Travels

Pat Metheny Group: Pat Metheny (synthesizer, guitar); Lyle Mays (autoharp, piano, organ, synthesizer); Steve Rodby (synthesizer, acoustic & electric basses); Dan Gottlieb (drums).
Additional personnel: Nana Vasconcelos (vocals, berimbau, percussion).
Recorded live in Dallas, Texas; Nacogdoches, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Hartford, Connecticut; Sacramento, California in July, October and November 1982.
A double album that flirts with rock, folk, country and Latin - but is emphatically a jazz album. Metheny is equipped with probably his best ever live group; Steve Rodby, Dan Gottlieb, Nana Vasconcelos, and his right arm, keyboard virtuoso Lyle Mays. The recording exudes warmth, and often improves on tracks already issued on studio albums; for example, 'Phase Dance' is played with more verve and 'Song For Bilbao' sounds more passionate in a live context. The diamond in the mine, however, is the shortest piece - the glorious and delicate title track - worth the price of the album alone.