As Falls Wichita.....

 

Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays: As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls.  

Recorded in September 1980; released April 27 1981 on ECM Records.

I don't think of albums or any works of art in terms of favorites.  However, if I were forced to name my favorite Pat Metheny album, this might be the one.  In the 20+ minutes title track, there are so many transitions, evolutions, and starkly contrasting sections that I marvel each time I hear it.  Yet with all those musical vicissitudes, the title track is totally cohesive.  It employs great use of varying instrumentation, layers, and textures.  The title track is emotionally moving in multiple ways for me, and at its conclusion, I often feel as if I've just watched a long and involved movie.  This album has been my companion on many long drives.

Ozark sounds like captured joy.

On September 15, 1980 while Pat and Lyle were in the studio recording this album, American jazz pianist Bill Evans died at the age of 51.  Both were musically influenced by Bill, and composed the track September Fifteenth for the album in memory of Bill. 

As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls: back cover

A friend said this about the album:

"It's validating to my sort of  faith, as I understand it, in some way. They undertook a creative compositional act, with courage, intention, and direction. They themselves did, played, composed, recorded, things that they knew they could not fully understand in the moment. Yet, they were still following a compass, albeit of their own making.  That (their) high and pure degree of devotion and commitment is what allows a listener/perceiver/apprehender to relax into the depth of their own interpretation... It creates a kind of "permission" to be internally vulnerable, and allows the art, as a prism, to shape a personal picture for the soul of the beholder, who completes the art."

You can hear Pat and Lyle discuss the album in-depth (like a Director's Commentary on a DVD) here.

-kk