May 14th, 2012
Brad Mehldau Turns Ivory Into Gold

Brad Mehldau turns ivory into gold
By:Jason Victor Serinus

Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, 41, is held in such high esteem that when his forthcoming gig was announced at a recent SFJazz concert, a sizeable number of audience members began to applaud.

Known for his improvisatory genius — which informs not only original compositions, but also renditions of jazz standards and arrangements of rock hits by the likes of the Beatles, Radiohead and Paul Simon — Mehldau has just released “Ode,” his first CD with his trio in four years.

“‘Ode’ is a collection of originals that I wrote specifically for my trio with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard,” Mehldau says. “I feel that what they bring to the music in the performance here is inseparable from the tunes themselves.”

Most of the 11 songs on “Ode,” which will figure heavily in the concert, are tributes to other individuals, real or imagined. As Mehldau was composing the pieces, he began to think of them as odes, or poems without words, that might be sung.

To read the full article click here

May 2nd, 2012
Enter the "Brad Mehldau Trio - Ode" Giveaway at All About Jazz!

All About Jazz members are invited to enter the Nonesuch Records “Brad Mehldau Trio – Ode“ giveaway contest starting today. We’ll select FIVE winners at the conclusion of the contest on May 28th.

To learn more about the contest click here

April 30th, 2012
Mehldau, Redman stretch limits, limitations of a duo

By: Steve Greenlee

This is why you do not leave before the house lights come up.

After saxophonist Joshua Redman and pianist Brad Mehldau finished their (planned) encore, as many as a quarter of the people at Saturday night’s sold-out show at Berklee Performance Center began leaving, presumably to beat the crowd out of the auditorium and beat the cars out of the parking garage. But when you pay as much as $37 for a ticket, why risk missing the best part?

Those who left early did just that. Mehldau and Redman did a second encore, and that performance — a clever reworking of Nirvana’s “Lithium” — was the highlight of a nearly two-hour set that never wavered. The tension of the grunge-rock-turned-jazz tune built and built, Mehldau digging deep left-hand grooves, until Redman finally unleashed himself and spun furious circles of notes from his tenor sax. “Perfect!” someone in the crowd shouted when it was over.

To see the original article click here

April 30th, 2012
"Ode", AAJ Review

By:Doug Collette

he 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 Day Is Done (Nonesuch, 2005), is no exception.

Thus, a homage to the late saxophonist Michael Brecker, “M.B.,” might serve as a dramatic conclusion to another artist’s album, but here opens a non-stop stream of invention. Multiple eclectic threads appear in Mehldau’s playing: classical, ragtime, pop and blues are only the most obvious components of a personal style in which the pianist not only executes the structure, but also communicates the emotional quotient intrinsic to each genre as well.

In a restatement of the main melodic motif of “26,” the threesome take some relative respite during the otherwise breathless performance, while “Dream Sketch” lives up to its evocative title: piano, bass and drums subtly tradeoff rhythm amid melodic duties during the course of the track. The individual virtuosity and collective camaraderie of Mehldau, Grenadier and Ballard is a wonder to hear because it is so rare and so deeply ingrained in their relationship.

To read the full review click here

April 18th, 2012
LIVE REVIEW: Mehldau and Redman at the Symphony Center

Mehldau and Redman at the Symphony Center | Review
By: Chris Bentley

It’s no small feat to keep jazz fresh in a symphony hall. Pianist Brad Mehldau and saxophonist Joshua Redman pulled it off Friday at the Symphony Center with a dignified energy befitting two of the most acclaimed jazz musicians to come out of the 1990s. “This is the best 2,500-seat jazz club,” cracked Redman. The two played with a sensibility drawn from both the blues-soaked bop greats of yore and the romantic composers for whom the concert hall was designed.

The absence of a rhythm section—save for Mehldau’s autonomous left hand—gave the duo room to explore that fertile ground. On “Monk’s Dream,” Mehldau played with an unhurried lyricism and organic sense of meter that recalled Thelonious Monk’s own sense of humor and oddball rhythm.

At times the crystal clear tones of the Steinway grand piano were dangerously close to sounding too clean, even stately. Not that either musician shies from grittiness—Redman grinned and shouted with Mehldau’s left-hand rumbles. And how often does the Sinfonietta come back for an encore of Jimi Hendrix’s “Hey Joe”?

To read the full article click here

April 5th, 2012
Review: New Jazz Recordings Showcase Talents of Brad Mehldau

New jazz recordings showcase talents of Brad Mehldau, Kenny Garrett and more
Harmonica aces Toots Thielemans and Gregoire Maret shine on latest releases
By: Greg Thomas

As with the nucleus of a cell, virtuoso pianist Brad Mehldau is the control center of his trio. Yet that control is fluid and democratic, giving bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard their musical vote in the development of this set of 11 original compositions by Mehldau.

“I will have ideas about these things ahead of time, but the choice is made collectively … The particular ‘way’ in which Larry and Jeff approach something, in praxis, is what will win all of us over,” says Mehldau in the liner notes.

On “Ode,” this process of musical enactment results in a collective exploration of feeling and freedom in form, and a poetic expression of thanks.

To read the full article click “here”: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/jazz-recordings-showcase-talents-brad-mehldau-kenny-garrett-article-1.1056121#ixzz1rBodiytu

April 2nd, 2012
Redman, Mehldau Explore Possibilities of Sax-Piano Duo

Redman, Mehldau explore possibilities of sax-piano duo
By: Calvin Wilson

Two of the most esteemed artists in jazz, saxophonist Joshua Redman and pianist Brad Mehldau have often worked together since both began to get noticed in the 1990s. Early in his career, Mehldau spent time in Redman’s quartet and played on the saxophonist’s terrific 1994 album, “MoodSwing.” Redman performed on Mehldau’s well-regarded 2010 double album, “Highway Rider.”
But their current collaboration really gets down to basics.

At Jazz at the Bistro next weekend, Redman and Mehldau will explore the possibilities of a demanding jazz format: the piano-saxophone duo. In separate interviews, edited for clarity and length, they discussed the project — Redman by phone, Mehldau by email.

What qualities do you bring out in each other as musicians?

Redman: In certain ways, we have very different sounds, and very different styles. But we like a lot of the same music — in jazz, but also outside of jazz. And we’re really interested in having a musical dialogue. We really listen to not only what we’re playing, but to what the other musicians that we’re playing with are playing. That makes us very conversational and interactive players. So when we play together in this duo context, we really connect.

Mehldau: We are both diplomats — we like to make other people feel good. But we are also communicators — we want to get our points across. Heck, we could be politicians! No, just kidding.

To read the full article click here

March 21st, 2012
REVIEW: All About Jazz, "Ode"

Brad Mehldau Trio: Ode (2012)
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 is Done (Nonesuch, 2005). It’s a feeling immediately reaffirmed on “M.B.,” the opener to Ode, Mehldau’s first trio recording since Live (Nonesuch, 2008).

While Mehldau’s trio was his primary focus for the first decade of his career, the past seven years have seen him busier in a multiplicity of contexts, from solo performances like the stellar Live in Marciac (Nonesuch, 2011) and the ambitious Highway Rider (Nonesuch, 2010), with its larger cast of characters, to collaborations with guitarist Pat Metheny on Metheny Mehldau (Nonesuch, 2006) and Quartet (Nonesuch, 2007), and his more recent trifecta with pianist Kevin Hays and composer/arranger Patrick Zimmerli, Modern Music (Nonesuch, 2011). If Mehldau’s trio plays fewer gigs and records less often these days, that just means that any release is to be eagerly anticipated, and Ode doesn’t disappoint.

To read the full article click here

March 20th, 2012
Ode

Brad Mehldau Trio Returns March 13 with “Ode,” Featuring 11 Original Mehldau Compositions; Pre-Order Now

Nonesuch releases an album of original songs from the Brad Mehldau Trio—Ode—on March 13, 2012. The record, which is the first from the trio since 2008’s live Village Vanguard disc and the first studio trio recording since 2005’s Day Is Done, features 11 previously unreleased songs composed by Mehldau. The trio comprises Mehldau on piano, Jeff Ballard on drums, and Larry Grenadier on bass. Ode is available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store, where an instant download of the title track is included with purchase, and a download of the complete album is available starting release day.

Brad Mehldau tours North America this spring with the trio, with label mate Joshua Redman, and in solo engagements. For details and ticket links, go to nonesuch.com/on-tour.

“Ode is a collection of originals that I wrote specifically for my trio with Larry and Jeff,” says Mehldau. “I feel that what they bring to the music in the performance here is inseparable from the tunes themselves.” Most of the songs, he explains, “are tributes to someone else, and I began to think of them as odes, or poems that might be sung; in our case here it’s the singing only without all those pesky words.” Subjects include the late saxophonist Michael Brecker (“M.B.”), a character from the film Easy Rider (“Eulogy for George Hanson”), and the guitarist Kurt Ronsenwinkel (“Kurt Vibe”).

Mehldau moved to New York City in 1988, studying at the New School and playing in a number of different combos—including a stint in Redman’s quartet—before becoming a bandleader himself. His trio, which tours the world extensively, made eight acclaimed recordings for Warner Bros., including the five widely praised Art of the Trio albums with former drummer Jorge Rossy, which Nonesuch released as a boxed set this past December.

The pianist’s eight years with Nonesuch have been equally productive, beginning with the solo disc Live in Tokyo and including the three trio records Day is Done, House on Hill, and Live as well as a collaboration with soprano Renée Fleming, Love Sublime; a chamber ensemble album, Highway Rider; and two collaborations with label mate Pat Metheny, Metheny Mehldau and Quartet, the latter of which also includes Ballard and Grenadier. In addition to the Art of the Trio box set, Mehldau’s other two Nonesuch releases last year showcased other facets of his varied career as it enters its second decade: his live solo performances on Live in Marciac and his collaborations with genre-crossing musicians on Modern Music, with composer/pianist Kevin Hays and composer/arranger Patrick Zimmerli.

March 15th, 2012
British Acclaim for Ode

‘A ceaseless stream of fresh ideas runs throughout this electrically
energised session.’ BBC Music

‘Fluent, subtle and benchmark piano-trio jazz.’
Financial Times

‘Ode confirms their status as the world leaders of swinging small-group jazz.’
Independent On Sunday

‘Some fine Mehldau tunes in the happy-sad, ruminative style the pianist has made his own. ‘Dream Sketch’ has a lean, bluesy groove that highlights the group mind of his world-class trio.’
The Times

‘Mehldau has a discography that defies belief, and the doom-mongers who believe the recording industry (especially in the jazz field) is on its knees. The catalogue is astonishing. [Ode is] a highly accomplished set of compositions, which might also be a surprise to those who associate Mehldau chiefly with the covers of songs by Radiohead, Nirvana, Paul Simon and Lennon and McCartney that form quite a small part of this repertoire.’ Herald

‘Mehldau’s characteristic singing melodies, intriguing harmonies and supple rhythmic grooves are all firmly in place, and draw out a high level of creative interaction and response in the three musicians.’
Scotsman

‘Ode is an often scintillating and always joyful listen from beginning to end. While the theme of the album may be dedications to others, what Mehldau has ultimately crafted is an ode to the confidence, style and precision of his own trio’s playing, displaying all the panache and charm of old companions
reuniting once more.’
musicOMH

March 13th, 2012
REVIEW: Ode

New Albums From VCMG, Brad Mehldau Trio and Henry Cole and the Afrobeat Colective
By: Jon Pareles

Brad Mehldau has often seemed like the ultimate introspective jazz musician, a pianist and composer whose ideas tend to spring from within. “Ode,” his fine new album, ostensibly draws inspiration from sources beyond himself: former collaborators, like the saxophonist Michael Brecker; members of his immediate family, specifically his wife and young son; and indelible pop-culture figures from childhood, like Aquaman. If that doesn’t sound like too far a departure from interiority, give the man credit for trying.

“Ode,” which consists entirely of original material, is the first studio album featuring Mr. Mehldau’s current trio, with the bassist Larry Grenadier and the drummer Jeff Ballard, since “Day Is Done,” the 2005 release that announced the group’s initiation.

Since then there have been marquee collaborations and fertile digressions, including “Highway Rider,” a sprawling, stylistically restless suite with the trio nestled warmly at its core. In comparison “Ode” feels modest and unburdened, delivering the most comfortably centered work of Mr. Mehldau’s recent career.

That shouldn’t be taken as faint praise. This trio has developed its own language and a sound that’s instantly recognizable despite a growing field of emulators.

To read the full article click here

January 27th, 2012
REVIEW: Art of the Trio

BRAD MEHLDAU
Album review: “The Art of Trio Recordings: 1996-2001
By: Mike Joyce

When Brad Mehldau unveiled the first of five “The Art of the Trio” albums in 1997 while in his mid-20s, doubtless some jazz elders were amused by his audacity. Or was it naivete? No matter. As it turned out, the music recorded by the classically trained pianist and his exceptionally well-matched bandmates – bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy – lived up to its billing, as this absorbing seven-disc box set constantly reminds us.

To read the full article click here

January 23rd, 2012
LIVE REVIEW: Soaring Delight of Two Minds Playing As One

Soaring delight of two minds playing as one
By: Lynden Barber

To listen to two of the leading US musicians of their generation communicating on stage so miraculously is to wonder why the attractive format of piano and saxophone hasn’t been more commonplace in jazz.

These are two of the tradition’s key instruments, and the duo format is infinitely malleable. As pianist Brad Mehldau and saxophonist Joshua Redman demonstrate so clearly, it facilitates a huge dynamic range.

It’s easy for two players who are sufficiently in tune to move between a shriek and a whisper: there’s nothing else to get in the way. Yet oddly, this duo format is relatively thin on the ground.

Is it an ego thing, with saxophonists and pianists used to being trio or band leaders, but not to sharing the credit straight down the middle? What is clear is the mutual respect and absence of egotism in Mehldau and Redman’s live performance.

To read the full article click here

January 11th, 2012
Acclaim for Art of the Trio Box Set

This box-set collects pianist Mehldau’s five albums with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums, plus five unreleased Village Vanguard tracks.
Ethan Iverson’s excellent sleevenotes hail Mehldau as the synthesis of 1980s traditionalism and 1960s experiment, while regarding the trio as a co-op of equals, which it surely wasn’t. But marvel at Mehldau’s uncanny independence of left and right hands, and his wan way with a ballad, as heard on the celebrated “Songs”. Phil Johnson
www.independent.co.uk

The Times
December 24, 2011

Dubbing successive Mehldau releases The Art of the Trio suggested high expectations from his record company, which the Florida-born pianist duly met. With Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy, drums, his band became the most influential new piano trio of the Nineties, a subtle mix of tradition and innovation — no one had improvised on Radiohead and Nick Drake before. Among the seven CDs in this boxed set is a bonus live disc that includes a radiant Unrequited and a tender In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning. That festive gift for a hard-to-buy-for jazz chum is now sorted. John Bungey
www.thetimes.co.uk

Sunday Times
January 1, 2012

The pianist’s many admirers won’t need to be persuaded to invest in this overview of his early years. The minority of sceptics, however, won’t be convinced, in spite of exemplary notes by the Bad Plus’s Ethan Iverson. Mehldau’s virtuoso touch and tone are certainly delicious — 1998’s Songs includes his often intriguing excursions into Radiohead and Nick Drake — but his penchant for the grandiose is never too far away, and there remains a fatal lack of rhythmic drive in the extended interplay with Jorge Rossy and Larry Grenadier. A disc of previously unreleased material from the Village Vanguard provides more room for self-indulgence. Clive Davis
www.thesundaytimes.co.uk

January 4th, 2012
Brad Mehldau Trio Launches 6 Night Residency at Village Vanguard

Brad Mehldau kicks off the New Year in style when he joins his Trio—featuring bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard—for a six-night residency at New York City’s famed Village Vanguard, starting tonight and running through Sunday, with two sets each night. “[T]his iteration of his pace-setting trio,” writes the New York Times music critic Nate Chinen in recommending this week’s shows, “has evolved into a graceful powerhouse, equally savvy about groove and harmony. There’s still no better place to hear the band than the Village Vanguard, a special room for Mr. Mehldau and for his devoted base.”

The New Yorker writes of this week’s residency: “The pianist Brad Mehldau, who recently released a deluxe boxed set documenting the breakthrough years of his first celebrated trio, is joined by the bassist from those days, Larry Grenadier, but a different drummer, Jeff Ballard, who has proved to be a brilliant replacement for the original percussionist, Jorge Rossy.”

To read the full article click here