As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls

As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls is an album by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and jazz pianist Lyle Mays recorded in September 1980 and released on ECM April the following year. The trio features percussionist Naná Vasconcelos.

As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 27, 1981
RecordedSeptember 1980
StudioTalent Studio, Oslo, Norway
GenreJazz fusion
Length43:34
LabelECM 1190
ProducerManfred Eicher
Pat Metheny chronology
80/81
(1980)
As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
(1981)
Offramp
(1982)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
DownBeat[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[5]
Rolling Stone[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[3]

Background

edit

The title makes reference to Wichita, Kansas, and Wichita Falls, Texas. The title track is just under 21 minutes.

Throughout the album, Metheny acts as the lead guitarist, accompanying guitarist, and bassist using the overdubbing technique. The track "September Fifteenth" is in reference to September 15, 1980, the day the American jazz pianist Bill Evans died. Metheny and Mays cite Evans as a main influence. Both "September Fifteenth" and "It's for You" appear in the score for the 1985 film Fandango. "It's for You" was later covered by Akiko Yano, with Metheny on guitar, for her 1989 album, Welcome Back.

A section of the title track (starting at 14:56) has been used by Christian Dior for the Fahrenheit perfume and cologne ads since 1988.

Track listing

edit

All music is composed by Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays

Side one:
No.TitleLength
1."As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls"20:44
Side two:
No.TitleLength
1."Ozark"4:03
2."September Fifteenth" (dedicated to Bill Evans)7:45
3."'It's for You'"8:20
4."Estupenda Graça"2:40

Personnel

edit

Charts

edit
Year Chart Position
1981 Billboard Jazz Albums 1
1981 Billboard Pop Albums[7] 50

References

edit
  1. ^ Shewey, Don (2011). "Pat Metheny: As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  2. ^ Cook, Stephen (2011). "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls – Lyle Mays | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  3. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 139. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 995. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. ^ DownBeat Review, October 1981, pp. 46-47
  7. ^ "Pat Metheny Billboard 200 Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2023.