New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Nonesuch Records) Pat Metheny , who won his 20th Grammy Award earlier this year for his 2012 album Unity Band , has announced the expansion of that band, featuring woodwind player Chris Potter, longtime collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, and Ben Williams on bass, to include multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi in the
Pat Metheny Unity Group. The Unity Group will release a new album on Nonesuch Records in 2014 (details to come) and will launch a world tour in February, starting with two months in North America, followed by a two-month European tour in the spring. See below for all of the currently scheduled shows. Fan ticket pre-sales for most US dates begin today; a number of US dates are on sale now as are several European shows. For additional details and available links, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour .
"The Unity Band project was life-changing for me," writes Metheny. "I have led many groups of talented musicians, but what went down with that band on a night after night basis was inspiring in a way that was really unlike anything else. When we did our last gig, as we walked off the stage all I could think about was that I didn't want it to end, and I knew it was the same for Chris, Antonio, and Ben too."
Since then, I have been trying to find a way to extend our time together. At the same time, I have been feeling the pull to do the kind of lush and harmonically dense music with lots more written material that has always been a big part of what I have written for my larger groups and projects. One night I woke up with the tantalizing idea of really taking "
Unity" concept all the way and forming a platform for the first time that could cover the entire spectrum of things that I have done as a bandleader over the years under one roof. With this lineup, everything from Bright Size Life to Secret Story to all of my regular Group stuff to Song X could be within range—and more. And I expect to further integrate the Orchestrion concept into the fabric of what this band can be as well.
An interesting and unique musician appeared on my radar; multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi. He is an excellent piano and keyboard player and he plays fantastic woodwinds and brass, guitars, bass, drums, and he sings beautifully too. He told me he was inspired by seeing one of my bands perform in Italy when he was young and often thought about having the multi-instrumentalist seat on one of my projects.
With Giulio added to the core-four of us, with Chris Potter, (in addition to being one of the most exciting soloists in jazz on any instrument and he is also one of the most versatile woodwind players around, playing flute, bass clarinet, clarinet and all the other saxophones), with Ben Williams being equally great on both acoustic and electric basses, and with Antonio Sanchez, one of the greatest drummers in the world right now, this is one of the strongest bands I have ever had. Just about anything will be possible.
See below for all of the currently scheduled tour dates; for additional information and links, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
PAT METHENY UNITY GROUP ON TOUR 2014
Feb 3 Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center Jackson, MS
Feb 5 The Florida Theatre Jacksonville, FL
Feb 6 Curtis M. Phillips Center for Performing Arts Gainesville, FL
Feb 7 Knight Concert Hall, Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Miami, FL
Feb 8 House of Blues Lake Buena Vista, FL
Feb 9 Mahaffey Theater St. Petersburg, FL
Feb 11 Sandler Center for the Performing Arts Virginia Beach, VA
Feb 12 Carolina Theatre Durham, NC
Feb 13 Jefferson Center Roanoke, VA
Feb 14 Knight Theater, Levine Center for the Arts Charlotte, NC
Feb 15 Robert Ferst Center for the Arts,
George Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA
Feb 16 Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN
Feb 18 Heymann Performing Arts Center Lafayette, LA
Feb 19 Austin City Limits Live at Moody Theater Austin, TX
Feb 20 House of Blues Houston, TX
Feb 21 House of Blues Dallas, TX
Feb 23 Chandler Center for the Arts Chandler, AZ
Feb 24 The Smith Center Las Vegas, NV
Feb 25 Valley Peforming Arts Center Northridge, CA
Feb 28 Warfield Theatre San Francisco, CA
Mar 1 Jaqua Concert Hall Eugene, OR
Mar 2 Newmark Theater Portland, OR
Mar 3 Vogue Theatre Vancouver, BC
Mar 4 Moore Theater Seattle, WA
Mar 6 Lincoln Center Fort Collins, CO
Mar 7 Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
Mar 8 Topeka Performing Arts Center Topeka, KS
Mar 9 The Pageant St. Louis, MO
Mar 10 Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI
Mar 11 Symphony Center Chicago, IL
Mar 13 Capitol Theatre Columbus, OH
Mar 14 The Palladium Carmel, IN
Mar 15 Lawrence Memorial Chapel, Lawrence University Appleton, WI
Mar 16 Fitzgerald Theater St. Paul, MN
Mar 18 Massey Hall Toronto, ON
Mar 19 Center for the Arts, University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
Mar 20 Proctors Schenectedy, NY
Mar 21 Music Center at Strathmore North Bethesda, MD
Mar 22 Keswick Theatre Glenside, PA
Mar 23 Count Basie Theatre Red Bank, NJ
Mar 25 Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield University Fairfield, CT
Mar 26 Fine Arts Center, UMass Amherst, MA
Mar 27 Wilbur Theatre Boston, MA
Mar 28 The Town Hall New York, NY
Apr 25 Pramogų
Arena Vilnius, LITHUANIA
Apr 26 Riga Congress Centre Riga, LATVIA
Apr 27 Nokia Concert Hall Tallinn, ESTONIA
Apr 28 Finlandia Hall Helsinki, FINLAND
May 1 Musikhuset Aarhus Aarhus, DENMARK
May 3 Falconer Theatre Copenhagen, DENMARK
May 4 Concert Hall Gothenburg, SWEDEN
May 6 Concert Hall Stravanger, NORWAY
May 7 Rokeriet USF Bergen, NORWAY
May 8 Bjørnsonhuset Molde, NORWAY
May 9 Clarion Hotel & Congress Trondheim Trondheim, NORWAY
May 10 Oslo Konserthus Oslo, NORWAY
May 11 Stockholm Waterfront Stockholm, SWEDEN
May 13 Tempodrom Berlin, GERMANY
May 14 Die Glocke Bremen, GERMANY
May 15 Philharmonie Luxembourg, LUXEMBOURG
May 16 Alte Oper Frankfurt, GERMANY
May 17 Mitsubishi Electrik Halle Dusseldorf, GERMANY
May 19 Laeiszhalle Hamburg, GERMANY
May 21 Kammgarn Kaiserlautern, GERMANY
May 22 Konzerthaus Dortmund, GERMANY
May 23 Obserschwabenhalle Revensburg, GERMANY
May 24 Philharmonie Munich, GERMANY
May 25 Kongresshaus Zurich Zurich, SWITZERLAND
May 27 Kodaly Center Pecs, HUNGARY
May 28 Művészetek Palotája Budapest, HUNGARY
Jun 3 Olympia Paris, FRANCE
Jun 4 Ancienne Belgique Brussels, BELGIUM
Jun 5 Théâtre Municipal Raymond Devos Tourcoing, FRANCE
Jun 6 Arcadium Annecy, FRANCE
Jun 8 Tivoli Vredenburg Utrecht, NETHERLANDS
Jun 10 The Lowery Manchester, UK
Jun 11 Hammersmith Apollo London, UK
