In his SMF debut, renowned jazz guitarist Pat Metheny presents the first edition of “Side Eye”— a new playing environment that allows him to feature a rotating cast of up-and-coming musicians who have caught his eye. Metheny explains: “From my earliest days in Kansas City onward, I was the beneficiary of so many older musicians giving me a platform to develop my thing through the prism of their experience and the particular demands of what their music implied. I hear regularly from new players on the scene who have professed an influence from my records and tunes and I often invite them up to my house to play. And very often, it feels really natural and organic to play this music with them—music they have literally grown up with. I find myself inspired by how they deal with the musical challenges that come with the territory of some of those older tunes, and at the same time I find myself intrigued with the possibilities of writing music just for them. This new band setting is what that will be all about.”