Book Talk and Trio Concert by Bob Gluck, with Transcendence: Christopher Dean Sullivan and Carl Latham

Join us for a very special event with author/musician Bob Gluck.

We are thrilled to feature Bob Gluck author of Pat Metheny: Stories beyond Words (August 2024, University of Chicago Press) and a trio performance by Bob’s own group Transcendence. Bob will reflect on the legacy of guitarist Pat Metheny and - with Transcendence - perform musical examples that illustrate some of Pat’s core ideas. As Bob says, Pat Metheny is a highly eclectic composer/guitarist and a pioneer of musical/genre boarder crossing. This book is not a biography, but rather an exploration of his musical thinking.

Copies of Bob’s book will be available for purchase and signing. Please RSVP for planning purposes.

About the Book

In Pat Metheny, Stories beyond Words (University of Chicago Press), Bob Gluck provides a birds-eye view of the musical ideas of this acclaimed guitarist and composer. Gluck, whose perspective as pianist, composer, and educator has illuminated the music of Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis in previous books, now focuses his lens on Pat Metheny’s self-conception as a musician and the threads that unite and distinguish his creative process.

Drawing upon a wealth of new interviews and close readings of musical examples, Gluck’s book, much like Metheny’s signature style, is accessible to a wide range of readers and listeners, presenting new clarity, musical insight, and historical perspective about the legacy of Metheny’s groundbreaking music. 

About the Trio

“Transcendence” presents a collective interplay and expansive approach to performance that keenly captures the emotional depth and storytelling inherent in Metheny’s compositions. At the same time, “Transcendence” considers new possibilities and directions for this music that reflects the integrity and unique voice of the trio’s distinctive musical personalities. Together, the band maintains a solid, collective musical center while refracting three distinct voices as they shape a focused and forward moving environment that ranges across terrain that can be lyrical and fragile, explosive, and frolicking. Check them out here.

Bob Gluck is a pianist, electronic musician, writer, and professor emeritus at the University at Albany. His twelve recordings on the FMR, Ictus, and EMF labels have featured notables such as Billy Hart, Eddie Henderson, Aruan Ortiz, Michael Bisio, Joe Giardullo, Neil Rolnick, Andrea Wolper, Kinan Azmeh, Ken Filiano, and Tani Tabbal. His University of Chicago Press books have included You’ll Know When You Get There: Herbie Hancock and the Mwandishi Band and The Miles Davis Lost Quintet and Other Revolutionary

Christopher Dean Sullivan is a bassist of many musical languages. He has shared the stage with Stanley Jordan, Pete Seeger, Archie Shepp, Yusef Lateef, Grant Green, Horace Parlan, Joe McPhee, Sonny Simmons, Cecil Payne, Joe Lovano, Roy Campbell Jr., and recorded with Michael Marcus, Joe Giardullo, Sheila Jordan, Odean Pope, Newman Taylor Baker, and others.

Drummer Karl Latham’s career has spanned the globe, collaborating with internationally acclaimed musicians, from the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni Groups to Bernie Worrell, and Johnny Winter. Karl is known for his exceptional stylistic range from funk, rock, Latin, modern jazz, straight-ahead jazz, to avant-garde. Karl has been co-leader of Big Fun(K) with Don Braden, and Constellations with Ryan Carniaux and Mark Egan. His most recent recordings include “Living Standards” (2016) and “Together” (2021).