Speaking of Now

Speaking of Now is an album by the Pat Metheny Group, released in 2002 by Warner Bros. It marks the first appearances of Group members Antonio Sánchez, who replaced Paul Wertico on drums, and multi-instrumentalist Cuong Vu. A veteran of the avant-garde jazz scene and an admirer of both Pat Metheny and the Group, Vu was approached by the bandleader to join; Metheny had been very impressed with recordings of Vu's trumpet playing and vocal abilities.

Cameroonian musician Richard Bona also participated in the album's recording and tour, the latter of which particularly showcased his abilities on vocals and bass guitar.

In 2003, as part of the album's promotion, a concert was recorded in Japan and released on DVD and the Group performed on the PBS series Austin City Limits.

Track listing
There is an unnamed hidden track after track 5 that is a prelude to track 6. It has a duration of 28 seconds and some CD players will display a countdown from minus 28 to 0 seconds as it plays. To arrive at the track times listed above, which are taken from the liner notes, the actual track times are modified using the time of the hidden track and several seconds of gap time by subtracting from track 5 and adding to track 6.

The total time listed in the liner notes is 71:10. However, the actual sum of the track times listed in the liner notes is 71:30.

The actual total time is 72:05 as displayed on most CD players and computer media players. This includes the time of the gaps between tracks.

Personnel
Guest appearances:
 * Pat Metheny – acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synthesizer
 * Lyle Mays – piano, keyboards
 * Steve Rodby – double bass, cello
 * Richard Bona – vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar, fretless bass
 * Cuong Vu – trumpet, vocals
 * Antonio Sánchez – drums
 * Dave Samuels – percussion, marimba

Awards
Grammy Awards

Personnel live

 * Pat Metheny – acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synthesizer, 42-string Pikasso guitar
 * Lyle Mays – piano, synthesizers, autoharp, guitars
 * Cuong Vu – trumpet, guitar, vibraphone, glockenspiel, percussion, vocals
 * Richard Bona – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, kalimba, marimba, percussion
 * Steve Rodby – acoustic and electric bass
 * Antonio Sanchez – drums, vocals