Pat Metheny doesn’t believe there’s much difference between rock, pop and jazz: “It all seemed more about the dress code than the music”
There’s a certain preoccupation with the idea of genres; we all love to signify our adherence to rock music, jazz, pop, EDM or whatever else floats our boat. But should we care as much as we do about placing our favourite music into well-defined categories?
In an interview in the latest issue of Uncut magazine, Jazz ace Pat Metheny suggests people place too much emphasis on the idea of musical genres.
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“It’s always been kind of mysterious to me,” he says. “What is rock? What is pop? What is jazz?
“If I think of the spectrum of all the sounds that human beings could possible make, it is interesting to me how it’s so tightly clustered around a very tiny part of that spectrum that has to do with somebody playing the root on one, somebody smacking the crap out of two, maybe something on three, and then somebody smacking that crap out of four. It all seemed more about the dress code than the music… And I don’t get that, man. I’ve never gotten that.”
Let’s be honest, genres aren’t going anywhere. Humans are tribal; it’s in our nature to seek out and form groups with those with similar interests to us. Not to mention it’s hella fun to be at a rock show surrounded by thousands of fellow heavy music lovers. But at a certain point, does being too boxed in with the genres we like prevent us from being open to new music which may move us? Something to think about…
Elsewhere in the interview, Metheny reflects on how it took him “a couple years” to get into Jimi Hendrix.
“I did hear Are You Experienced and I was like, ‘Well, this cat, at least he can really play the blues.’
“I liked it, but I was just in a different place at that time. So it took me a couple years, and then I got it. I more than got it. Everything on those first two records, it’s just the greatest. The guy was incredible. In some ways, his thing was transcendent of guitar, even.
“It’s a little like Trane [John Coltrane] for me: the guy was probably the greatest saxophone player ever, but that’s about the fourth thing you would talk about with him. That’s not really what it’s about, and I think it’s the same way with Hendrix.”
You can view a full list of Pat Metheny’s upcoming live dates via his official website.
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