I'm going to have to say I was disappointed with this album for a number of different reasons. I'll start by saying that it is not by any stretch a bad album, per-se. Metheny does have some serious chops and his new trio-mates, Christian McBride and Antonio Sanchez, are both excellent musicians that I have liked for a while in their own rights. Those concessions aside I have to say that I feel like Metheny is stuck in a rut musically speaking. I think its such a shame that Metheny sounds just like last time here. Not that Metheny sounded bad the last time around, just that I was hoping for something different or new to come with the new trio. If there is any exploration here it is tepid at best. At first when I began listening to this album, it struck me as pretty good standard Metheny affair. I found I could not stomach an entire albums worth of it though and began to zone out during Metheny's solo's. The album became for me a vehicle of the two other trio members who are both in fine form here. Still, however, a disappointment.

I am a Pat Metheny fanatic but, this CD was very disappointing. I guess I am not use to him performing with other artisit. The classic Pat for me is the Pat Metheny Group with Lyle Mays.

I have listened to this over and over, I can't get enough. One of Metheny's most mature and enjoyable releases. What a pleasure to hear these three great musicians together. Pop this CD into your car stereo and I guarantee you won't be so aggressive behind the wheel. Enjoy.

I got to see Metheny test out some of this music in a small club a few years back. It was a great show, and it translated well into studio material. Just Pat accompanied by bass and drums...a simple formula with delightful results. I don't want to talk this CD to death. If you know Pat's work, this is a wonderful, must-have sample of his material. If you're fairly new to Pat...give him a try. As I've said in other reviews, I'm not sure if I should classify him as straightforward instrumental electric (and occasionally acoustic) jazz or the lighter side of fusion. But, Pat has a unique sound, with a knack for sounding both uplifting and melancoly at the same time. This is simply fantastic...just Pat on guitar with bass and drums...simple formula with fantastic results! Enough said!

The more i listen to it, the better it gets.. Three great musicians just having a day trip .... this album is full of melodic treats. Could it be better?...yeh, you might expect the ultimate best with this group.

Pat Metheney has done it - again. His guitar work is its usual work of art. He also let's McBride and Sanchez show their impressive abilities as the trio grooves through numbers ranging from quiet and emotional to rocking. I've listened to the tracks a dozen times and I'm still finding new gems in the solos and the jams.

Jaco.....that writer in the Kansas City Star who after the show at the Jewish Community Center in 1977, described Pat Metheny's playing "like the wind in the trees" and I still can't think of a better description. The minimal configuration of the Pat Metheny Group is still my favorite.

I've more a less a fan of Pat Metheny's early work..I saw him seven times between 1979-1987. His early work was innovative, inspired, and fresh. I lost touch with the 1990-2003 work, but have listened to The Way Up, which I found a bit less focused, but within the context of the Metheny Group(i.e, with Lyle Mays) he doesn't disappoint. Day Trip seems to be off the cuff, spontaneous noodling. Not a bad thing, and his supporting players are excellent, but nothing really memorable here. If you're a die hard fan, get this. If not, stick with American Garage-Travels, his best stuff.

I am a long time lover of Pat Metheny's music & who ever he collaborates with is totally unique, imaginative, creative, and very beautiful. This CD is right on time and at the top with all of the others. It is hard to pick one favorite as Metheny reinvents himself each time he plays. I love this CD and his concert this past February 2008 @ Napa Opera House was right on . Best regards, Lori D.

Great playing by the leader, as well as bassist Christian McBride and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Very nice new compositions, as well arrangements of previously recorded Metheny tunes (the red one, when we were free, snova, son of thirteen). Similar in nature to previous trio recordings by Pat. Nothing really new here, just good music played with excellently by 3 musicians in complete rapport.

Day Trip wasn't the best I've heard from Metheney, but very good. Electric guitar, electric bass, and drums running through quick jazz riffs and longer improvisations. Nice variation but a very light sounding jazz album.

Mr. Metheny has managed to do it again. He has produced a CD full of good Jazz with a sound that reflects some of the Jazz greats. He did it all with real musical instruments, none of that synthetic junk which seems to dominate the music world today.

As always his love affair with his Genre and that guitar really shines through, with timing next to none. His accompanists, are all to be comended for a job well done.

Included is a track which seems to be a protest of the condition of America today, "Is This America," and the equally lamenting "When We Were Free." Some might dispute, but I am guessing this is his protest, and statement. All in all this is a good addition to any Jazz lover's collection. Happy listening.

the new pat metheny day trip cd is a nice work worth investing in, there is a new rendition of when we were free that is enticing, i went to see this trio back in october of 07 in glen ellyn illinois, the show was great pat always steps it up in live performances , at last your here is a sweet subtle tune ,lets move kicks it up a little, if your a pat metheny fan there is no need for anyone to sell you this cd you will buy it yourself all i can say is for new fans if your into jazz trios with imagination this should fit the bill, as for the reviews about the same old thing there were several moments i was astounded by different twist and turns of creativity within every song so i dispute that, listen for yourself id tell you to enjoy but im not worried about that is almost guaranteed pat metheny on guitar, christian mcbride on bass, after seeing chris live i was floored, antonio sanchez,on drums a jack dejohnette with the energy of a thirty something never a dull moment during this trip

What hits you square between the eyes on this disc is the warmth of Pat's guitar tone, his amazing telepathy & synergy with the rhythm section &, finally Sanchez' utter "completeness" as a percussionist (sorry, but this guy ain't just a "drummer", he's the complete rhythm colourist). As for the tunes themselves, they are generally down-tempo (which makes the many intra-tune mood & rhythm changes even MORE glorious) & although not instantly "memorable" I can almost guarantee most will seep into your psyche after a few listens. A brief track by track overview:-
Son of Thirteen: a decent opener, albeit without a memorable "hook" & perhaps a little too much of Pat's trademark "runs" before he virtually stops on a dime to comp behind a shimmering Sanchez "solo" which is well worth the wait & definitely "steals" the tune!
At last you're here: Excellent piece worthy of repeated listens; Pat shows off a number of tricks in the jazz guitarist's armoury here (including a fantastic progression from single notes to chords which gave me goosebumps on the first listen!) plus a stunning solo from McBride with Sanchez again brilliant.
Let's move: as the title implies, probably the most "straight-ahead" tune & perhaps my least favourite for that; rhythmically & technically excellent solo from McBride.
Snova: an underlying bossa nova beat (as the title suggests) & if you close your eyes you can almost imagine the warmth of Pat's guitar tone carrying you with him across the dance floor before the bassman tries to cut in! Incredibly evocative & romantic.
Calvin's Keys: great groove, reminiscent of early swing bands at first but then, by turns, funky, light-hearted & playful. I reckon they must have had great fun with this tune on tour. Listen to Sanchez' subtle & almost ever-constant rhythm changes underneath. Easily one of my favourites here.
Is this America? (katrina 2005): Stunning & heart-rendering acoustic piece with a gorgeous bowed bass solo by McBride. Totally compelling listening & even though I'm not even American, still brings a tear to my eye after several listens. (Enough said).
When we were free: I'm a harsh critic of artists re-interpreting their own material on studio discs; this is undoubtedly a great tune (& I must say seems to flow-on quite naturally from "katrina") but the original (on PMG's "Quartet") was perfectly fine & although this version is thoroughly enjoyable, I don't think it fully justifies the exclusion of a "new" piece (although Sanchez does his very best to try & sway my opinion towards the end!)
Dreaming Trees: only problem with this acoustic track is that whereas "Is this America?" is 10 out of 10, this is only 9.5!. Another great solo from McBride.
The Red One: Same opening comment as for "When we were free" except here I guess Pat's doing all the guitar work himself without Sco beside him. The middle section here is significantly altered from the original (quite a reggae feel actually) & this, plus the fact that it adds a nice contrast to the other material on this disc I makes it worthy of inclusion (just!).
Day Trip: fine but kind of sterile (dare I say "formulaic") when compared to what's gone before.
In conlusion, despite my nit-picking on individual tunes here is a master at the top of his form, accompanied by a simply outstanding rhythm section (with apologies to Bill S & Larry G). Quite possibly this is the best guitar trio disc ever, not to be missed & easily 5 stars!!

I don't regard this CD as a ho hum effort at all. I think the writing and musicianship are top notch. People who think the music lacks inspiration may be expecting something more akin to the Lyle Mays collaborations. These recordings are more layered and more lushly produced. They are also more commercial. I am just as satisfied with the straight ahead trio music on Day Trip. If your taste runs toward bop this CD is the ticket.

Guitarist Pat Metheny gets together with what he calls "two of the best people on earth"; drummer Antonio Sanchez and bassist Christian McBride - all three of them geniuses in their respective fields, if you ask me - for this beautiful set of 10 songs lasting just over one hour. I often find myself searching for words when reviewing any Pat Metheny project. What's there to say anyway, apart from, it's stunningly beautiful and just as good as (if not better than) I expected it to be? It is very true though, that no new musical ground is broken on this disc - hence the "more of the same" comment by a previous reviewer; a comment I tend to agree with - but that doesn't bother me much. I don't think I could ever get bored of music by Pat Metheny and the album loses no stars from me as a result.

Metheny plays electric guitar for the most, only choosing acoustic guitar on the thinly veiled political lament "Is This America? (katrina 2005)", on which McBride takes a bow to his bass, and then again on "Dreaming Trees". He also plays his trademark guitar synth on "When We Were Free", a cover of a song that originally appeared on the Pat Metheny Group 1996 album Quartet and again on "The Red One", another one I've heard before on I Can See Your House from Here, the 1994 album Pat made with John Scofield. Sanchez and McBride make sure the covers work, in that they both actually add something new to the originals, which were pretty awesome to begin with. Kudos to them.

The guitar/bass/drums trio format has always been my favourite of them all and this particular trio has not let me down. Pick this up if you're a Metheny fan or just interested in sampling some good jazz guitar. It's worth every penny.

One question though, Pat: When's the next PMG album due? It's been three years already!

Metheny, McBride and Sanchez have created a sound completely of themselves. While it touches on many things from blues to rock to folk to new age and straight ahead there still remains the unique sound these three create. As a trio they are much greater than the sum of their parts. And those parts are indeed formidible. Each selection is richly textured and Metheny uses sounds new to his recordings on the R&R influenced "The Red One" which is reminiscent of "Roots of Coincidence". Metheny, McBride and Sanchez are probably some of the most advanced and technically proficient musicians in this genre today and that is reflected on this recording. There are times when there is too much information to digest and I found myself wanting to hear some chords and harmony but hey, that's just me. I am sure as I listen more I will hear more and the nuance will begin to show. It was refreshing to hear some blues on a Metheny release and, as always, his skills are light years ahead of most. On the technical side, the recording itself seemed rather quiet, I had to turn it up higher than most of my CDs in order to get the same sonic response. Perhaps a remaster opportunity?

With the Pat Metheny group, there is color, imagination and more organic structures (i.e., The Way Up). As a trio, the overall result is curiously dry and monochromatic. Pat basically performs with his hollow body (as opposed to his guitar synth) and he essentially employs the traditional head-solo(s)-head format, which gets old after a few tunes. While bass player Christian Bale's solos are jaw dropping indeed, I find Pat's soloing while fluid, is not very inspired. I'll play it a few more times and hope it grows on me.

My two cents.

Although this trio is out touring now, these are older recordings from the fall of 2005 (before the Mehldau project). Not that that's bad, but calling this a "new" album is somewhat misleading.

This is typical of Pat's more recent work - Absolutely great playing all around, but the tunes themselves are not particularly memorable. If you've kept up with Pat's music over the years, you'll recognise some of these tunes from earlier albums. It's nice to hear a different take on this material.

If you want another jazz guitar trio album, you won't go wrong here - Pat does this stuff better than just about anyone and this album holds up well along with his earlier trio work. Stronger tunes would've be nice, though...

Pat does it again. This is Awesome work here. Great jazz indeed. I was fortunate to catch the live concert last October and all I can say is WoW!
I sure hope they release the live version on DVD so I can relive that night. The song "When we were friends" is worth the price of the CD alone.
That song is so sweet, it almost brought me to tears. Tears of joy that is.
I'm glad I preordered my CD so I was able to download the music today. Hope I'm one of the 50 lucky ones that get Pat's autograph.
Pat keep up the good work bro. I can't wait to see you again.

~your biggest fan~

Another overall solid record with a stellar band. Christian's solos are typically astounding in technique while still beautifully musical, and his sound lends itself quite well to this trio. Sanchez, like Stewart, keeps the beat alive and sharp. A sort of album that would fill the background nicely during dinner, but also will entertain you when listened to with concentration.

I've heard just about all of Pat's recordings since '75; he was one of the first cats that made me excited about jazz. At this point, however, it's hard for me to get that excited upon hearing this because it just gets old - the phrasing style in his solos and his tone; I'll attribute it partly to an excess of hokey licks, glisses and 8th-note runs without substance [don't get me wrong he's an incredible player who can also be very lyrical]. And his compositional style, while some praise him for mixing it up between his group and trio etc, ultimately fails to break out of the same general character. It's great that he has that unique character, it's worth checking out if you're not familiar with it, but over time it becomes predictable and thus not exciting, which may not matter for some. All in all, if you're new specifically to his trio music, there's no reason not to start here aside from chronological.

I agree with the first reviewer's use of "unmemorable" with reference to the actual tunes. But I beg to differ that "hard-core" jazz listeners would particularly dig this in comparison to other contemporary artists: let's just say Holland, Iyer, Glasper, Mehldau, Moran, all of whom I personally find much more exciting. Neverthless, I do plan on checking out this album many more times. This is quality jazz, and you can still find plenty of excitement from what these great musicians are doing.

The late jazz writer Richard Cook described Pat Metheny's enormous audience as a mixture of "progressive-rock listeners, fusion fans, and plain old lovers of guitar heroes". In other words, he manages to cover quite a few stylistic bases, but here's an album that will appeal most to the hard-core jazz listeners among Metheny's many fans.
'Metheny hooks up with his regular partners, Christian McBride on double bass and Antonio Sanchez on drums. As you'd expect for musicians who have played hundreds of dates together they're very comfortable in each other's company, with McBride's marvellously deep, rich bass really shining throughout'(BBC).
'In its early stages, "Day Trip" seems to fall into some familiar postbop traps (too much technique, overwrought themes) but it soon settles into some jubilant improvising from all three, on the kind of bluesy grooves, Latin swingers and inviting ballads that suggest Wes Montgomery has returned to life and found the hippest 21st-century world-music partners he could' (Guardian).
He dazzles on 10 new originals.
"Let's Move" is fast and boppish, "At Last You're Here" is a fine ballad, bound to become a classic - as might his bluesy "Calvin's Keys" and a bittersweet acoustic lament for flood-battered New Orleans, "Is This America?"
For technique, taste and originality, Pat's still the man.
He is alternately pastorally lyrical and hard-swinging, reminding us of his origins in the music of Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall respectively.
Apart from the unmemorable nature of some of the compositions, this is delightful stuff.
The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery
Hallmarks: The Best of Jim Hall