The Unity Sessions

The Unity Sessions is an album by American jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and his Unity Band: saxophonist Chris Potter, bassist Ben Williams, keyboardist Giulio Carmassi and drummer Antonio Sánchez. A live album in a studio setting, it was recorded with a camera crew in a black box theatre without an audience.^[1] The recording was released on DVD and Blu-ray disc in 2015, then as a double CD in 2016.^[2]

The Unity Sessions
Live album by Pat Metheny
Released	May 6, 2016 (2016-05-06)
Recorded	December 2014
Venue	Black Box Theatre, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	116:03
Label	Nonesuch
Producer	Pat Metheny, Steve Rodby
Pat Metheny chronology
KIN (←→) (2014) The Unity Sessions (2016) Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny (2016)

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
The Observer	[4]
The Guardian	[5]

The album received generally favourable reviews with Metacritic giving it a score of 80% from 4 reviews.^[6] The AllMusic review by Matt Collar states "Ultimately, while Metheny is the undisputed leader here, it's the thoughtful interplay of all the Unity Group's members that makes these sessions so involving".^[3] In The Observer Dave Gelly wrote, "This double album, recorded at the end of a year-long tour by his Unity Band, is as polished and sophisticated as any, but moments such as the opening melody of "This Belongs to You" or the gradual unfolding of "Born" are just plain elegant".^[4] Writing for The Guardian, John Fordham observed, "there's a generally exhilarating sense of freedom here, notably in improv exchanges between the players and with Metheny's one-man-band Orchestrion machine, that testifies to how attuned constant gigging has made them".^[5]

Track listing

Disc one:

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Adagia"		2:09
2.	"Sign of the Season"		10:43
3.	"This Belongs to You"		5:40
4.	"Roofdogs"		7:50
5.	"Cherokee"	Ray Noble	5:02
6.	"Genealogy"		2:05
7.	"On Day One"		15:18
8.	"Medley"		10:53

All tracks are written by Pat Metheny except where noted

Disc two:

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Come and See"		12:55
2.	"Police People"	Ornette Coleman, Pat Metheny	2:53
3.	"Two Folk Songs (1)"		4:59
4.	"Born"		7:52
5.	"Kin"		11:07
6.	"Rise Up"		12:29
7.	"Go Get It"		4:19

Personnel

• Pat Metheny – acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synthesizer, electronics, orchestrionics
• Chris Potter – tenor and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, guitar
• Antonio Sánchez – drums, cajón
• Ben Williams – acoustic and electric bass
• Giulio Carmassi – piano, synthesizer, flugelhorn, whistling, vocals

Technical personnel

• Pat Metheny – producer
• Steve Rodby – co-producer
• Pete Karam, David Oakes – recording
• Pete Karam – mixing
• Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound, NYC, USA

References

1. Nonesuch Record album info, accessed September 14, 2016
2. Pat Metheny website: The Unity Sessions DVD entry, accessed September 14, 2016
3. Collar, Matt. Pat Metheny – The Unity Sessions > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
4. Gelly, Dave (May 15, 2016). "Pat Metheny: The Unity Sessions review – everything flows beautifully". The Observer. London. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
5. Fordham, John (May 13, 2016). "Pat Metheny: The Unity Sessions review - old gems and new favourites". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
6. Metacritic summary, accessed September 14, 2016