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Pat Metheny takes the first solo turn with half a chorus on acoustic guitar on this ballad rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Make Sure You're Sure" from Joshua Redman's album Wish. His warm nylon-string tone at approximately 57 BPM lends an intimate, chamber-music quality to the performance, each phrase carefully shaped within the 34-bar AABA form in D-flat minor. The restrained solo length suggests the musicians prioritized mood and sensitivity over extended improvisation, and Metheny's brief statement honors Wonder's original melodic beauty while reframing it within a jazz harmonic sensibility. As the first of two brief soloists, he sets a contemplative tone that Joshua Redman continues in his even shorter quarter-chorus statement.
Pat Metheny was 38 to 39 years old at the time.
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