Pat Metheny brings Side-Eye to Foxwoods Saturday

Nov. 3—In a just solar system, all I'd have to write would be: "Pat Metheny" ...

... and thousands wouldn't clamor for tickets because they'd already KNOW and all 113 shows of his entire tour would be sold out weeks in advance.

Thinking positively, though, it's excellent that Metheny, one of the finest guitarists ever and a giant of modern jazz, performs Saturday in the Great Cedar Showroom at Foxwoods.

After the awful loss in early 2020 of his close friend and longtime collaborator, the keyboard genius Lyle Mays, Metheny has embraced a new touring concept based on his own early days when older musicians like Ornette Coleman, Gary Burton, Charlie Haden and Paul Bley nurtured his talent.

Metheny conceptualized Side-Eye, an ongoing series of concerts with younger artists he's learned about. For Saturday's date, keyboardist/pianist James Francies and drummer Joe Dyson will join Metheny. There's a new Side-Eye album, "NYC (V1, IV)," with delicately and wondrously sprawling new compositions like "It Stars When We Disappear."

Expect an improvisational feast as the trio presents new works, Metheny classics, and perhaps material by Coleman, Haden and more.

And it would be poignant and NOT a surprise if the Side-Eye unit plays something like "September 15th" or "Are You Going With Me" in fond homage to Mays.

Pat Metheny and Side-Eye, 8 p.m. Saturday, Great Cedar Showroom, Foxwoods; $69-$89; foxwoods.com.