Road dropped in early March, but the PR buzz around Metheny’s album — specifically in classical music circles — has been buzzing since late 2020. See, the 20-time Grammy Award winning guitarist and composer is a “jazz guy” (though if he were to have the floor, he’d let you know he isn’t a big fan of such distinctions), so even the suggestion that he’d “go classical” was enough to fuel the hype machine.
Road to the Sun is an album in three parts: there are two new works composed by Metheny and performed by guitarist Jason Vieaux and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, respectively; and a finale featuring Arvo Pärt’s Fur Alina, featuring the 42-string fingerwork of Pat himself. Naturally, our conversation had its roots in this latest project, but it ultimately morphed into an exploration of musicianship, artistic philosophy, and what music really is.