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Letter From Home by Pat Metheny

One of my favorite songs from Pat Metheny. A lovely song beautifully played by Pat. The album "Letter From Home" is also one of my favorites from Pat and his group. Here's my take on it. I was going for a subtle version with restraint and a focus on playing counterpoint using dampening. When Pat was playing with Gary in the 70s, I remember going to Gary's office at Berklee and many times seeing Pat dabbling on the vibes. He sounded good too!

"Alfie" - Solo Vibes

“ALFIE” – composed in 1966 (for the movie of the same title) with lyrics by Hal David and music by Burt Bacharach. I’ve always been a fan of Burt Bacharach’s composing and of this song which has a beautiful and memorable melody, poignant lyrics, unusual and interesting harmony and an odd bar form. There are many fantastic versions of this song recorded by vocalists. From pianists, one of my favorite version is from Bill Evans. Bill’s lush voicings, sense of harmony and touch is impeccable. Brad Mehldau’s version with his trio is also excellent.

Off topic - want to see wear brushes come from?

According to my buddy historian Jim Hamilton we r the only culture to play drums with our feet. I know drummers all over the world now do it, but according to him it starts here. He says it comes from tap dancing. He comes from a line of tap dancers.

He said many of the early drummers could tap and many were tap dancers.

So listen to this video. He says this is where brushes come from. This is amazing.