Metheny and Mehldau: Two stars collide, connect

Pat Metheny is one of the biggest names in jazz, and Brad Mehldau perhaps the most acclaimed pianist of his generation. So their collaboration occasioned great expectations, largely met by their recent recordings as a duet and in a quartet with Mehldau's top-flight trio-mates, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard .

Metheny is steeped in folk, blues, and rock, while Mehldau is strongly rooted in classical music, but the sunny guitarist and the moony pianist complement each other nicely, their musical interplay alternately poised either side of twilight.

Saturday night at the Boston Opera House, a near sold-out crowd buzzed in anticipation. Then Metheny and Mehldau entered for a series of duets, beginning with Mehldau's melancholy nocturne "Unrequited." Before long, the pianist and guitarist were in full flight, their contrapuntal conversation bringing to mind the classic duet recordings of Bill Evans and Jim Hall.

The next two duets, though satisfying, never quite touched the same musical heights. Mehldau's aptly named "Annie's Bittersweet Cake" contained a brilliant piano passage where he sustained an ostinato with his right hand while crossing his left over to play whirling melodies in both the bass and treble. Metheny switched to acoustic guitar for his own sweetly songful "Make Peace," which built to rapid, Pete Townshend-style strumming, for an arena-size climax.

Grenadier and Ballard entered to complete the quartet. Metheny's "New Blues," a bright bebop line, showcased the rhythm section's velocity and precision. Grenadier's strong solo was impeccably articulated. Metheny's "Ring of Life" had Ballard sustaining a fast, electronica-influenced drumbeat, as piano and bass jabbed out unpredictable accents.

For his atmospheric composition "The Sound of Water," Metheny broke out the 42-string Pikasso guitar, which sounds like harp, bass, dulcimer, and sitar all at once. On his "Towards the Light," he switched to synth-guitar, its supercharged theremin-like tone evoking some of his most lyrical playing of the evening. The final tune, "Vera Cruz," was taken at an almost comically fast tempo, and featured a galloping Ballard solo.

A standing ovation brought the band back for Metheny's "Bachelor's III," a graceful, swinging waltz that ended the evening as beautifully as it had begun.