For intermediate and advanced jazz musicians, all instruments (limited enrollment)

— Event to be held August 20-24, 2012, The Spa at Norwich Inn, Norwich, CT–

The National Music Workshop is proud to announce the 2012 Pat Metheny Summer Music Workshop. World-renowned guitarist, composer and bandleader Pat Metheny will return to The Spa at Norwich Inn in Norwich, Connecticut for five days (and four nights) to conduct workshops, special ensemble programs and master classes. Players of all instruments are welcome: Metheny will be addressing not just the guitar but jazz improvisation and musicianship in the broadest and most inclusive sense.

Pat has enlisted legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Larry Grenadier to participate as part of the faculty for this event.

“Having Jack join us for this year is incredibly special. Jack is one of the greatest musicians in the world and our personal association goes back for many years and on so many projects. Besides everything else that makes Jack the greatest, he is also an excellent communicator about music and it will be inspiring for all of us to be around him for the week. And I am thrilled to have Larry joining me for the program this year; we have spent a huge amount of time playing together over the years and this past year especially.” – Pat Metheny

These two musicians will work with drum and bass students and will participate in programs for all the participants throughout the week. Pat and the trio will offer a private concert for all the participants on the opening night. In addition, Pat will also join his friend, mentor, and NEA Jazz Master Guitarist and musician Jim Hall in a special and rare duo concert and workshop. Advertisement

Participants will have the rare opportunity to rehearse and perform a new piece written by Pat which will be arranged and orchestrated for the group.

“When we know exactly who is coming and what the instrumentation is I will write a piece just for the participants, like I did last year. We will also be dissecting and studying the composition throughout the week. The piece last year was about 45 minutes long and everyone was challenged by it. I already have lots of ideas and really look forward to composing for everyone.” – Pat Metheny

The Pat Metheny Summer Music Workshop will be held from August 20-24, 2012 at The Spa at Norwich Inn, 607 West Thames Street, Norwich, CT 06360. For full details or to register, please call 800-234-6479.

The Inn features luxurious accommodations, gourmet meals and an attentive staff — a perfect location to bring a spouse or friend. Fee levels are available for full on-site participants (including lodging and meals), off-site participants (including classes, clinics and concerts), and on-site non-participants (i.e., spouses, partners, parents). Advertisement

Additional workshop details (subject to change):

• Workshops and master classes: mornings, approx. 10am-12pm
• Ensemble sessions: afternoons, approximately 2pm-4pm
• Jam sessions with professional rhythm sections: late afternoon-early evening
• Concerts: evenings as follows —
o 8/20 Pat Metheny with Jack DeJohnette and Larry Grenadier
o 8/21 Pat Metheny & Jim Hall
o 8/22 Open Mic
o 8/23 Student Concert and premiere of Pat’s Composition for the participants

Pat Metheny burst onto the jazz scene as a guitar prodigy in the mid-1970s and has since become an 18-time Grammy Award winner — a figure of global and historical significance not only in the annals of jazz guitar but in contemporary music as a whole. Through his leadership of the acclaimed Pat Metheny Group, as well as his collaborations with Ornette Coleman, Roy Haynes, Gary Burton, Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius, Joni Mitchell, Steve Reich, David Bowie, Jim Hall and many more, Metheny has brought compositional and technological innovation, melodic richness and boundless spirit to the world of jazz and modern music.

Pat’s most recent recordings for the Nonesuch label are The Way Up by the Pat Metheny Group, featuring a single album-length composition; Metheny Mehldau and Quartet, collaborative efforts with piano virtuoso Brad Mehldau; Day Trip, with trio mates Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez; Orchestrion, a boundary-smashing milestone featuring Pat with an ensemble of mechanized acoustic instruments; and, new in June 2011, What It’s All About, an intimate solo acoustic guitar album featuring Pat’s revelatory treatments of the Stylistics, the Carpenters, the Beatles, Henry Mancini, Burt Bacharach and more. Advertisement

The National Music Workshop is a division of The National Guitar Workshop. Since its founding in 1983, The National Guitar Workshop has always strived to create an educational and collaborative atmosphere for students and teachers alike. NGW has delivered the finest in music education to guitarists, bassists, keyboardists and drummers throughout the world, with an acclaimed faculty that includes some of the most sought-after professional musicians in every style of music. NGW maintains campuses and programs in New Milford and Norwich, Connecticut; Austin, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and Bigfork, Montana. In 2011 alone, NGW’s roster of guest artists included Kevin Eubanks, Pat Martino, Greg Howe, Jennifer Batten, Jim Hall, Elvin Bishop and more.