“Phase Dance” by Pat Metheny Group

"Phase Dance" comes from Pat Metheny Group, the quartet's debut album, cut in January 1978 and issued by ECM two months later, with Manfred Eicher producing and Jan Erik Kongshaug engineering. Metheny and Lyle Mays wrote it together, and it lays out the band's whole approach in one sweep: Metheny states the main melody on acoustic guitar, then goes electric for one of the improvised solos, while Mays builds the foundation on keyboards before taking the other solo himself. Mark Egan plays bass and Danny Gottlieb drums.

That array of guitars, and the blend of electronic and acoustic keyboards, became the group's trademark, and "Phase Dance" didn't take long to become its signature tune, most often heard in concert as the piece that got the night started.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.