Jazz Articles about Brad Mehldau

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Highway Rider

by John Kelman
March 9, 2010

For a pianist who not only demonstrated remarkable promise, but actually began delivering on it at a very early stage in his career with what would ultimately become his five-part Art of the Trio (Warner Bros.) series, Brad Mehldau's side projects have--with the exception of the solo Live in Tokyo (Nonesuch, 2004)--met with mixed reactions. Perhaps it's because of his emergence as one of modern jazz's most distinctive and popular interpreters of both contemporary song and standard material in a ...

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Brad Mehldau at the Village Vanguard

by Eric Benson
May 15, 2009

Brad Mehldau Trio Village Vanguard New York, NY May 5 & 9, 2009 No major jazz artist of the last 25 years has been more closely associated with a single venue than pianist Brad Mehldau with the Village Vanguard. Of the 11 trio albums he's released since signing with Warner Bros in 1994, four have been recorded live at jazz's most hallowed club. Pianist Bill Evans—who had a similarly synergistic relationship with the Vanguard ...

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Brad Mehldau Trio: Live

by Andrew Velez
June 7, 2008

Returning to New York's Village Vanguard for another live recording, pianist Brad Mehldau's trio has Larry Grenadier (bass) returning and Jeff Ballard (drums) taking over for Jorge Rossy. Music seems to just pour out of Mehldau, as is buoyantly evident here. And often, as with Chico Buarque's “O Que Sera" or Chris Cornell's “Black Hole Sun," it flows at a dizzying pace. Much of this set's made up of Mehldau's own compositions such as “B-Flat Waltz"; the ...

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Brad Mehldau Trio at Wolf Trap

by Dean Christesen
May 18, 2008

Brad Mehldau TrioWolf Trap, The BarnsVienna, VirginiaApril 30, 2008

A well-developed solo is a beautiful construction that takes time. Using time to their advantage, the Brad Mehldau Trio played an intoxicating set at the Barns at Wolftrap. The trio's latest album, Live (Nonesuch, 2008), came to life as the sense of blossoming solos on the recording was fully in flower on stage.

They played material none of which was on the latest release, performing an ...

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The Brad Mehldau Trio at Nighttown

by Matt Marshall
April 18, 2008

The Brad Mehldau Trio Nighttown Cleveland Heights, OH April 3, 2008

Set One

The Brad Mehldau Trio stepped out from the hall at the corner of Nighttown's concert dining room, snaked around some tables and took up their instruments unannounced. Many in the crowd looked for verbal confirmation from an announcer or the musicians, but the boys simply started in.

Mehldau, his right shoulder pressed to chin, frowned over the ...

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Brad Mehldau Trio: Live

by John Kelman
March 20, 2008

It's been three years since Jeff Ballard replaced original drummer Jorge Rossy in pianist Brad Mehldau's trio with bassist Larry Grenadier. While the trio has been busy on its own and with guitar icon Pat Metheny in support of Metheny Mehldau (Nonesuch, 2006) and Quartet (Nonesuch, 2007), it's also been three years since Day is Done (Nonesuch, 2005)-- its only release to date. Rossy's departure left a significant gap to fill, but Ballard's greater energy and dynamism has ushered Mehldau's ...

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Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz: Brad Mehldau

by Samuel Chell
June 17, 2007

Brad Mehldau Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz: Brad Mehldau Concord Records 2007

The pianist Marian McPartland gave an outdoor concert in my small Midwest community several summers ago, and attending the event led me to a realization about the appeal of Piano Jazz, her syndicated, international jazz show that has been running for 27 years, the longest streak of any cultural program to air on NPR. The crowd's response to her trio was at best ...