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Occasionally, Pat Metheny goes “into the cave” and emerges with some personal statement that goes against the grain of his more commercial instincts. Sometimes it’s something so uncompromising and off-putting, as in the case of his harshly dissonant skronkfest Zero Tolerance for Silence, that it appears to be a bid for career suicide. Or it might be something visionary with a grandiose sweep, like last year’s sprawling one-man show, Orchestrion. This time out, it’s something so intimate and stunningly beautiful it would appear the boy from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has been touched by angels. A sublime revue of relaxed solo guitar interpretations of familiar and fetching pop melodies from the 60s (“Cherish,” “Alfie,” “Rainy Days and Sundays,” “And I Love Her”), What’s It All About has Metheny performing on a warm-sounding baritone guitar that allows him to cover his own bass lines, lending a rich, orchestral texture to the proceedings. And he makes Zen-like use of space with his amazing 42-string Pikasso guitar on a stirring interpretation of “The Sound of Silence.” With strategically placed microphones in a resonant space, and just a hint of reverb, this is also one of the most gorgeous recordings of the year.
By Bill Milkowski
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