Pat Metheny, Guitar, 1954, Lee's Summit, MO
Pat worked with Gary Burton when in his teens, and in 1974 Burton officially hired him to play in his quartet. Pat was also a teacher, first at the University of Miami and then at the Berklee School Of Music during the early 1970s. From the mid '70s Pat has recorded and toured with his own groups. Pat's sidemen included people like Jaco Pastorius, Dewey Redman, Jack DeJohnette, and Nana Vasconcelos. He has also written soundtrack music for a number of films, including "Twice in a Lifetime", and "The Falcon and the Snowman", both in the mid '80s. Metheny has a wonderful technique on both standard and 12-string electric guitar, on which he is able to perform complex and quick passages with ease. His approach is much more lyrical than that of his contemporaries, John McLaughlin and Larry Coryell. He always seems to strive for simplicity in his improvisations. Metheny cites Jim Hall and the lateWes Montgomery as having influenced his playing.
Roy Crimmins, Trombone, 1929, Perth, Scottland
Roy spent his childhood years in London where he taught himself to play the trombone. During the '50s he worked with the Galleon Jazz Band, Mick Mulligan, and Freddy Randall, all popular performers of the era. Around 1955 Roy and Alex Welsh formed a band that became highly successful. In 1965 Roy left this band and formed one of his own, which he took to Germany ,where he remained for over ten years. During this period he moved around, working in Switzerland and Austria, and for five years he even had a television show of his own in Austria. He also recorded several albums under the pseudonym Roy King. He returned to Britain in 1978, and once again went to work with. After Welsh's death, Roy worked as a freelance, playing with Harry Gold and Bob Wilbur's British band.
