First Circle (album)

First Circle (album)

First Circle is a Grammy Award winning album by Pat Metheny Group released in 1984. On the album Pat Metheny is joined by Lyle Mays on piano and keyboards, Steve Rodby on bass, drummer Paul Wertico and vocalist and percussionist Pedro Aznar. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance in 1985.

Pat Metheny has remarked that this is an important album in the Group's history for a number of reasons. It was the first Group album that he produced, the Group's core lineup on the album remained unchanged for over 15 years, and it was the final Group album released on the ECM record label. While Metheny hasn't expressed any negativity toward ECM, he has stated that their recording policy was very stringent:

"You recorded for two days, you mixed for a day, that was your record. For better or for worse, whether you liked it or not, that was your record."

Nevertheless, Metheny has stated that "First Circle" vastly expanded the scope of the Group's music, allowing them to further emphasize musical experimentation within the studio. He sees this, "Still Life (Talking)", and "Letter from Home", arguably the Group's most popular albums, as connected by their distinctive musical explorations and accessibly melodic personalities.

Of note on the album proper is the peculiar opener "Forward March". Sounding like a children's concert band's first practice together, the piece, which features keyboardist Lyle Mays on trumpet, uses many dissonant, out-of-tune chords and notes, along with shifting time signatures.