Pat Metheny, Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin in Manchester

Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin

Two Jazz Star concerts in the North West this June and July promoted by Manchester's Band on the Wall

Tues 10 June Pat Metheny Unity Group live at The Lowry, Salford 
"A virtuoso guitarist, an expansive composer and, above all, an inveterate searcher" New York Times
Legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny made his return to small-combo performance with the Unity Group, a band gifted enough to keep up with the full range of his forty years of musical explorations. It is no surprise that with that band — "blazing virtuosi with musical intelligence to match"  The Guardian — Metheny won his astonishing 20th Grammy award in 2013.
The Unity Group boasts a once-in-a-lifetime lineup: saxophonist Chris Potter, whom Metheny calls "one of the most exciting soloists in jazz on any instrument", Ben Williams, "the baddest new bassist on the block" (The Revivalist); powerhouse drummer Antonio Sanchez; and extraordinary multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi

Pat Metheny - Guitars
Chris Potter - Saxophone and Flute
Antonio Sanchez - Drums and Percussion
Ben Williams - Bass
Guilio Carmassi - Percussion

Tickets £26.50 - £32.50 advance on sale now

Wed 9th July 2014 Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin
Internationally-acclaimed American pianist and arranger Dave Grusin, live on stage with the legendary jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour.

Growing up in L.A. in the sixties, guitarist Lee Ritenour received a rich cross section of exposure to jazz, rock and Brazilian music which has informed his dazzling playing ever since. From one of his first sessions at 16 with the Mamas and Papas to accompanying Lena Horne and Tony Bennett at 18, his forty-year career is highlighted by a Grammy Award win for his 1986 collaboration with Dave Grusin, Harlequin; 17 Grammy nominations; numerous #1 spots in guitar polls and the prestigious Alumnus of the Year award from USC. He has recorded over 40 albums, with 35 chart songs, notably the Top 15 hit Is It You, which has become a contemporary jazz radio classic. In the 90s, Ritenour was a founding member of Fourplay, the most successful band in contemporary jazz.

If ever there was a renaissance man in jazz and popular music, Dave Grusin would be it. In a career that spans somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 recordings across five decades, he has been highly successful in so many roles – pianist, composer, performer, bandleader, producer, arranger and record executive to name just a few. His work as a composer reaches far beyond that of the typical solo recording artist and deep into the realm of film and television scoring – a venture that has resulted in 10 Grammys and an Academy Award since the late 1960s. Anyone with even a casual interest in jazz, film or television over the past half-century has encountered Dave Grusin and his music somewhere along the way.

Tickets £28.00 Early Bird, £30.00 Advance

Details http://bandonthewall.org/