Pat Metheny – Bright Size Life (ECM)

The melodies on "Bright Size Life", Pat Metheny's first studio album as frontman, tell a story that begins on the outskirts of Jim Hall, traverses the vast plains of the American Midwest and ends in the middle of Ornette Coleman. From the moment fingers strike strings, we are transported into the lush warmth that was to characterize an ECM era.

Flanked by the late Jaco Pastorius on bass and a cymbal-loving Bob Moses on drums, Metheny bears the brunt of the record's melodic thrust. Metheny and his sidemen make it sound like it would be harder not to create such a flawless synergy as they overflow with beautiful intricacy, organic inversions and unwavering execution.

With the obvious exception of his solo efforts, this is Metheny at his purest. And while his larger group projects tend to stray into more fusion-oriented territory, here we have a trio of musicians whose sensibilities, no less intertwined, arrange themselves into a more consistent rural flavor.

"Bright Size Life" has something unmistakably outdoorsy about it. You can't help but listen to this music on the stereo during a long car ride or cross-country drive, and maybe even have it in your ear during a hike (assuming such digital trappings don't conflict with the activity). It's the delicacy of phrasing and controlled abandon that makes Metheny weaving his monochromatic web such a joy. Even in the moments in "Missouri Uncompromised" and "Omaha Celebration" that swell with ecstatic fervor, Metheny exercises stylish restraint, as if pushing too far might break an already fine thread of articulation. Slower numbers like "Midwestern Night Dream" put Metheny in a more upbeat mood, spinning a web of chords with his fellow musicians on an equal footing. The bass takes on a more choral presence, hopping over Metheny like a frog on lily pads. "Unquity Road", along with the title track, foregrounds a composed gateway into an improvisational wonderland that regularly looks back to its origins, like a child to its mother. Metheny closes the set with "Round Trip/Broadway Blues," an Ornette Coleman medley that seems to write its script as it continues until the vanishing point swallows us up and spits us out whole.

"Bright Size Life" is recorded in an appropriate manner, with the drums taking pride of place among the evenly spaced leads. Sometimes guitar and bass go hand in hand, sometimes one follows the other. Listening to this album is like tracing a map in sound. As followers, we may not know the next phase of our journey and can only trust that our leaders will come through in the end. Metheny and company deliver more than that in this regard, and there remains much uncharted territory to do it all over again.

Many consider the 1970s to be the deadliest era in jazz. With records like this one, ECM has debunked that myth in spades. Listen and find out why.

"Personally, I think this is a great record and I recommend it to everyone. It's positive and hot and simply outstanding." - Gary Burton, in the liner notes.

Pat Metheny had made his ECM debut as a member of Gary Burton's band on the album "Ring" in 1974, but Bright Size Life, his first ever studio recording as a leader, was the album that ultimately profiled him as a new creative force with a fresh approach in the context of contemporary jazz. Recorded in Ludwigsburg in December 1975 and produced by Manfred Eicher, the album was recorded by Metheny's regular band at the time with Bob Moses on drums and the virtuoso but then largely unknown Jaco Pastorius on bass.

"I could still play all the music from Bright Size Life now," Pat Metheny said in an interview for the Library of Congress in 2021. "It still feels relevant; the arguments in it still seem valid to me and they're worth reflecting on.... At the time, I felt like I wanted to make a record that might be the only one I would ever make. I was hoping to make a statement about things that were important to me in terms of melody, harmony, trio playing and even life in general."

This Luminessence vinyl edition of the album comes in a tip-on gatefold sleeve and includes photos from the archive.