Grammy Award-winning composer- guitarist Pat Metheny s Orchestrion may turn out to be his most talked-about, argued-over undertaking. It s already his most adventurous. With Orchestrion, Metheny redefines the concept of the solo album. He is indeed the only live musician on this recording, but it s the opposite of, say, his 2003 One Quiet Night, in which Metheny hunkered down in his home studio to explore all the musical possibilities of one new guitar. Here he works with an extraordinary set-up of acoustic instruments, assembled for him by a visionary team of inventors. What they have created in collaboration with Metheny is a veritable made-to-order solenoid orchestra that includes, among other things, bass, pianos, percussion, marimbas, guitar-bots, and a mellifluous cabinet of... Less

Grammy Award-winning composer- guitarist Pat Metheny s Orchestrion may turn out to be his most talked-about, argued-over undertaking. It s already his most adventurous. With Orchestrion, Metheny redefines the concept of the solo album. He is indeed the only live musician on this recording, but it s the opposite of, say, his 2003 One Quiet Night, in which Metheny hunkered down in his home studio to explore all the musical possibilities of one new guitar. Here he works with an extraordinary set-up of acoustic instruments, assembled for him by a visionary team of inventors. What they have created in collaboration with Metheny is a veritable made-to-order solenoid orchestra that includes, among other things, bass, pianos, percussion, marimbas, guitar-bots, and a mellifluous cabinet of... Less

Metheny says, "'Orchestrionics' is the term that I am using to describe a method of developing ensemble- oriented music using acoustic and acoustoelectric musical instruments that are mechanically controlled in a variety of ways ... with the pieces on this particular recording leaning toward the compositional side of the spectrum. On top of these layers of acoustic sound, I add my conventional electric guitar playing as an improvised component." Here are the original scores for five pieces: Entry Point ? Expansion ? Orchestrion ? Soul Search ? Spirit of the Air.

Personnel: Pat Metheny (guitar, piano, keyboards, vibraphone, marimba, drums, cymbals, percussion). Audio Mixer: Joe Ferla.Liner Note Author: Pat Metheny. Recording information: Legacy (10/2009); MSR Studio, New York, NY (10/2009). Photographer: Henry Leutwyler. Arranger: Pat Metheny.Pat Metheny's Orchestrion refers to a 19th century hybrid musical instrument of the same name that contained (usually) a wind orchestra, various percussion instruments, and sometimes a piano played by a pinned cylinder or a music roll -- like a player piano. Metheny designed and plays one here thanks to a commissioned group of inventors, advanced solenoid switch technology, and pneumatics. This invention includes pianos, marimbas, bells, basses, "guitarbots," percussion, cymbals, drums, loads of tuned... Less

Personnel: Pat Metheny (guitar, piano, keyboards, vibraphone, marimba, drums, cymbals, percussion). Audio Mixer: Joe Ferla.Liner Note Author: Pat Metheny. Recording information: Legacy (10/2009); MSR Studio, New York, NY (10/2009). Photographer: Henry Leutwyler. Arranger: Pat Metheny.Pat Metheny's Orchestrion refers to a 19th century hybrid musical instrument of the same name that contained (usually) a wind orchestra, various percussion instruments, and sometimes a piano played by a pinned cylinder or a music roll -- like a player piano. Metheny designed and plays one here thanks to a commissioned group of inventors, advanced solenoid switch technology, and pneumatics. This invention includes pianos, marimbas, bells, basses, "guitarbots," percussion, cymbals, drums, loads of tuned... Less

The worldwide interest in automatic organs is larger now than ever before. From delicate and musically sublime little organs contained in musical clocks of the type Mozart and Haydn composed music for, through to enormous and loud dancehall and street organs, the genre exists to please everybody and to suit all tastes. This comprehensive, yet delightful and easy-to-read, reference unlocks the mysteries of mechanical versions of the King of Instruments and its smaller counterparts. 79 color and 538 black and white photos display examples from 18 chapters and six Appendices that specify how automatic pipe organs work, Italian water garden organs, barrel organs, orchestrions, and street and showground organs, as well as automatic organs of the 21st century and more. The list of makers,... Less

The worldwide interest in automatic organs is larger now than ever before. From delicate and musically sublime little organs contained in musical clocks of the type Mozart and Haydn composed music for, through to enormous and loud dancehall and street organs, the genre exists to please everybody and to suit all tastes. This comprehensive, yet delightful and easy-to-read, reference unlocks the mysteries of mechanical versions of the King of Instruments and its smaller counterparts. 79 color and 538 black and white photos display examples from 18 chapters and six Appendices that specify how automatic pipe organs work, Italian water garden organs, barrel organs, orchestrions, and street and showground organs, as well as automatic organs of the 21st century and more. The list of makers,... Less

Grammy Award-winning composer- guitarist Pat Metheny s Orchestrion may turn out to be his most talked-about, argued-over undertaking. It s already his most adventurous. With Orchestrion, Metheny redefines the concept of the solo album. He is indeed the only live musician on this recording, but it s the opposite of, say, his 2003 One Quiet Night, in which Metheny hunkered down in his home studio to explore all the musical possibilities of one new guitar. Here he works with an extraordinary set-up of acoustic instruments, assembled for him by a visionary team of inventors. What they have created in collaboration with Metheny is a veritable made-to-order solenoid orchestra that includes, among other things, bass, pianos, percussion, marimbas, guitar-bots, and a mellifluous cabinet of... Less

Grammy Award-winning composer- guitarist Pat Metheny s Orchestrion may turn out to be his most talked-about, argued-over undertaking. It s already his most adventurous. With Orchestrion, Metheny redefines the concept of the solo album. He is indeed the only live musician on this recording, but it s the opposite of, say, his 2003 One Quiet Night, in which Metheny hunkered down in his home studio to explore all the musical possibilities of one new guitar. Here he works with an extraordinary set-up of acoustic instruments, assembled for him by a visionary team of inventors. What they have created in collaboration with Metheny is a veritable made-to-order solenoid orchestra that includes, among other things, bass, pianos, percussion, marimbas, guitar-bots, and a mellifluous cabinet of... Less