Strings Attached: Pat Metheny to Perform at the Wilbur Theatre

Over the past 40 years, Pat Metheny has sold some 20 million records, won 20 Grammy Awards, and recorded with everyone from free-jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman to David Bowie. But back in 1974, Metheny was just a 19-year-old teacher at Berklee College of Music. The midwestern guitar prodigy had been discovered by famed vibraphonist Gary Burton, himself a Berklee faculty member. Metheny had some star students, including future Miles Davis axman Mike Stern, but his tenure in Boston was brief. “The teaching part of it was a little weird, because my job was to teach the top 30 of the 800 guitar students, all of whom were five years older than me,” Metheny said. “At that time, I was very dogmatic, as 19- and 20-year-olds tend to be.” Since his recording debut in 1976, Metheny’s open melodicism has regularly placed him on the charts, packed concert halls, and influenced guitarists far beyond the Back Bay. He will play selections from his newest recording, Kin, released in February, at the Wilbur Theatre on March 27.