Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays • As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls

 

Review by Stephen Cook
This joint solo effort by Metheny and regular pianist and collaborator Lyle Mays is an impressive outing. In the process of stretching out away from the confines of the quartet setting of prior albums, Metheny and Mays presage the sleeker and more ethereal sound of the band's Geffen years on portions of the title track. And while this side-long number has some dreamy moments, it also bogs down in a trite climax or two; one gets the sense of a jazz fusion and prog rock marriage Metheny luckily never fully explored. Minor flaws, really, since the piece holds together in spite of the worrisome lapses of taste. The balance of the album is just fine, with the highlight being the Bill Evans remembrance, "September Fifteenth" (the date of Evan's passing, which occurred while the album was being recorded). Metheny and Mays appropriately opt for a serene and slightly elegiac piano and acoustic guitar duet. The set is balanced out by the fleet Americana of "Ozark" and the streamlined swinger "It's for You." Topped off by integral and tasteful percussion by future band regular Nana Vasconcelos, this 1981 Metheny date is certainly a worthwhile disc for fans to seek out, while not being essential.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/as-falls-wichita-so-falls-wichita-falls-mw0000192233


 Guitarist Pat Metheny and his longtime keyboard collaborator/alter ego Lyle Mays saw in their rural American roots a mystical connection to an entire world of sounds, and with As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, they began the process of fashioning an idiomatic folk expression all their own. With the help of master percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, they create a whistlestop tour of musical outposts on the extended title track that is at once gothic and atmospheric in the manner of Weather Report, bucolic and harmonious like the Byrds--with echoes of small towns, strip malls, and lonely railyards, over expanses of wide-open space that reflect their familial origins and countless miles wandering the interstate on a string of college-town one-nighters. In the four square major modes of "Ozark" and "It's for You" you can hear the beige tinge of the American experience that melded with African American music to give the U.S. its musical depth and breadth, while "September Fifteenth" is a prayerful, ruminative reflection on the spirit of their romantic forebear, pianist Bill Evans. --Chip Stern
https://www.amazon.com/As-Falls-Wichita-So/dp/B000026255

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Reseña de Stephen Cook
Este esfuerzo solista conjunto de Metheny y el pianista y colaborador habitual Lyle Mays es una salida impresionante. En el proceso de alejarse de los confines de la configuración de cuarteto de álbumes anteriores, Metheny y Mays presagian el sonido más elegante y etéreo de los años Geffen de la banda en partes de la canción principal. Y aunque este número secundario tiene algunos momentos de ensueño, también se atasca en uno o dos clímax trillados; uno tiene la sensación de un matrimonio de jazz fusión y rock progresivo que afortunadamente nunca se exploró por completo. Defectos menores, en realidad, ya que la pieza se mantiene unida a pesar de los preocupantes lapsos de gusto. El balance del álbum está bien, y lo más destacado es el recuerdo de Bill Evans ," September Fifteenth" (la fecha del fallecimiento de Evan, que ocurrió mientras se grababa el álbum). Metheny y Mays optan apropiadamente por un dúo sereno y ligeramente elegíaco de piano y guitarra acústica. El conjunto se equilibra con la flota americana de "Ozark" y el swinger aerodinámico " It's for You."Rematado con una percusión integral y de buen gusto de la futura banda habitual Nana Vasconcelos, esta cita de Metheny de 1981 es ciertamente un disco que vale la pena que los fanáticos busquen, aunque no es esencial.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/as-falls-wichita-so-falls-wichita-falls-mw0000192233


 El guitarrista Pat Metheny y su antiguo colaborador/alter ego del teclado Lyle Mays vieron en sus raíces rurales estadounidenses una conexión mística con todo un mundo de sonidos, y con As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls, comenzaron el proceso de crear una expresión folclórica idiomática propia. Con la ayuda de la maestra percusionista Nana Vasconcelos, crean un recorrido por puestos avanzados musicales en la pista principal extendida que es a la vez gótica y atmosférica a la manera de Weather Report, bucólica y armoniosa como The Byrds, con ecos de pueblos pequeños, centros comerciales y ferrocarriles solitarios, sobre extensiones de espacios abiertos que reflejan sus orígenes familiares e innumerables millas vagando por la interestatal en una serie de noches universitarias. En los cuatro modos principales cuadrados de" Ozark "y" It's for You " se puede escuchar el tinte beige de la experiencia estadounidense que se fusionó con la música afroamericana para darle a los EE.UU. su profundidad y amplitud musical, mientras que "September Fifteenth" es una reflexión orante y reflexiva sobre el espíritu de su antepasado romántico, el pianista Bill Evans. -- Chip Stern
https://www.amazon.com/As-Falls-Wichita-So/dp/B000026255

www.patmetheny.com ...
facebook.com/LyleMays ...

Tracks:
1 - As Falls Wichita...
2 - Ozark
3 - September 15th
4 - “It’s for You”
5 - Estupenda Graca


Credits:
    Pat Metheny: 6- and 12-string Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bass
    Lyle Mays: Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Autoharp
    Nana Vasconcelos: Berimbau, Percussion, Drums, Vocals

Recorded: September-October 1980, Talent Studio, Oslo

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