Pat Metheny Group /

The Pat Metheny Group is a jazz group founded in 1977. The core members of the group are guitarist and bandleader Pat Metheny, composer, keyboardist and pianist Lyle Mays (who was part of the group's inception in 1977), and bassist and producer Steve Rodby (joined in 1980). Other long-standing members include Paul Wertico who was the drummer for 18 years. Founder Pat Metheny first emerged on the jazz scene in the mid-1970s with a pair of solo albums; Bright Size Life released in 1976 - a trio album with virtuoso bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius and Bob Moses, followed by Watercolors in 1977, featuring Eberhard Weber on bass, pianist Lyle Mays, and drummer Danny Gottlieb. Despite the constant categorization of Metheny's music as "fusion", it was always his intention to create improvised music that had a greater emphasis on bringing out harmony than anything common to what was called "fusion" of the time.