Pat Metheny on the best guitar player he has ever heard: Pasquale Grasso

[N_Singh]

"The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso. This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult.

Mostly what I hear now are guitar players who sound a little bit like me mixed with a little bit of Sco and a little bit of Frisell, using a couple of amps onstage with a little bit of delay. Then they say they don’t listen to me or Sco or Frisell; all they listen to is Grant Green. I kind of go, “Really?” (laughs) What’s interesting about Pasquale is that he doesn’t sound anything like that at all. In a way, it is a little bit of a throwback, because his model – which is an incredible model to have – is Bud Powell. He has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years. That’s exciting for me."---Pat Metheny, 2017.

I mentioned Pascual it here before, calling him in the bud Ppwell and Art Tatum of the guitar --and people pooh-poohed him, saying well he is no Holdsworth. Obviously he is not but I imagine that Alan dreams of playing the type of music Pasquale plays .

[Buddhabreath]

Amazing guitarist of incredible breadth, technique and fluidity. His fingers looks like independent agents on the fret board. Makes me want to hang up the guitar for good, bastard!

[Wounded Land]

Okay, I must have missed your previous thread on this guy, N_Singh, because I just checked him out on YouTube and...wow. That dude is for real. Do you have an album to recommend?

That descending pattern of thirds he plays a couple of times...ridiculous.

[chalkpie]

The guy is certainly phenomenal and does have that Bud Powell thang going on, and then some. I can see why Pat considers him the "best", because he plays in the post-bop style that Pat also resides in near that small corner of their musical universe. But honestly, for Pat to say that all aspiring jazzers sound like a cross between him, Sco, and Frisell is sort of bullshit. Pat would have to do a LOT of listening and then pigeonhole every player into this category. Its just a weird thing to say, that's all. For the record, I love Pat, own a large yacht full of his albums, and I was lucky enough to meet him in NYC (Village Vanguard) and have a nice chat with him. He is a super lovely guy and took the time to have a genuine conversation with me. I told him that I thought Secret Story was a ground-breaking album, and basically was the next evolution in jazz; an album that has changed what jazz was and can be. He was very humble and extremely appreciative of the kind comments.

[nosebone]

The guy is certainly phenomenal and does have that Bud Powell thang going on, and then some. I can see why Pat considers him the "best", because he plays in the post-bop style that Pat also resides in near that small corner of their musical universe. But honestly, for Pat to say that all aspiring jazzers sound like a cross between him, Sco, and Frisell is sort of bullshit. Pat would have to do a LOT of listening and then pigeonhole every player into this category. Its just a weird thing to say, that's all. For the record, I love Pat, own a large yacht full of his albums, and I was lucky enough to meet him in NYC (Village Vanguard) and have a nice chat with him. He is a super lovely guy and took the time to have a genuine conversation with me. I told him that I thought Secret Story was a ground-breaking album, and basically was the next evolution in jazz; an album that has changed what jazz was and can be. He was very humble and extremely appreciative of the kind comments.

I agree with everything you said!

[Plasmatopia]

Grasso is pretty amazing, but I'm glad to be going to see PM next weekend.

[N_Singh]

Here's the thing about Pasquale: he has completely mastered hybrid picking in the right hand in the style of Chuck Wayne while fundamentally studying classical guitar and counterpoint in Italy, at the same time studying all the bebop masters under the direction of the great piano player and contemporary of Thelonious monk, Barry Harris.

I am convinced the hybrid picking is the necessary technique to play pianistically on the guitar while still maintaining the feel of any kind beat Based or percussive music.

The Great classical guitarist John Williams lamented that the fingers will never maintain the proper feel in Jazz or any kind of percussive music as the plectrum would--- The fingers cannot replicate the up and down pendulum like feel of the pick. At the same time, I remember my teacher telling me the story of when he convinced Jimmy Weible that if Jimmy wanted to play counterpoint on the guitar, and he had to learn to play with the fingers and develop the classical technique. Before that, Jimmy was playing western swing. He found the argument to be persuasive, and proceeded to study classical guitar with the great Brazilian guitarist in LA named Lauerdo Almeida.

The hybrid technique gives you both the quality of playing both polyphonically and also maintain the proper feel of single note lines as you would with a pick. Nobody plays it better than Pasquale.

He has 4 videos out on this technique on mymusicmasterclass.com . A lot of it is the exposition of the Barry Harris major minor 6 diminished chord system . Which also has been taught by people like Roni Ben Hurr and Alan Kingstone, also former students of Barry Harris .

The Barry Harris system is genius: it's an elegant way of really developing the fundamental concept of tonal music: from the dominant to the tonic, in a way that allows for so much chromaticism and freedom . Barry is approaching 90 years old now and still teaches in New York . Bless his heart

[chalkpie]

^Barry Harris used to teach the guitar player in my jazz quartet. He has nothing but the highest praise for the man.

[N_Singh]

Here is a video from 2004 in which Barry Harris introduces Pascuale and his brother Luigi and calls them "the best young musicians in the world ". They were barely teenagers at the time.

[aith01]

The guy is certainly phenomenal and does have that Bud Powell thang going on, and then some. I can see why Pat considers him the "best", because he plays in the post-bop style that Pat also resides in near that small corner of their musical universe. But honestly, for Pat to say that all aspiring jazzers sound like a cross between him, Sco, and Frisell is sort of bullshit. Pat would have to do a LOT of listening and then pigeonhole every player into this category. Its just a weird thing to say, that's all. For the record, I love Pat, own a large yacht full of his albums, and I was lucky enough to meet him in NYC (Village Vanguard) and have a nice chat with him. He is a super lovely guy and took the time to have a genuine conversation with me. I told him that I thought Secret Story was a ground-breaking album, and basically was the next evolution in jazz; an album that has changed what jazz was and can be. He was very humble and extremely appreciative of the kind comments.

Never knew you were a Metheny fan, Frank, much less met and spoken to him in person. Very cool!

I agree, that is kind of a weird thing for Pat to say. Maybe that snippet was taken out of context or from a larger conversation we haven't seen. I dunno... I'll try to give him the benefit of the doubt, because I love Pat and his music is so dear to my heart.

If it weren't for Pat (in particular the album Letter From Home), I might never have gotten into jazz music at all. Something about that album just tugs at my heartstrings in ways nothing else does. Then a few short months later I got Secret Story and was quite honestly blown away. What a monumental work that was. Just the song "Finding And Believing", man... Listening to that while driving through the countryside in the freezing cold at 3:00 AM in December. Good memories.

Been meaning to check out Pasquale Grasso -- just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[aith01]

Oh, and for the first time ever I may get to go see Metheny later this month when he plays in Birmingham, AL. Trying to convince my brother to go with me.

[Zeuhlmate]

Technically I am very impressed. If this kind of music also 'spoke to me', I might be able to appreciate what he is doing musically, but to be honest I find it quite boring. A dead end.
Its not a verdict, just taste.

But here we go, this is amazing:

[N_Singh]

Technically I am very impressed. If this kind of music also 'spoke to me', I might be able to appreciate what he is doing musically, but to be honest I find it quite boring. A dead end.
Its not a verdict, just taste.

But here we go, this is amazing:

Note the right hand hybrid picking . Ridiculous ! Note also one of his particular trademarks: instead of playing a four note arpeggio as for discreet notes played staccato, he will play the first note of the series , and then plant with his left hand a particular triad That he will play as a strummed down stroke with the pick. Thus , for ecsmple, instead of playing the constituent notes of a CM7 arpeggio , he may instead play the first note (C) and then plant an Em triad, that he will play with a continuous straight downstroke . That takes a lot of left and right hand coordination to get up to bebop tempo

Bryant Trenier sadly just moved from Oregon to France. He makes amazing instruments.

Pasquale's current Trenier, a fully carved instrument, is unique because he has a floating Charlie Christian pickup on it. Nothing neeeed to be cut into the wood to attach it , so the top vibrates as per normal .

[chalkpie]

Never knew you were a Metheny fan, Frank, much less met and spoken to him in person. Very cool!

I agree, that is kind of a weird thing for Pat to say. Maybe that snippet was taken out of context or from a larger conversation we haven't seen. I dunno... I'll try to give him the benefit of the doubt, because I love Pat and his music is so dear to my heart.

If it weren't for Pat (in particular the album Letter From Home), I might never have gotten into jazz music at all. Something about that album just tugs at my heartstrings in ways nothing else does. Then a few short months later I got Secret Story and was quite honestly blown away. What a monumental work that was. Just the song "Finding And Believing", man... Listening to that while driving through the countryside in the freezing cold at 3:00 AM in December. Good memories.

Been meaning to check out Pasquale Grasso -- just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Aaron - I like you more every day man!

Yeah, I have done my share of Metheny binges over the years, and totally agree, both Letter from Home and Secret Story are both killer albums, especially the latter. "Finding and Believing" is not really a tune, its not even a composition, its more akin to a spiritual journey. God, that probably sounds so damn pretentious and cheesy! Sorry. But its beyond amazing - especially the orchestral middle section. I know this sounds like hyperbole, but I can't find the words to convey how I regard that piece of music. For me its up there with "Dirty Boy", "The Everso Closely Guarded Line", some Magma/Vander, and any number of classical masterpieces. I actually transcribed and learned to play the outro solo once (save for one or two really fast lines). Its actually very approachable, and is so note perfect its almost a composition within a composition. Its the kind of piece that you could have an entire thread devoted to it, at least I think so. Besides Bright Size Life, Trio Live, Secret Story, Question and Answer, Song X, and (Still) Life Talking, I think that The Way Up is his absolute masterwork.

[BobM]

His style reminds me of Art Tatum, but on guitar instead of piano

[100423]

There is no doubt that Pasquale Grasso is a masterful guitarist.

[AlanShaw]

With all due respect I think it is a little disingenuous to interpret “Mostly what I hear now are guitar players...” (my underline) as “all aspiring jazzers sound like....” (my underline again!). Clearly no-one including Pat has heard EVERY guitarist and it was pretty obvious to me that he was saying that he hears a lot of guitarists trying to sound like him, Sco or Frisell - in order to emphasise Grasso’s uniqueness. Sorry, it is just irks me when people jump on stuff Pat says given that in every interview with him I have ever read or listened to he comes across as passionate, thoughtful, considerate and articulate. (even his Kenny G rant although maybe not quite so considerate!!)

[aith01]

Aaron - I like you more every day man!

Yeah, I have done my share of Metheny binges over the years, and totally agree, both Letter from Home and Secret Story are both killer albums, especially the latter. "Finding and Believing" is not really a tune, its not even a composition, its more akin to a spiritual journey. God, that probably sounds so damn pretentious and cheesy! Sorry. But its beyond amazing - especially the orchestral middle section. I know this sounds like hyperbole, but I can't find the words to convey how I regard that piece of music. For me its up there with "Dirty Boy", "The Everso Closely Guarded Line", some Magma/Vander, and any number of classical masterpieces. I actually transcribed and learned to play the outro solo once (save for one or two really fast lines). Its actually very approachable, and is so note perfect its almost a composition within a composition. Its the kind of piece that you could have an entire thread devoted to it, at least I think so. Besides Bright Size Life, Trio Live, Secret Story, Question and Answer, Song X, and (Still) Life Talking, I think that The Way Up is his absolute masterwork.

Same here, my friend.

You are definitely right about "Finding and Believing" being more than just a song. Whenever someone refers to Metheny as "elevator music" or "smooth jazz", I want to grab a pair of headphones and make them listen to "Finding and Believing". Surely that would help them to see how much more there is to the man and his music.

It's an epic piece, and you are right to rank it alongside such highly-esteemed compositions as mentioned earlier; it's every bit as good. It seems I hear something new in it every time I play it -- and after talking about it yesterday, I went and listened to it again. I love that orchestral section in the middle. And the part that begins around 6:45 where the piano chording picks up, and then the fast vocal lines come in a little later. Gets me every time. Metheny seems like such a chill and unassuming guy, before hearing this I had no idea he was capable of it.

BTW, if you have a written copy of that solo transcription, would you be willing to share?

Today I'm going to have to make some time to listen to all of Secret Story. That is a masterpiece. And you've reminded me, I need to dust off my copy of The Way Up; it has been years since I've heard it, and it was quite impressive from what I can remember. But I could talk all day about Metheny.

On topic: Hearing comparisons to Art Tatum makes me very interested in hearing Mr. Grasso's music -- not something you come across every day. Seems he has an album on iTunes. I'll have to check that out.

[chalkpie]

[Reid]

That Grasso cat has the freakiest left hand I've ever seen. Metheny has been massively successful due to the fact that he was able to incorporate his jazz guitar vocabulary into a contemporary group concept that doesn't smack of the label "Jazz". Since then, Stanley Jordan is the only guy that has had any popular success as a solo jazz guitar player, which is even more remarkable than Metheny's good fortunes. I'm not sure that Grasso could transcend a tiny hardcore jazz/guitar enthusiast audience? But I felt the same way about Ben Monder, and then David Bowie hired him.