Meet Lucas Pickford –

This album of Pat’s is probably my all time favorite Pat Metheny recording. He has an all star cast with him that includes the late Michael Brecker on tenor sax, Charlie Haden on acoustic bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and the great Dewey Redman on sax as well. This composition is very simple but there’s so much in it to make melodies with. Sometime modern jazz can be too complicated, too complex, and the melody can tend to suffer if the composer isn’t careful. That’s not to say that complex tunes are better or worse than simpler ones. The music is either melodic and moves you when you listen to it, or it doesn’t. With this song though, you are are almost forced to simplify your ideas and make melodies that really say something. Running a bunch of licks over this song just isn’t going to cut it. The video I’ve included is a live version and therefore might vary a bit from the transcription that I did from the studio recording.

Still, it’s close enough for you to get the simple beauty of this tune and hopefully it will inspire you to compose a tune of your own in this style. Remember, people don’t remember what you played first or what you played last, all they really remember is how your music made them FEEL. Until next time.

Please click on the 3 links below to download the transcription of the Pat Metheny Composition, “Everyday I Thank You.”

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