Speaking of Now
Speaking of Now is the tenth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 2002 by Warner Bros. In 2003 the group was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album.
| Speaking of Now | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 12, 2002 | |||
| Studio | Right Track Studio, New York City | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 72:05 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays | |||
| Pat Metheny chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| All About Jazz | (favorable) [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [3] |
Speaking of Now marks the first appearances of drummer Antonio Sánchez and multi-instrumentalist Cuong Vu as members of Metheny's band. Cameroonian musician Richard Bona also participated in the album's recording and tour, the latter of which particularly showcased his abilities on vocals and bass guitar.
In 2003, as part of the album's promotion, a concert was recorded in Japan and released on DVD and the Group performed on the PBS series Austin City Limits.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "As It Is" | 7:40 | |
| 2. | "Proof" | 10:13 | |
| 3. | "Another Life" | Metheny | 7:08 |
| 4. | "The Gathering Sky" | 9:22 | |
| 5. | "You" | Metheny | 8:24 |
| 6. | "On Her Way" | 6:04 | |
| 7. | "A Place in the World" | 9:52 | |
| 8. | "Afternoon" | Metheny | 4:43 |
| 9. | "Wherever You Go" | 8:04 | |
| 10. | "Epilogue" | 4:04 |
There is an unnamed hidden track after track 5 that is a prelude to track 6. It has a duration of 28 seconds and some CD players will display a countdown from minus 28 to 0 seconds as it plays. To arrive at the track times listed above, which are taken from the liner notes, the actual track times are modified using the time of the hidden track and several seconds of gap time by subtracting from track 5 and adding to track 6.
The total time listed in the liner notes is 71:10. However, the actual sum of the track times listed in the liner notes is 71:30.
The actual total time is 72:05 as displayed on most CD players and computer media players. This includes the time of the gaps between tracks.
Track 10 appears on the Japanese release only.
Personnel
- Pat Metheny – acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synthesizer
- Lyle Mays – piano, keyboards
- Steve Rodby – double bass, cello
- Richard Bona – vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar, fretless bass
- Cuong Vu – trumpet, vocals
- Antonio Sánchez – drums
Additional musicians
- Dave Samuels – percussion, marimba
Video
All tracks are written by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Last Train Home" | 0:00 | |
| 2. | "Go Get It" | Metheny | 0:00 |
| 3. | "As It Is" | 0:00 | |
| 4. | "Proof" | 0:00 | |
| 5. | "How Insensitive" | Antônio Carlos Jobim | 0:00 |
| 6. | "The Gathering Sky" | 0:00 | |
| 7. | "You" | Metheny | 0:00 |
| 8. | "A Place in the World" | 0:00 | |
| 9. | "Scrap Metal" | 0:00 | |
| 10. | "Another Life" | Metheny | 0:00 |
| 11. | "On Her Way" | 0:00 | |
| 12. | "Are You Going with Me?" | 0:00 | |
| 13. | "The Roots of Coincidence" | 0:00 | |
| 14. | "A Map of the World/In Her Family" | Metheny | 0:00 |
| 15. | "Song for Bilbao" | Metheny | 0:00 |
Personnel
- Recorded live during the Speaking of Now World Tour, September 19–20, 2002 NHK Hall, Tokyo, Japan
- Directed by Takayuki Watanabe
- Produced by Pat Metheny and Steve Rodby
- Executive producers – Ted Kurland and David Sholemson
- Recorded by Pete Karam and David Oakes
- Mixed by Rob Eaton
References
- Tauss, Lucy. "Speaking of Now - Pat Metheny Group | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- Hovan, C. Andrew (1 February 2002). "Pat Metheny Group: Speaking of Now". allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 995. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.