Speaking of Now is the tenth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 2002 by Warner Bros. The band was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for the album in 2003.

Speaking of Now
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 12, 2002 (February 12, 2002)
StudioRight Track, New York City
GenreJazz fusion
Length72:05
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerPat Metheny and Lyle Mays
Pat Metheny chronology
Trio → Live
(2000)
Speaking of Now
(2002)
One Quiet Night
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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

edit

All tracks are written by Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."As It Is" 7:42
2."Proof" 10:18
3."Another Life"Metheny7:13
4."The Gathering Sky" 9:27
5."You" (song ends at 8:25; hidden intro to "On Her Way" directly follows)Metheny8:57
6."On Her Way" 5:42
7."A Place in the World" 9:54
8."Afternoon"Metheny4:46
9."Wherever You Go" 8:04
Total length:72:05
Bonus Track for Japan
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Epilogue" (Japanese bonus track)Metheny4:07
Total length:76:35

On the Japanese pressing, an extra 30 seconds of silence is added at the end of "Wherever You Go" to create a longer gap before the bonus track "Epilogue".

Personnel

edit

Additional musicians

Awards

edit

Grammy Awards

Year Category
2003 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album

References

edit
  1. ^ Tauss, Lucy. "Speaking of Now - Pat Metheny Group | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
  2. ^ Hovan, C. Andrew (1 February 2002). "Pat Metheny Group: Speaking of Now". allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  3. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 995. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.