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Brad Mehldau Trio: Denver, CO, May 11, 2012
by Geoff Anderson
Brad Mehldau TrioNewman CenterDenver, COMay 11, 2012Pianist Brad Mehldau takes jazz seriously. He named his second album as a leader The Art of the Trio (Warner Bros., 1997). But wait, he didn't use that name for just one album; he released five albums, as a series, under that name. Those albums came out from 1997 to 2001 and have recently been reissued in a box set, Art of the Trio Recordings: 1996-2001 (Nonesuch, 2011).
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau Trio: Ode
by Ian Patterson
Seven years separate Ode from this trio's last studio recording, the outstanding Day is Done (Nonesuch, 2005), which has come to mark a before-and-after in Brad Mehldau's trajectory. Previously, the pianist had recorded in a traditional trio setting with few exceptions. Since Day is Done, however, Mehldau's projects have covered much more diverse terrain: setting poetry to music with classical soprano Renée Fleming; rubbing shoulders with guitarist Pat Metheny; and blending classical and popular song with mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau Trio: Ode
by Doug Collette
Brad Mehldau TrioOdeNonesuch Records2012The very first notes of the Brad Mehldau Trio's Ode sound rich, lyrical and full of energy. This may come as a surprise to those unfamiliar with the pianist's work, but loyal followers of Mehldau know he brings an unusual intensity to his work, particularly his solo projects and the collaborations with his trio (currently bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard). This, the first studio trio recording since ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau Trio: Ode
by John Kelman
The Art of the Trio: Recordings 1996-2001 (Nonesuch, 2011) provided an opportunity to reassess Brad Mehldau's rapid trajectory, though the trio that established him as one of the past two decades' most important pianists was long gone. If Jorge Rossy's replacement in 2005 seemed to open the trio up more, it's perhaps because drummer Jeff Ballard is a more assertive conversationalist, as demonstrated from the get-go on “Knives Out," the first track on Mehldau's debut with this updated incarnation, Day ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau: The Art of the Trio - Recordings 1996-2001
by John Kelman
Brad Mehldau Trio The Art of the Trio: Recordings 1996-2001 Nonesuch Records 2011 It's hard to believe that it's only been fifteen years since Brad Mehldau emerged on the scene, so prevalent and influential has the pianist become since then. At the same time as he was gaining some significant attention for his work with saxophonist Joshua Redman on Moodswing (Warner Bros., 1994), the then 24 year-old pianist had been recruited by Redman's label, ...
Continue ReadingBrad Mehldau: Live in Marciac
by Kevin Davis
In his 2000 book Fargo Rock City (Scribner), Chuck Klosterman explains a phenomenon in heavy metal that involves the critical threshold at which the speed of notes within a solo actually changes the inherent meaning of the sound. To illustrate his point, he describes a passage by ex-Kiss guitarist Vinnie Vincent that, upon crossing said threshold, “becomes the equivalent of a police whistle." This is an astute observation which extends to jazz as well: There's a point during “Mars," from ...
Continue ReadingKonitz/Mehldau/Haden/Motian: Live at Birdland
by Dan McClenaghan
Konitz/Mehldau/Haden/MotianLive at BirdlandECM Records2011 The tunes are familiar, Great American Songbook and jazz standards all. So for those unfamiliar with the names involved in this quartet outing, the old complaint of “same old same old" could surface. But with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz at the top of the listing, “same old same old" gets rolled out the door. Konitz, with over 60 years of professional experience--from the 1949 Birth ...
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