Product details
- Label ECM Records
- Artist Pat Metheny
- Format 1LP
- Country United States
- Released Date 1979
- Genre Jazz
- Sealed No
- Media Condition Very Good (VG)
- Sleeve Condition Very Good Plus (VG+)
Do you have questions about this product?
Condition: Used
Media Condition: Very Good (VG) (Very light paper scuffs on the record. Clean copy)
Sleeve Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
New Chautauqua by Pat Metheny.
Released in 1979 on ECM Records GmbH, "New Chautauqua" stands as one of Pat Metheny's most personal statements, a record that finds him working almost entirely alone. Composed in full by Metheny and produced by label founder Manfred Eicher, it is a solo endeavor in the truest sense, with the guitarist layering every voice himself. There is an intimacy here that comes from a single artist building complete worlds out of strings.
What makes the album so absorbing is the sheer range of instruments Metheny plays across these six pieces. He handles electric six string and twelve string guitars, acoustic guitar, and even a fifteen string harp guitar, while also laying down the electric bass lines that anchor the arrangements. The result is music that shifts between clarity and density, from ringing single lines to shimmering, overdubbed textures that feel like a small ensemble conjured from one imagination.
The program opens with the title track, "New Chautauqua," a piece whose bright, rolling momentum sets the tone for everything that follows. From there the side one journey moves through the reflective "Country Poem" and the paired "Long-Ago Child / Fallen Star," where Metheny's writing turns inward and lyrical. These are compositions built on melody and space, unhurried and open, letting each layered guitar breathe.
Side two carries that spirit forward through "Hermitage" and the warm, evocative "Sueño Con Mexico," before closing on "Daybreak," a title that suits the album's overall sense of light and arrival. Recorded in August 1978 at Talent Studio in Oslo, the sessions benefit from the crystalline sound that defined ECM's output in this era, captured by engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug, whose work is central to the label's signature clarity.
The presentation is very much in the ECM tradition, with cover photography and design by Dieter Rehm and an additional photograph by JoJi Sawa. It is a package that treats the music as art, giving Metheny's solo vision the spare, considered visual frame it deserves. Everything about the release reflects the careful hand of Eicher's production and the aesthetic that made ECM instantly recognizable.
For collectors attentive to pressing details, this copy carries the "(W)" tulip logo stamped in the runouts, marking it as a Wakefield Manufacturing pressing. It also represents a distinct mastering variation, etched with both "JB" and "GF" in the runouts for lacquer cuts by John Bittner and Greg Fulginiti. Those small marks tell the story of how this particular version came into the world, a rewarding find for anyone who appreciates the finer points of vinyl provenance alongside genuinely rich music.
Pressing Details:
Track Listing:
A1. New Chautauqua
A2. Country Poem
A3. Long-Ago Child / Fallen Star
B1. Hermitage
B2. Sueño Con Mexico
B3. Daybreak
Credits:
Pat Metheny - Composed By [All Compositions By]
Pat Metheny - Electric Guitar [Electric 6 String Guitars], 12-string Electric Guitar [Electric 12 String Guitars], Acoustic Guitar, Harp Guitar [15 String Harp Guitar], Electric Bass
Jan Erik Kongshaug - Engineer
Greg Fulginiti - Lacquer Cut By
John Bittner - Lacquer Cut By
Dieter Rehm - Photography By [Cover Photo], Design
JoJi Sawa - Photography By [Photo]
Manfred Eicher - Producer [Produced By]
Notes:
"(W)" logo ("tulip" symbol) stamped in runouts denotes [l=Wakefield Manufacturing] pressing.
Mastering variation to [r=11678051]: this version is etched with both "JB" (John Bittner) and "GF" (Greg Fulginiti) initials.
© ℗ 1979 ECM Records GmbH.
Recorded August 1978 at Talent Studio, Oslo
Artist: Pat Metheny
Format: 1LP
Genre: Jazz
Label: ECM Records
Catalog Number: ECM-1-1131
Release Year: 1979
Country: United States
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