Paul Wertico talks about Pat Metheny

[Music] Dr jazz [Music] before I met him you know I'd seen him play I saw him play with Gary Burton's band you know really oh wow with Mick Goodrich yeah I love it Moses yeah and you know it was good you know and then I heard him play at that same Club Harry hopes where street dancer had played well I heard him there but I didn't really talk to him by that time I was already playing with Ross and so I didn't even talk to Pat I didn't know him and then he called me you know for that first time in 77. so that's actually the first time we ever talked and you know I saw him play twice more I saw him play at the bottom line in New York and I saw him play at the College of DuPage uh in Illinois here and I just went to say hi I mean afterward I didn't try to get the gig I wasn't even injured I mean seriously I didn't know you know and that's sort of how that whole thing happened so then in 82 I was playing with the Simon and Barden group you know there was this band you know we were touring around like you know we it was like sleeping on people's floors I mean you know it was really I could have been at in Chicago making a lot of money doing jingles and stuff but I wanted to play original music and my wife was my girlfriend at the time she goes oh yeah go you should do what you need to do thank God you know so I went out and then Pat and Steve came in because they in Portland Oregon one night they played Portland Oregon and and Simon and bar group was playing Portland Oregon oh okay so after the concert uh methane you know with Pat and Steve came to hear Simon and Bard and Larry gray was playing you know more cocaine gray he was the player and we you know we played a set and then you know I said hi to Pat didn't think anything of it you know and I you know I think the Simon and bar groups thought that he was coming to check them out but he was actually I guess checking me out because you know about a week later or whatever he called me he you know he told me the Navas concealers had left the band and there was going to be a percussionist auditioning could I play for the percussionists audition you know that was Pedro then or no no no no no no so I thought man you know finally get a chance to play together you know I flew to Boston and it was some percussionist I played half hour for the guy and then you know that was it and then we ended up playing for like 10 to 12 hours I mean it was incredible we were playing and this is during the winter time this is like around Christmas time in Boston yeah in Boston and I didn't know the music you know it was weird the first time we played Ari going with me I had never heard are you going with me you know because I was into other other types of music I mean Pat stuff was good but it wasn't my favorite yeah and so you know at one point Pat said like you know man you know would you go out in the hallway you know and we need to talk about something so I go on this hallway and it's freezing because you know we were playing this warehouse and so I'm freezing and about a half hour later you know I go in and Pat goes you know I said man you know um we really like your playing I mean you know it's it's really great but you know I'm going to be back in Chicago on New Year's Day you know why don't you get together with Steve and you know learn some of the music and we could play together as a trio so I got together there was no music I had to learn these songs you know blah blah and so we played in some Hotel uh you know banquet room or something it's a trio oh beautiful man yeah and then you know just just jamming you know playing some of the songs and then you know he calls me about a week or so 10 days later and says like you know do you have a passport I said no he said well get one you're going to Europe with us you know and that's how that happened like a two-month European tour or three months because it got extended another six weeks it was so long you know that was the first time you were in Europe then also like yeah it was the first time I was ever in Europe oh how was that like for you I mean well it was great I mean obviously you know the flight over there you know the first gig was in Oslo so we ended up in Oslo and one of the things I remember really vividly you know we had rehearsed like a day or something and I'm still learning the music You Know the music makes no sense to me because they don't have the charts so I'm trying to remember what section goes with what's that you know tune and I remember the esoteric Circle Ellen has a sibelius statue on it and so I asked somebody if I could go to the park and see the sibelius oh yeah so I remember this vividly it was interesting because he and I are talking and he tells me he goes yeah it's so boring here living in Oslo because there's no crime and I'm like you know I'm from Chicago you know I'm like what what are you talking about you know but anyway so we we do the sibelius thing and you know we go back so then the first gig was at the club seven it's some some and yeah yeah and John Christensen are in the audience oh wow really oh and so we we play and about the second or third tune my snare drum breaks the the string on the strainer breaks off now Pat won't stop the show so so one of the texts comes out in ducts tapes the snares to the bottom head so my drum just sound like a paper bag and it was like three hours and 45 minutes you know that was my first gig with them Pedro's new to this by that time too you know so it's funny because someone the second gig we ever did isn't Copenhagen and that that's actually was that I've got that someone sent it they put up on YouTube I don't know if it's still up but I'll have to check it out yeah and it was another three hour gig by that time Pettit bought me a snare drum we went to some drum story Copenhagen he bought me a snare drum because my snare drum just couldn't handle how you know the volume of what we were doing and stuff so that first tour was really crazy but we played really well man I was I was thinking oh no this is going to be awful it's going to be a mess and when I listen to I get you know there's so few loose moments but man we were killing this stuff you know yeah and it's so different then than it is now because when you were there you were gone you know I mean to call my girlfriend you might I might call her every five days because you know you have to use the hotel phone and the surcharge on the hotel phone in Germany oh yeah one time I remember vividly Pedro called Argentina for about 20 minutes and he comes down we're gonna check out the next morning and his bill was like 600 year uh 600 marks marks yeah and he started crying you know oh my god well now you know you can do this I mean you could be anywhere you know it's so much easier now to tour but back then you were really really gone and the other thing that was so strange for the relationship is that there was a delay usually in in this in the uh the line so like if you go you know if I'm talking to my wife Barbara go Barb how you doing I'm fine so you're thinking uh like what what do you mean you have to think about it yeah I was like really oh it was it was intense you know that's bizarre no I always love these but you guys traveled by Boston or by train like we try we we basically in Europe I mean we would fly you would want to fly already then oh okay yeah we were flying already but then a lot of times like you know if we were playing in Germany or playing yeah if the gigs were three four hours away you know we might have two rental cars Pat liked to drive a car and then the tournament or like van Sanderson I think was the tour magic at that time he would drive you know and we would just do that because that was just easier and it was a great way to see the the countries yeah yeah yeah yeah like how did you get used to these you mentioned like three hours or three hours and 40 minutes how was it that like for you like let's say on a two month three month tour playing 63 hour concerts that's how did you hold on I mean like regarding physically it wasn't that hard for me no sometimes we would have to play like two you know two and a half hour shows with like an hour break you know or two you know it just you know I could still do it if I had to yeah sure sure yeah because I played really relaxed you know you're like a painter man or like or like bank with like so so beautiful to see you yeah thank you yeah so when you're doing that you're dancing you know you're not there yeah you're not pushing and the other thing there's no repetitive motion to get like tendonitis or anything because if you play the same way over and over and over again you know you're gonna wear out everything but if you're doing this nothing is being used repeatedly for any length of time so it's you know it's being relieved as you're using the other other you know stroke that you're hitting something with yeah that makes a lot of sense yeah [Music] hmm another jazz

Channel: Samo Salamon

Views: 14,871

Keywords: samo salamon, samo šalamon, dr. jazz talks, jazz interview, interview, jazz master, composing, improvisation, composition, jazz, jazz virtuoso, jazz talk, avantgarde jazz, modern jazz, free jazz, nyc jazz, musician talk, musician interview, jazz music, downtown jazz scene, jazz guitar, jazz guitarist, guitar, guitar jazz, paul wertico, paul wertico interview, pat metheny, pat metheny group

Id: dJQ8ImmgeIE

Length: 10min 23sec (623 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 09 2022