I love Metheny, but his attempts at traditional/bop/hard bop all fall flat for me.
He created an entirely new genre of music, of which he is the reigning overlord, but I'm afraid he doesn't much care for it much himself. He makes the music to satisfy his fans and pad his wallet. Still, somehow, when he works in the genre he created, he makes magic.
His obvious true love is hard bop, but it is a lover which he can never possess. Any of his recordings that attempt it, sound to me either like someone beating a bag of cats with a stick or sleep-inducing muted guitar noodlings. It's a little sad, really.