Vinyl Vault: Pat Metheny – “Bright Size Life”

This week’s Vinyl Vault feature will be the first album by Pat Metheny, “Bright Size Life,” released in 1976 (which was a very good year). It’s a trio date on ECM records and features legendary bassist Jaco Pastorius as well as Bob Moses on bass. Both Metheny and Moses had recently played together in Gary Burton’s group and were well acquainted. Pastorius, of course, went on to a colorful but tragically short career. Check out the Vinyl Vault on Tuesday, April 9 at 8:30 pm on KUVO Jazz with host Geoff Anderson as he explores the year 1976 in jazz.

1976: It Was a Very Good Year. Jazz fusion was hitting its peak with seminal releases by some of that genre’s premier artists. Here’s a small sampling of the landmark albums released that year: “Romantic Warrior” by Return to Forever; “Black Market” by Weather Report; “Jaco Pastorius” by Jaco Pastorius; “Imaginary Voyage” by Jean Luc Ponty; “Land of the Midnight Sun” by Al DiMeola; “It’s Your World” by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson; “Those Southern Knights” by the Crusaders; “Hejira” by Joni Mitchell; “Passengers” by Gary Burton. More traditional jazz artists also released important albums that year as well; “Porgy and Bess” by Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass; “Road Time” by Toshiko Akioshi; “Biting the Apple” by Dexter Gordon; “Morning Prayer” by Chico Hamilton; “Ella and Oscar” Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson; “Ella and Pass…Again” by Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass. Tune in Tuesday from 8 to 10 pm for the best of 1976.