Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. It is also the record that taught me how to play.
Pat MethenyRead
There are musicians who go through their lives sort of shedding their skins. For me, I've always felt backward-compatible to Version 1.0.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Musicians often evolve over time, but some prefer to stay true to their original style.
In this quote, Pat Metheny reflects on the journey of musicians and how some choose to reinvent themselves, while he personally feels a connection to his earliest artistic expression. The notion of being 'backward-compatible' suggests a desire to maintain the essence of oneβs original self, even as the world and music continue to change around them.
Themes
MusiciansEvolutionIdentityArtSelf
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about artistic integrity at a music festival.
More from Pat Metheny
All quotes βThe beauty of jazz is that it's malleable. People are addressing it to suit their own personalities.
Pat MethenyRead
...to me if it's anything, jazz is a verb-it's more like a process than it is a thing.
Pat MethenyRead
I think jazz is actually quite unforgiving in its disdain for nostalgia. It demands creativity and change at its highest level.
Pat MethenyRead
The guitar for me is a translation device. It's not a goal. And in some ways, jazz isn't a destination for me. For me, jazz is a vehicle that takes you to the true destination - a musical one that describes all kinds of stuff about the human condition and the way music works.
Pat MethenyRead
I can't really say enough about Chris Potter. He is one of the greatest musicians I have ever known, and every second I have been on the band stand with him has been an absolute pleasure.
Pat MethenyRead
Similar quotes
Fiction is lies; we're writing about people who never existed and events that never happened when we write fiction, whether its science fiction or fantasy or western mystery stories or so-called literary stories. All those things are essentially untrue. But it has to have a truth at the core of it.
George R. R. MartinRead
Unfortunately many young writers are more concerned with fame than with their own work... It's much more important to write than to be written about.
Gabriel Garcia MarquezRead
So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal.
Frank Lloyd WrightRead
On the Internet, all those same guys that are complaining I made a change are completely changing the movie. Iβm saying: βFine. But my movie, with my name on it, that says I did it, needs to be the way I want it.β
George LucasRead
Drag was not only my introduction to womanhood, but my introduction to entertainment. It was the first time I realized that I could move a crowd.
Trace LysetteRead
The days of the painter at the Bauhaus appear to be truly over. They are estranged from the actual core of present activities, and their influence is more restricting than inspiring.
Walter GropiusRead