• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
  
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4 (2D); MVC (3D)
  
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
  
• Audio Codec: English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (98kHz/24-bit), LPCM 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit)
  
• Subtitles: N/A
  
• Subtitles Color: N/A
  
• Region: ABC (Region-Free)
  
• Rating: NR
  
• Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray)
• Digital Copies: N/A
  
• Run Time: 173 Mins.
  
• Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
  
• Blu-ray Release Date: October 9, 2012
  
• List Price: $24.98

–

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
HD:[Rating:4/5]
3D Effect: [Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

–

The Film

[Rating:4/5]

The Orchestrion Project is a solo performance captured over the course of two days in November 2010 at the former St. Elias Church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, but you’d never know it. The culmination of a lifelong dream that started in his grandfather’s basement and with a fascination with an old player-piano, veteran jazz fusion guitarist Pat Metheny had a massive mechanical contraption constructed that he dubbed the “Orchestrion.” It allows him to play a symphony of instruments all controlled from his guitar. Piano, marimba, cymbals, basses, “guitarbots,” blown bottles, and other custom instruments all make up this cacophony of sounds that is anchored by the magnificent, 4-part, Orchestrion Suite, that hits all Metheny’s usual signature sounds. From latin jazz to a straight up bacchanalia of sound in the opening self-titled movement Orchestrion, its an enjoyable marathon of a suite. The other top highlight is the latin-inspired “Sueño con Mexico” that sets the tone with a melodic arpeggio repeated on a nylon-stringed “guitarbot” before expanding into a wider orchestration.

TRACK LISTING:

• Unity Village
• Orchestrion Suite:
  • Orchestrion
  • Entry Point
  • Expansion
  • Soul Search
  • Spirit Of The Air
• Improvisation #2
• Sueño con México
• Stranger In Town
• Bonus Tracks:
  • Improvisation #1
  • 80/81 – Broadway Blues
  • Tell Her You Saw Me
  • Antonia

Video Quality

HD: [Rating:4/5]

3D Effect: [Rating:3/5]

In 2D, The Orchestrion Project looks rather good – about as good as one could hope for a concert disc type release, although I have seen better. There are some slight issues with video noise and clipping opf white levels, but it’s too be expected with these productions. The 3D, supposedly a native production, is not the best I have seen by a longshot. In fact, with its only average sense of added depth, the 3D looks almost like a conversion rather than a native production.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

An excellent hi-res Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (96kHz/24-bit) soundtrack is on offer here that superbly separates the instrumentation, presents clean, natural sounding high frequencies, full and tight low frequencies, and lots of dynamics. If there is an issue at all, is that the midrange at times gets just a little muddled and boxy, and Metheny’s hollow-body guitar sounds just a bit too forward. There’s also a LPCM 2.0 (48kHz/24-bit) stereo mix that drops off in quality and doesn’t work anywhere near as well at capturing the energy and expansiveness of the performances.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:4/5]

There are six additional performances, four in 3D, plus over forty-minutes of interviews, making ofs, and promo materials that are well worth sitting through for Metheny fans.

The supplements:

• Bonus Songs (3D):
  • “Improvisation #1”
  • “80/81 – Broadway Blues”
  • “Tell her You Saw Me”
  • “Antonia”
• Special Features in 2D:
  • Interview with Pat Metheny (1.78:1 1080p/24; 00:20:10)
  • Making Of (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:15:28)
  • EPK (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:07:09)
  • “Orchestrion” Studio Session (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:16:11)
  • “Expansion” Studio Session (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:09:06)

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:4/5]

Pat Metheny fans should grab this one up. Metheny works like a mad scientist within the confines of his mechanical contraption and gives us a thrilling musical journey that never lets mechanism overrule artistic freedom.

Additional Screen Captures

[amazon-product]B008NR8ZM2[/amazon-product]

Purchase Pat Metheny: The Orchestrion Project on Blu-ray 3D  at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

–

[amazon-product]B008NR8ZM2[/amazon-product]

Purchase Pat Metheny: The Orchestrion Project on Blu-ray 3D  at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4/5]
Video Quality
HD:[Rating:4/5]
3D Effect: [Rating:3/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:4/5]

–