Background

Pat Metheny formed Side-Eye as a means to collaborate with younger musicians. ^[1] He also intended Side-Eye to have a rotating lineup of musicians. ^[2] Metheny invited the keyboardist James Francies, and they both played with different drummers in Side-Eye, before settling on Marcus Gilmore for their 2019 U.S. tour. ^[1] Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) was recorded in New York City on September 11 and 12, 2019, ^[3] and it was released on September 10, 2021. After its release, Metheny toured with Side-Eye in the United States and Europe. For the entire tour, Joe Dyson replaced Gilmore. ^{[1] [4]} Chris Fishman took over Francies' role in the European leg of the tour. ^{[5] [6]}

Composition

Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) features eight tracks and runs for 60 minutes. The tracks are a mixture of new compositions and ones that Metheny had recorded earlier in his career. "It Starts When It Disappears", "Lodger", and "Zenith Blues" all debuted on Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV). ^[1] "Better Days Ahead" was originally from Metheny's 1989 album Letter from Home , and "Bright Size Life" and "Sirabhorn" came from Metheny's debut album Bright Size Life . ^[1] "Timeline" debuted on the saxophonist Michael Brecker’s album Time Is of The Essence, ^[7] and Metheny first performed "Turnaround", a composition by Ornette Coleman, on the album 80/81 . ^{[1] [2]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100 [8]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[9]
The Guardian	[10]
Jazzwise	[11]
PopMatters	7/10 [12]
The Times	[13]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic , Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from five critic scores. ^[8] Thom Jurek of AllMusic praised its sound, stating "Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV) offers an astonishing portrait of the many places Metheny has been, and intimates where he may yet go". ^[9] Doug Collette of Glide Magazine stated that "Satisfying as it is as (re)new(ed) Metheny music, this album will also whet the appetites of his aficionados and jazz lovers in general for future installments in the series". ^[3] Lucy Tauss of JazzTimes believed "The Side-Eye concept is a great setting for [Metheny], and a dream gig for any young musician who gets to play in the group—and benefit from Metheny’s experience the way he benefited from his elders all those years ago". ^[7] Jeremy Levine wrote in PopMatters that Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)'s "impressive musicianship… creates an exciting, ever-changing evening of music that’s as accessible as it is engaging". ^[12] Chris Pearson of the Times praised Francies and Gilmore, and he wrote that "it's sometimes hard to believe that you are listening to a trio". ^[13]

Track listing

Personnel

• Pat Metheny – guitars, guitar synthesizer, bass guitar, orchestrionics
• James Francies – piano, synthesizers, organ
• Marcus Gilmore – drums

References