Suite: April 2020

While sheltering at home with his family in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brad Mehldau wrote 12 new songs about what he was experiencing; he was able to record them safely in an Amsterdam studio, along with tunes by Neil Young, Billy Joel, and Jerome Kern, for the album 'Suite: April 2020,' available at http://smarturl.it/suiteapril2020 A 180-gram deluxe vinyl edition, out today and available for $100 exclusively from the Nonesuch Store, Bandcamp, and Discogs, is limited to 1,000 numbered units, signed by Mehldau; a minimum of $90 from each sale will be donated to the Jazz Foundation of America's COVID-19 Musician's Emergency Fund (after distribution fees). The generosity of many involved in this record has allowed all of the proceeds from the deluxe vinyl to be donated to JFA: With the support from direct-to-disc label Night Dreamer, Holland’s Record Industry pressed the vinyl quickly at no cost and Copenhagen Vinyl will waive handling fees for order fulfillment. Package designer Barbara deWilde also donated her services. A portion of the proceeds from the digital album, out now, and the standard albums, due September 18, also goes to the fund.

Note from Brad:

Suite: April 2020 is a musical snapshot of life the last month in the world in which we’ve all found ourselves. I’ve tried to portray on the piano some experiences and feelings that are both new and common to many of us. In ‘Keeping Distance,’ for example, I traced the experience of two people social distancing, represented by the left and right hand—how they are unnaturally drawn apart, yet remain linked in some unexplainable, and perhaps illuminating way. As difficult as COVID-19 has been for many of us, there have been moments of revelation along the way. ‘Stopping, Listening: Hearing’ highlights that moment as well. 

I’ve pointed to some of the strong feelings that have arisen the past month or more: ‘Remembering Before All This’ expresses a bittersweet gut-pain that has hit me several times out of the blue, when I think back on how things were even just a few months ago, and how long ago and far away that seems now; ‘Uncertainty’ hits on the feeling that can follow right after that—a hollow fear of an unknown future. 

There’s also been a welcome opportunity to connect more deeply with my family than we ever have, because of the abundant time and close proximity. The last three pieces hit on that connection—the harmony we find with each other, making meals together or just horsing around. ‘Lullaby’ is for everyone who might find it hard to sleep now.

Neil Young’s words in ‘Don’t Let It Bring You Down’ have always been counsel for me, now more than ever, when he instructs: ‘Don’t let it bring you down/It’s only castles burning/Find someone who’s turning/And you will come around.’ Billy Joel’s ‘New York State of Mind,’ a song I’ve loved since I was nine years old, is a love letter to a city that I’ve called my home for years, and that I’m far away from now. I know lots of people there and miss them terribly, and I know how much that great city hurts right now. I also know that it too will come around.

***

It’s been a painful time. I haven’t been able to get back to the U.S. since the Covid-19 virus closed everything down. I’ve made a wonderful life with my family here in Holland, but have had to watch the country of my origin, the country I still love, in turmoil. Since the senseless murder of George Floyd, I’ve been reflecting on what it might mean for me on how to be an “anti-racist”. It’s a term that Ibram X. Kendi in his book of the same title. He’s explaining that neutrality, or a “non-racist”, stance is not the opposite of racism. The opposite of racist is “anti-racist.” I feel like we’re at a time in American society, and in the whole world, where we can’t say we’re that we’re neutral. So I’m reflecting on what it might mean for me to be an anti-racist, and I know I’ve got some things to learn. 

I’m so sorry for the family and loved ones of George Floyd, and also those of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee, recently. There are many more victims. I said I love my country, and what I mean is: I wish well for everybody there, from all backgrounds - people of color, white, liberal conservative, and every other stripe. I do not love only certain parts of it. The music I make has to do with an African-American experience that I’ve been privileged to draw from. It’s a unique, beautiful experience that’s precious to me and many other people everywhere - not just in America. It’s spread across the world to places like here in Amsterdam where I live, to the wonderful musicians who are from here; and many other places. It has its genesis though in a group of people who have been disenfranchised and marginalized for years, and recently, as the world has seen, slain by the people paid to protect them. This is one long tragedy that spans back through America’s history.

This record was due to come out last week, but in light of the horrible events that took place, we decided to wait. I still feel trepidation about releasing a record now, but I would ask anybody who does have the time and interest: have a look at the video that explains about the project, because I still believe in the idea behind it, and there’s a lot of great people who have come together to do something special here that might help others. God knows there are a lot of us who need some help right now. 

– Thanks everyone, Brad

Brad Mehldau Introduces 'Suite: April 2020' and Performs "remembering before all this"