No. 349 November/December 2024

On the Cover: Pat Metheny

In a conversation with senior editor Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, the groundbreaking, ever-evolving Pat Metheny shares his thoughts on his latest live and studio solo ventures on baritone guitar—and explains why every one of his 50-plus releases feels like a single album.

Elsewhere, jazz musician and historian Nick Rossi explores the role of the acoustic guitar in swing bands of the 1930s–’40s; Isa Burke talks guitars with singer-songwriter Maya de Vitry; Ani DiFranco discusses taking her guitar and voice in a radical new direction on her latest release; and Richard Hoover, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, Larry Campbell, Rory Block, and Adam Traum pay tribute to the beloved late roots music legend Happy Traum.

Lessons include a primer on using the Nashville number system to communicate with bandmates; how to add blues flavors to your rhythm with simple chord embellishments; and a Weekly Workout on how to comp like swing ace Freddie Green.

Songs to Play: the Beatles’ “And I Love Her” as interpreted by Pat Metheny; Happy Traum’s bluesy take on the folk standard“He Was a Friend of Mine”; Dudley Hill’s flatpicking arrangement of “Spotted Pony”; a campfire-friendly renditionof Cole Porter’s “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall In Love”; Welshfingerstylist Gwenifer Raymond’s American Primitive-style solo guitar interpretation of the sacred harp hymn “Idumea.”

Plus, a profile on Charmed Life Picks founder Scott Memmer; AG’s expert, Martin Keith, offers tips on fretboard maintenance and keeping your guitar safe when flying; a review of a new three-disc set from jazz guitarist-composer Stephane Wrembel; and more.

In the gear department, Greg Ruby reviews the stage- and studio-ready Takamine FT340 BS dreadnought, and Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers experiments with Audigo, a pint-size wireless microphone/app combo that turns an iPhone into a mobile audio/video studio.

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