Long story short

Two top contenders in the Ockham book awards are knocked out of contention.

He connects that to his grandfather having a player piano and, before he picked up an instrument himself, being obsessed with how it worked.

When he started his first band, he wanted to create a sense of orchestration, and technology such as the Synclavier allowed that. His recent Orchestrion solo projects further extend his palette. “When I think about what’s possible now, it’s mind-blowing.”

Metheny has been an enthusiastic collaborator, although he admits that when he was working on the soundtrack to The Falcon and the Snowman, he had little idea who David Bowie was when director John Schlesinger suggested him. Schlesinger thought their instrumental, Chris, could do with a vocalist. Metheny got some Bowie records, recognised a few hits and realised Bowie would be the perfect singer.

“He came to a screening and was writing like crazy on a yellow legal pad. When the film was done, he had a list of about 200 titles, each one better than the

“When I hear a bunch of trash cans knocked down stairs, that’s melody, too. It’s in the ear of the be-hearer.”

next. John thought ‘this is not America’ was on it, a line someone in the movie says.”

Bowie took the track to Switzerland, worked on it, then called the band over. “Man,” Metheny says with audible awe, “it was like being around Sonny Rollins or someone. He was a master. It was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had, to see somebody at that level. It’s also a song that has more meaning now than at any time in its history.”

Metheny continues to see limitless possibilities. “I could never have predicted the trajectory of stuff I’ve done, so I just try to stay open to what’s happening. There’s infinity out there, and I always try to hang with the infinity.”