n unusually young age. Metheny first burst onto the international jazz scene in 1974. Over the course of his three-year stint with vibraphone great Gary Burton, the young Missouri native already displayed his soon-to-become trademarked playing style, which blended the loose and flexible articulation customa

ring the nex= few years, he generally emphasized his acoustic playing and appeared in a wide variety of contexts, including separate duet tours with Gary Burton and Herbie Hancock, a quarte= with Michael Brecker, trios with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes, tributes t= Thelonious Monk, and even some classical