in recent years. The previous album was Kin <--> (2014) by Pat Metheny Unity Group. The guitarist -- who also plays keyboards here -- toured globally with the new line-up featured on From This Place, so the core quartet had gelled well before getting into the studio. British Gwilym Simcock is on piano, Malaysian-Australian Linda May Han Oh on bass, and on drums remains the long-time collaborator Antonio Sanchez. In addition to them, the album -- composed entirely by Metheny -- features three guests (on vocals, harmonica and percussion), plus The Hollywood Studio Symphony.

'America Undefined' (the longest track at 13:22) is a dynamic, many-sided, grand scale composition that grows into an impressive symphonic crescendo with a cinematic power. 'Wide and Far' is basically a fairly representative Metheny piece in its happy mood but goes beyond that. His easily identifiable guitar playing is in the centre, backed beautifully by the band and orchestra. All the elements work harmoniously together, making the music both exciting and easy to enjoy. 'You Are' starts as a slow and calm quartet performance but contains a powerful mid-section featuring the wordless vocals of Meshell Ndegeocello.

The additional orchestral colour sits perfectly into 'Same River' too, in which mostly piano carries the melodies until Metheny's passionate guitar synth (?) solo. 'Pathmaker' (8:20) is yet another masterstroke for its vivid arrangement. Happy and adventurous simultaneously, like the album as a whole. 'The Past Is in Us' is a sensitive but dynamic ballad with piano, mellow sounding guitar and Gregoire Maret's harmonica in the alternating lead roles. The title track is a rare Metheny piece in featuring proper lyric-based vocals (by Linda May Han Oh, I suppose). Beautiful, dreamy. The nearly ten-minute 'Sixty-Six' is mostly a mellow piece but not without some orchestral spice. The last track is for some reason marked as a bonus, but it ends this gorgeous album with romantic mellowness.

If we had the half-stars, my rating would be 4½, but this 76-minute album feels not only technically faultless and extremely well produced but also so full of sincere emotional substance that the rounding upwards feels deserved. From This Place is, I truly believe, one of the finest albums Pat Metheny has recorded in his long career.