Kin (Pat Metheny album)

KIN (←→)
Studio album by Pat Metheny Unity Group
Released 3 February 2014
Recorded June 2013
Genre Jazz
Length 70:16
Label Nonesuch
Producer Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny chronology

Tap: Book of Angels Volume 20
(2013)		 KIN (←→)
(2014)		 TBC

Kin (stylized as KIN (←→)) is a studio album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and his Unity Group, a newly expanded version of 2012's Unity Band; the lineup now features multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi, along with featured saxophone soloist Chris Potter. Kin was released in February 2014 by Nonesuch Records. It was recorded in June 2013 at MSR Studios in New York.[1]

Background

Metheny has said that his idea behind Kin was to push the quartet-led concept that led to Unity Band further forward by adding more orchestration to the instrumental core of the band, so that Kin would be "more like the Technicolor, IMAX version of what a band like this could be—but with that hardcore thing still sitting right in the middle of it all."[1] The album also re-explores the concepts of world view, unity and the global village explored on previous Pat Metheny Group albums such as Letter from Home and We Live Here.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]

Reception

The reviewer Thom Jurek of AllMusic.com awarded the album 4 stars.[2] JazzTimes critique Geoffrey Himes, in his review of Metheny's album KIN (←→) states:

... Melody writing is the most underrated skill in jazz today, perhaps because it’s also the rarest. There are thousands of jazz musicians who congratulate themselves on writing in 7/4 and 9/4 and on shifting their solos from tonal to atonal and back again. But how many of them can write a ballad that someone might want to hum to a lover?...[3]

Track listing

All music composed by Pat Metheny.

No. Title Length
1. "On Day One"   15:16
2. "Rise Up"   11:57
3. "Adagia"   2:14
4. "Sign of the Season"   10:14
5. "KIN (←→)"   11:06
6. "Born"   7:51
7. "Genealogy"   0:38
8. "We Go On"   5:33
9. "Kqu"   5:27

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[4] 66
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[5] 100
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[6] 65
French Albums (SNEP)[7] 161
German Albums (Official Top 100)[8] 64
Italian Albums (FIMI)[9] 14
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[10] 21
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[11] 24
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[12] 66
US Billboard 200[13] 50
US Jazz Albums (Billboard)[13] 1

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Pat Metheny Unity Group: Kin (←→)". Musical review. Nonesuch. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jurek, Thom. "Pat Metheny Unity Group: Kin (←→)". Musical review. AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  3. ↑ Himes, Geoffrey (2014-04-11). "Pat MethenyUnity Group Kin (←→)". JazzTimes. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  4. ↑ "Pat Metheny – Kin (<-->)" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Pat Metheny – Kin (<-->)" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Pat Metheny – Kin (<-->)" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Pat Metheny – Kin (<-->)". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Pat Metheny – Kin (<-->)". Officialcharts.de. GfK Entertainment. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Pat Metheny – Kin (<-->)". Italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Pat Metheny – Kin (<-->)". Portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Pat Metheny – Kin (<-->)". Spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Kin <---> - Pat Metheny Awards. Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 27, 2014.