Pat Metheny -- The Orchestrion Tour Coming to UB Oct. 16

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Center for the Arts will present Pat Metheny -- The Orchestrion Tour on Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North Campus. The concert is sponsored in part by Monaco's Violin Shop & Music Center and Creekside Dentistry.

Following a wildly enthusiastic reception to shows around the world last spring, 17-time Grammy Award-winner Pat Metheny continues his Orchestrion Tour. The Orchestrion album, which came out in January on Nonesuch Records, has received critical praise from The New York Times, Associated Press, Village Voice and Billboard, among others.

Metheny, whom the New York Times calls "easily one of the most enterprising jazz musicians of his generation," has performed shows to sold-out audiences in some of the world's best-known halls. London's Telegraph calls the show "a triumph," while the Kansas City Star says, "Metheny's Orchestrion is nothing short of spectacular… endlessly fascinating and visually dazzling."

Orchestrion brings a musical idea from the late 19th and early 20th centuries -- large mechanical multi-instrument device that utilizes actual orchestral instruments of various types, called an "orchestrion" -- to the technologies of today. Metheny's concept includes a large ensemble of acoustic instruments -- including several pianos, drum kit, marimbas, "guitar-bots," dozens of percussion instruments and even cabinets of carefully tuned bottles. Through Metheny's guitar and compositional mind, five new original pieces showcase the instruments as they are struck, plucked and otherwise played via the technology of solenoid switches and pneumatics. Metheny worked for months with a brilliant team of inventors to develop and assemble the "New Orchestrion" for this project.

Over the course of more than three decades, guitarist Pat Metheny has set himself apart from the jazz mainstream, expanding and blurring boundaries and musical styles. His record-setting body of work includes 17 Grammy Awards in 12 separate categories; a series of influential trio recordings; award winning solo albums; scores for hit Hollywood motion pictures; and collaborations and duets with major artists such as Ornette Coleman, Steve Reich, Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau. His band, the Pat Metheny Group, founded in 1977, is the only ensemble in history to win Grammys for seven consecutive releases.

Tickets for Pat Metheny -- The Orchestrion Tour are $43.50 and $33.50 general admission, and $26.50 for students (any school). Tickets are available at the Center for the Arts Box Office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and all Ticketmaster locations, including ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets, call 1-800-745-3000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For Group Sales, call 716-645-6771. For more information call 716-645-2787.