Trumpet/flugelhorn soloist Mike Metheny is a native of Lee's Summit, Missouri and has degrees from the University of Missouri/Columbia (B.S. in Music Education) and Northeast Missouri State University (Masters in Music Education).

His teachers included Keith House and John Alexander. metheny, jazz trumpet, jazz music, jazz artist, jazz musician From 1971 to 1974, he was a trumpeter in the U.S. Army Field Band in Washington D.C., and in 1976 he became a faculty member at Boston's Berklee College of Music, a position he held for six years.

At Berklee, Mike taught private trumpet, music theory and jazz improvisation and, while in Boston from 1976 to 1989, led his own Boston-based jazz quartet, appearing in numerous club, concert and festival settings across New England and the U.S.

At Ryles in Boston, circa 1981, w/Dick Odgren (piano), Bruce Gertz (bass) and BrooksWright (drums). Mike is a recipient of the "Outstanding Brass Player" award at the annual Boston Music Awards.

In addition to appearing on numerous jazz recordings as a sideman, he has recorded eight solo albums: Blue Jay Sessions (1982, Headfirst Records), Day In -- Night Out (1986, MCA/Impulse), Kaleidoscope (1988, MCA/Impulse), From Then 'Til Now (1992, Altenburgh Records) and Street of Dreams (1996, Altenburgh Records), and Close Enough For Love (2001), KC Potpourri (2003) and Back to Basics (2004) on Mike's 3 Valve Music label. metheny, jazz trumpet, jazz music, jazz artist, jazz musician.

Since 1983 Mike has been one of the few trumpeters to regularly perform on the EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument), a trumpet synthesizer with many dimensions and musical possibilities.

Originally developed by Nyle Steiner, the EVI has an eight octave range, is MIDI capable, and, as Mike says, "can double as a bug sprayer." metheny, jazz trumpet, jazz music, jazz artist, jazz musician Today, Mike is a freelance performer, educator and music journalist in the Kansas City area.

He is also the former editor of Kansas City's Jazz Ambassador Magazine (JAM), a position he held from 1994 through 2003.

CLOSE ENOUGH FOR LOVE is Mike Metheny's sixth release as a leader and it features Mike (flugelhorn, cornet and EVI/electronic valve instrument) on an eclectic mix of tracks.

There's a lively samba ("Pretty" by Bob Florence), a Kansas City-style groover (Mike's "Attitude Blues"), the CD's poignant title track (by Johnny Mandel), a new bop line with familiar changes (Mike's "Yes, I've Met Miss Jones"), a lyrical soundtrack bossa (Lalo Schifrin's theme from "The Fox"), a wistful jazz waltz (Mike's "3 For Boston"), Mike's debut as a pianist ("Union Hill"), another mellifluous bossa ("Ta-ta For Now," with a cameo by Mike's brother, guitarist Pat Metheny), the timeless ballad "My Foolish Heart," and last, an irreverent bookend ("The Greatest Love of All") that Mike explains by saying, "I'm actually quite proud of my clarinet playing... make that: 'clarinet d'amore'."

CLOSE ENOUGH FOR LOVE also features some of Kansas City's finest jazz musicians, including Paul Smith (piano, keyboards, synthesizers), Bob Bowman (bass), Todd Strait (drums), and Bill Caldwell (tenor sax and flute).