Jazz Articles about Brad Mehldau

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Brad Mehldau: Live in Tokyo

by John Kelman
September 11, 2004

In the ten years since pianist Brad Mehldau began recording as a leader, starting with '95's Introducing Brad Mehldau , he has emerged as a singular voice with not only a specific vision on his instrument, but also some fairly hefty philosophies which have been detailed in lengthy liner notes on many of his releases. But personal beliefs for a musician mean little to the listener if they cannot be translated into practice, and fortunately Mehldau has done just that. ...

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A Fireside Chat with Brad Mehldau

by AAJ Staff
April 9, 2004

Jazz is a fickle sonance, often dogmatic and always insistent. One moment, favoring celebrity and the next, consuming the very identity that allowed for such acclaim, jazz is not unlike life. A beacon of musical sincerity among the modern mercenaries, Brad Mehldau (unedited and in his own words) has an incorruptibility that jazz nor Hollywood could exploit. Perhaps that is why Mehldau seems less a celebrity and more an artist.All About Jazz: Anything Goes is your tenth recording ...

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Brad Mehldau: Anything Goes

by Rich Friedman
March 25, 2004

With Anything Goes a more mature, reflective Brad Mehldau is back where he started almost seven years ago with his trio soulmates, Jorge Rossy (drums) and Larry Grenadier (bass). On their sixth trio disc, there aren’t any original tunes, but Mehldau is at his best expanding old favorites such as “Nearness of You,” “Anything Goes” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” He’s improved upon his old tricks of extracting harmony, gently changing tempo, and playing loose with ...

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Brad Mehldau Trio: Anything Goes

by John Kelman
March 18, 2004

Two years after Largo , pianist Brad Mehldau returns to more familiar territory with Anything Goes , his first studio trio recording in four years. Familiar it may be--as he reconvenes his empathetic relationship with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy--but safe it is not.

On a programme surprisingly devoid of original material, Mehldau still manages to take a number of worn chestnuts and reinvigorate them by liberally reworking their structures. “Get Happy" is played in 7/4, and while ...

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Brad Mehldau's Opening, Middle and Endgame

by Mike Brannon
October 7, 2003

Regardless of how long we've lived, some remain unaffected by self awareness, some with just enough to feel what they wish they couldn't and others find themselves immersed in both a keen awareness of their place and plight as well as a potential, bittersweet, transcendent ecstasy, just out of reach---Sehnsucht. And a very few have all of this and the fearlessness and artistry to express the depth, darkness and density armed with only a lyrical, polyrhythmic/polytonal armor between them and ...

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Brad Mehldau: Largo

by Joe Lazar
August 1, 2002

Brad Mehldau has had quite a load on his shoulders since he burst on the scene in 1994. He is the latest pianist--and perhaps the most fit--to wear the title “next Bill Evans." And in light of Mehldau's work with rhythm section Jorge Rossi and Larry Grenadier on the acclaimed Art of the Trio series, the comparison could be argued as valid.

But, all things must change, and on his latest studio album Largo, Mehldau abandons the trio format that ...

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Brad Mehldau: Progression: Art of the Trio, Volume 5

by David Adler
August 1, 2001

Brad Mehldau interrupted his ongoing Art of the Trio series with last year's anomalous Places. Now the series resumes with Progression, a live double-disc package containing 136 minutes of music. Like Mehldau's previous live records, this one features a great deal of stretching out. Loosely speaking, disc one focuses on standards, including up-tempo versions of “The More I See You" and “Alone Together." The latter, played in seven (with a stunning solo piano intro), segues directly into a brief “It ...