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Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny on crafting hits with Joni Mitchell and David Bowie: ‘I had to keep telling myself it was real’

The virtuoso jazz guitarist has worked with a string of legends, winning 20 Grammys in the process. He speaks on his beginnings as a jazz trumpeter, and still striving to improve at 70

Instantly recognisable thanks to his wild mop of hair and the custom three-necked, 42-string guitar he wields on stage, Metheny has released more than 50 albums, won 20 Grammys and collaborated with David Bowie and Joni Mitchell, as well as free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman and bass legend Jaco Pastorius. Photograph: Eamonn McCabe/The GuardianWhile he meticulously keeps written records of each show to improve on his performance, Metheny is widely considered a master improviser and virtuoso, pioneering an intricate, harmonic style that is as dextrous as it is melodic. Following the release of that album, Bright Size Life, and the heralding of Metheny’s sinuous guitar style as a bracing new voice in jazz, the relentless touring began and Pastorius started using drugs.

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