Are You Going with Me?

"Are You Going With Me?" is a song by American musician Pat Metheny, composed by Metheny and Lyle Mays. First recorded on the Pat Metheny Group's third album, Offramp (1982), and played live by the Pat Metheny Group ever since, it has become a "timeless"[1] trademark Metheny song,[2] his "musical signature."[3][4]

Background and production

"Are You Going With Me?" is a song with a Latin inflection[5] written by Metheny and Mays on the Synclavier. It has a simple basic chord scheme played on guitar synthesizer and synthesizer and a "synthed-harmonica melody"[1] over a "gently percolating bass vamp."[6]

Offramp was the first album Metheny recorded using a guitar synthesizer, the Roland GR-300, and the song features a long guitar solo on the Roland. Metheny's sound on the Roland (which he also plays when the song is performed live) has been compared with wind instruments such as the flute,[7] but most commonly with the trumpet.[3]

Additional percussion was performed by Naná Vasconcelos who, though credited as a "special guest" on the album, was a full-time member of the Pat Metheny Group.[5] At the time, Latin American and especially Brazilian music had begun to influence jazz in the United States, and when Brazilian musicians such as Vasconcelos came to play with American artists, this influence, in the case of the Pat Metheny Group, became overt.[8] The "Brazilian" quality of "Are You Going With Me?" is frequently noted;[3][9][10] the song is "obviously Samba-based".[8]

The song is "an enduring set piece" still being played.[6] A number of other contributors have performed live on the song; in the 2000s, Polish singer Anna Maria Jopek accompanied the Pat Metheny Group. A music video was produced by Robin Young in Los Angeles, prior to Young's move back to Boston to work for WNET.[11]

Critical reviews and influence

The song was nominated for Best Instrumental Composition at the 1983 Grammy Awards; the Boston Globe added, "It's also our choice for the best fusion ballad of the year."[12] Critics speak highly of it: The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music calls it "wonderfully contagious and arresting";[13] the Berliner Morgenpost, in 2010, called it a "herzergreifende Standard".[14]

American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, who first heard "Are You Going With Me?" when he was 13, described listening to it as "one of maybe five or six life-changing moments for me as a listening musician."[15] The Los Angeles Lakers used it as background music for a slow-motion highlight film after winning an NBA championship.[16]

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fordham, John (14 July 2010). "Pat Metheny Group: Barbican, London". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 July 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  2. ↑ Bakker, Jeroen. "Verslag North Sea Jazz 2010". Blues Magazine. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Holden, Stephen (17 July 1985). "Jazz: Pat Metheny Group performs". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  4. ↑ Giner, Juan (2006). Guía universal del jazz moderno. Ediciones Robinbook. p. 257. ISBN 978-84-96222-10-6.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Holden, Stephen (11 July 1982). "Pop guitar: Pat Metheny at the pier". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2002). The Penguin guide to jazz on CD. Penguin Books. p. 1020.
  7. ↑ Santosuosso, Ernie (13 July 1982). "Review/Music; Davis, Metheny excite common crowd". The Boston Globe.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 McGowan, Chris; Ricardo Pessanha (1998). The Brazilian sound: samba, bossa nova, and the popular music of Brazil. Temple UP. p. 175. ISBN 978-1-56639-545-8. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  9. ↑ Karlovits, Bob (17 December 1987). "Jazzman Pat Metheny is on a roll". Chicago Tribune.
  10. ↑ Roberts, John Storm (1999). Latin jazz: the first of the fusions, 1880s to today. Schirmer. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-02-864681-7.
  11. ↑ McLaughlin, Jeff (19 June 1982). "Robin Young: 'It'll be great to be back'". The Boston Globe.
  12. ↑ Santosuosso, Ernie (20 February 1983). "25 Years of record awards; some Grammy gripes - and guesses". The Boston Globe.
  13. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1995). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Guinness. p. 2803. ISBN 978-1-56159-176-3.
  14. ↑ Pilz, Michael (12 February 2010). "Pat Metheny: Jazz ist gut, Kontrolle ist besser". Berliner Morgenpost. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  15. ↑ Bungey, John (14 October 2006). "The partners playing it cool: Pat Metheny is recording with Brad Mehldau in what could be jazz’s dream team". The Times. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  16. ↑ Kart, Larry (2004). Jazz in search of itself. Yale UP. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-300-10420-2.