From 1962 to 1965, the guitar became this icon of youth culture, thanks mostly to the Beatles.
Pat Metheny

I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music world and have been able to play exactly what I have wanted the way I have wanted.
Pat Metheny

I don't worry too much about the fundamentalist principles that are in almost any discussion about jazz.
Pat Metheny

I hate the way chorus boxes sound.
Pat Metheny

I realized that equipment really had little to do with why I sound like the way I sound.
Pat Metheny

I saw A Hard Day's Night 12 or 13 times.
Pat Metheny

I think I have a basic sound aesthetic that is in most of what I do.
Pat Metheny

I think I represent a more left-wing view of what jazz is.
Pat Metheny

I was able to work with the best musicians in Kansas City starting when I was really young.
Pat Metheny

I was deep in the zone of practicing almost constantly.
Pat Metheny


It's more about conception and touch and spirit and soul than whether my hardware was in place.
Pat Metheny

Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.
Pat Metheny

Listening is the key to everything good in music.
Pat Metheny

My older brother Mike is an excellent trumpet player. By the time he was 12, he was playing around Kansas City in classical situations. He was already an amazing talent.
Pat Metheny

People sometimes say it takes a long time to become a jazz fan, but for me it took about five seconds.
Pat Metheny

The beauty of jazz is that it's malleable. People are addressing it to suit their own personalities.
Pat Metheny

The first thing I learned was the theme from Peter Gunn.
Pat Metheny

Whatever my recorded output is, it's a reflection of a general love of music.
Pat Metheny