The band is dropping its latest disc, The Way Up, in January 2005, and plans to kick of its support trek February 18 in Toronto. Other stops along the way include Detroit, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Houston, Atlanta , Boston and Washington, D.C.

Kansas City native Metheny has been a fixture of the contemporary jazz scene since 1974, either as a solo act, part of a trio, or with the full-blown sound of the Pat Metheny Group.

He’s won 15 Grammy Awards in just about every jazz category there is, and many more than once – including a stretch of seven in a row for seven consecutive albums.

After the Pat Metheny Group closes down its North American outing March 30 in New Brunswick, N.J., it heads for Japan April 28-22 and then on for four nights in Seoul, South Korean April 26-30.