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Brad Mehldau: After Bach
by Nenad Georgievski
It seems that classical composer J.S. Bach has provided a surge of inspiration for some recent releases by artists on the Nonesuch label, starting with the Bach Trios led by an unusual yet explosive combination of musicians such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolinist Chris Thile, and bassist Edgar Meyer. Now we have another Bach-inspired release, this one by the highly acclaimed pianist Brad Mehldau, with works consisting of selection of the composer's compositions, along with several originals inspired by Bach's ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau Trio: Blues and Ballads
by Dan McClenaghan
Call Brad Mehldau's Blues and Ballads the pianist's “Every Man Set." There has been, from the beginning of Mehldau's career, a sense of the cerebral in his approach, with its classical music influences and his deep technical virtuosity. Throw the sometimes dense and erudite writing for selected liner notes (mostly earlier in his career) into that mix, and “Too deep for me" might be a reaction of the perennial everyman. Except for the beauty.
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau Trio: Blues and Ballads
by Geno Thackara
It's easy to play the blues--or at the very least it's easy to learn the basics--but keeping the form fresh and interesting is another matter entirely. Likewise, any beginner can tackle a quiet ballad, but presenting something simple and pretty is really harder than it sounds. The Brad Mehldau Trio manages its always-distinctive blend of all those things on this lineup's fifth release, still making song-sculpting and harmonic shifting into something both inventive and accessible.They run a vast ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau Trio / GoGo Penguin at World Cafe Live
by Geno Thackara
If there's one thing about music that keeps us all going, it has to be endless adaptability. There's no instrument or genre that doesn't have some fresh possibilities still to discover (except maybe hair metal, I suppose). Philadelphia's World Cafe Live offered yet another illustration of the idea by hosting two exceptional piano trios within the space of a week. The basic setup may be the same, but the results could have hardly been more different. Brad Mehldau ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau: Brad Mehldau: 10 Years Solo Live
by Karl Ackermann
It is surprising that Brad Mehldau and Keith Jarrett do not draw even more comparisons. Both cross genres with ease, provide consistently high quality content and are unquestionably the finest piano virtuosos in modern music. With the release of Mehldau's 10 Years Solo Live, he solidifies his position as the heir apparent to Jarrett's place atop the solo jazz piano pedistal.The five hours of live music in this anthology are the result of Mehldau's review and segmentation of ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau: 10 Years Solo Live
by Nenad Georgievski
It is interesting how solo piano performance holds a special, privileged place in jazz music. What is even more interesting is how artists have gone to renew this format over and over again as time went on. Along the way they have expanded the language of improvised music by exploring novel paths of thematic developments. An entire lifetime can be spent on understanding how a single instrument like the piano can be re-used and re-planned in variously different contexts in ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau: Dragons & Dreams
by Ian Patterson
For many, pianist Brad Mehldau's recording Day is Done (Nonesuch Records, 2005) with drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier came as close to trio perfection as is reasonable to expect in your wildest dreams. Perhaps perfection is a chimera, yet even if attainable it's at best fleeting by nature. But for Mehldau that doesn't stop the hunt for the stuff of his own wildest dreams. That elusive 'in-the-zone' quality when the music seems to play the musician ...
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