Pat Metheny, Side-Eye III+ Review

Pat Metheny’s Architecture on Side-Eye III+: Compositional And Improvisational Continuity

by Nolan DeBuke

The governing logic of Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye III+ is compositional continuity. Across eight Metheny originals, written melody and improvisation operate as a single developmental arc rather than as separate domains. Themes are not presented and then departed from; they are extended, refracted, and re-voiced in real time. The ensemble’s role is accompany episodes that recalibrate the harmonic and rhythmic environment as the lead voice evolves.

Side-Eye III+ is built around a trio core, Metheny on guitar, Chris Fishman on piano and keyboards, and Joe Dyson on drums. This core working trio is augmented by additional harmonic and vocal forces that expand the available formal range. These added colors do not redirect the music’s center of gravity; instead, they widen the compositional field in which the primary melodic voice moves. Structural peaks often coincide with layered textures, but the architecture remains melody-led. The expanded instrumentation functions as an enlarging frame rather than an alternative focal point.

The opening track, “In On It,” establishes this principle immediately. The primary theme is bright, fluid, and rhythmically buoyant. This theme returns with incremental expansion and contrast in the written material and improvised sections. When the solo section emerges, it does so by lengthening the thematic contour already embedded in the written material. Metheny’s phrases arc along the sectional design: as the harmony shifts, the line adjusts its intervallic density and registral placement accordingly. The result is a unified musical language that flows from a common vocabulary, a vocabulary built by Metheny in written form and in the moment through the art of improvisational deepening.

That same architecture governs “Don’t Look Down.” The opening acoustic bass and piano create a grounded thematic field before the form widens with the other instruments. The composition flows with defined parts that connect to develop a story. When improvisation enters, the melodic logic remains intact. Metheny introduces space and blues inflection, but the line continues to trace the compositional contour. As choral textures and later synth colors enter, they amplify the existing arc rather than redirect it. The improvisations of Metheny and Fishman move through successive layers without abandoning the composition’s thematic identity of texture, rhythmic flow, and drawing on a defined vocabulary.

Moving through the album, improvisation functions as developmental writing. On “Make a New World,” the melody establishes a clear harmonic pathway built from triadic weight and altered color. During the solo, Metheny brings emotions to that field through bends, slides, and ghosted articulations, yet the phrasing continues to articulate the underlying progression and compositional story. Sectional contrasts of light funk propulsion, Latin-accented undercurrent, and tension-building effects evolve around a line that remains structurally legible. The solo does not superimpose new material; it reinterprets existing harmonic DNA.

“Risk and Reward” offers a slower, layered example. Undulating bass and chordal movement create a modal frame that returns later in the piece. Metheny’s solo aligns closely with this architecture, gradually expanding registral space before introducing patterns that thicken the rhythmic surface. When the modal figure reappears, it registers as structural return. Improvisation carries the listener through the architecture and back to its origin, preserving continuity. This is Metheny’s gift as a storyteller.

Even in groove-centered material like “SE-O,” the principle holds. A single-note phrase threads through shifting harmonic colors before settling into extended improvisation. The cadence resolves into a specific voicing that feels prefigured by earlier melodic cells. Rhythmic interaction intensifies, but the thematic spine remains visible.

The continuity thesis depends on ensemble behavior. Fishman’s percussive piano and keyboard language allows harmonic development to occur without diffusing momentum. In “In On It,” his intervallic constructions mirror the sectional arc, particularly as electronic textures and drums build toward a climactic plateau. The keyboard solo reads as another stage of formal development. His background gives him a unique ability to lock in with the rhythm section while adding melodic depth, making him a versatile and distinctive voice in the band.

Dyson sustains groove identity while adapting to dynamic shifts. On “Don’t Look Down,” piano and bass move in and out of counterpoint against drums and percussion, yet the rhythmic core remains intact. Expansion occurs through layering rather than rupture. In “Urban and Western,” blues-based vamps widen into broader harmonic fields while a steady backbeat anchors the gospel-leaning ascent. Dyson has a distinct Kansas City vibe with New Orleans influences, giving his drumming a mixture of swing, groove, and soulful feel.

Expanded textures of bass, choir, harp, and additional percussion function as structural amplifiers. In “Our Old Street,” the nylon-string melody unfolds with clarity before ensemble layers accumulate around it. The middle groove supports a keyboard solo that remains melodically aligned with the written material; the subsequent release reframes the theme rather than replacing it. Harp coloration in cadential passages reinforces harmonic direction already established by the guitar. The choir adds color and grounding.

Each of the compositions uses multi-part structures that exude thematic durability. “Don’t Look Down” moves from grounded swing into upward choral expansion and back into harmonic landing; “Make a New World” shifts from groove clarity to tensioned color and returns to cadence; “Risk and Reward” cycles through modal framing, developmental soloing, pedal tone, and sustained resolution. In each case, improvisation traces the compositional map rather than charting a parallel course.

Across the record, sectional contrast never disrupts thematic identity; it enlarges it, as in the closing track, “So Far, So Good.” The final composition makes this integration explicit. A written acoustic melody unfolds into lyrical improvisation without a perceptible boundary. As the ensemble gradually expands with harp and light vocal textures entering and building with the written theme, and in the improvisational sections. After a cinematic journey, time loosens toward rubato, the melodic voice remaining central. The final held chord functions as structural completion.

Across Side-Eye III+, melody serves as architectural anchor; improvisation acts as thematic elaboration; ensemble interaction recalibrates the environment in response to evolving lines; textural additions reinforce formal peaks. Improvisation is embedded within the compositional framework itself, as melodic thinking unfolds in real time, with the ensemble adjusting its harmonic and rhythmic field to sustain the arc. The result is a consistent compositional voice in which written and improvised material operate within the same structural vocabulary.