Letter from Home (album)

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Letter from Home
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 29, 1989 (1989-06-29)
RecordedSpring 1989
StudioPower Station, New York City
GenreJazz fusion, Latin jazz, crossover jazz
Length61:39
LabelGeffen
ProducerPat Metheny
Pat Metheny chronology
Still Life (Talking)
(1987)
Letter from Home
(1989)
Question and Answer
(1990)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Letter from Home is the sixth studio album by the Pat Metheny Group. It was released in 1989 by Geffen Records. In 1990, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. It was certified gold by the RIAA on July 23, 1998.[2]

The album marked the return of Pedro Aznar, who became a member of the Group on the album First Circle. It also featured a reemphasis on increased instrumental diversity and was a huge commercial success, comfortably making the Top 200 album chart at Billboard magazine. "Slip Away" was, as Metheny put it, "extraordinarily successful, one of the most successful individual tunes that we've ever made." He said that it contains an ideal melodic durability.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Pat Metheny except where noted

Side one:
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Have You Heard" 6:25
2."Every Summer Night" 7:13
3."Better Days Ahead" 3:02
4."Spring Ain't Here" 6:55
5."45/8"Metheny, Mays0:56
6."5-5-7"Metheny, Mays7:54
Side two:
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Beat 70"Metheny, Mays4:53
2."Dream of the Return"Spanish lyrics by Pedro Aznar5:25
3."Are We There Yet"Mays7:55
4."Vidala"Pedro Aznar3:04
5."Slip Away" 5:24
6."Letter from Home" 2:33

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1989) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[3] 66
US Top Contemporary Jazz Albums (Billboard)[4] 1

Awards[edit]

Grammy Awards

Year Category
1990 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance

References[edit]

  1. ^ Henderson, Alex (2011). "Letter from Home - Pat Metheny Group | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Pat Metheny Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  4. ^ "Pat Metheny Chart History (Top Contemporary Jazz Albums)". Billboard.