Brad Mehldau Trio Returns with “Where Do You Start,” September 18

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Arranger, Brad Mehldau, Composer, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier, Nonesuch Records, Pianist

Mehldau Trio, Where Do You Start

Nonesuch releases the Brad Mehldau Trio’s Where Do You Start, a companion disc to this spring’s critically acclaimed Ode, on September 18, 2012. Whereas Ode featured 11 songs composed by Mehldau, Where Do You Start comprises the Trio’s interpretations of ten tunes by other composers, along with one Mehldau original. See below for the complete track list. Ode was widely praised, with London’s Daily Telegraph, in a five-star review, saying that it “shows Mehldau’s inventive powers are as fresh as ever … and the interplay with Ballard and Grenadier is masterly.” The Brad Mehldau Trio is Brad Mehldau on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums. Where Do You Start is available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store, where an instant download of the album track “Jam” is included with purchase.

Brad Mehldau Trio Returns March 13 with “Ode,” Featuring 11 Original Mehldau Compositions

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Bass, Brad Mehldau, Drums, Jazz, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier, Piano

Brad Mehldau Trio, Ode

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 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”).

Brad Mehldau, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Charlie Haden ]|[ LIVE at BIRDLAND [ECM Records]

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Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden, Jazz, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian

Brad Mehldau, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Charlie Haden - LIVE at BIRDLAND

Brad Mehldau, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Charlie Haden ]|[ LIVE at BIRDLAND – [ECM Records, 2011]

A quartet of master musicians and a program of jazz classics. Live At Birdland presents the finest moments from two inspired nights at New York’s legendary club, as Konitz, Mehldau, Haden and Motian play “Loverman”, “Lullaby Of Birdland”, “Solar”, “I Fall In Love Too Easily”, “You Stepped Out Of A Dream” and “Oleo” with freedom, tenderness, and a love of melody that only jazz’s greatest improvisers can propose. On this live recording from New York’s legendary club, an ensemble of history-making players dives into the music without a set list. Four exceptional jazz musicians -Lee Konitz, Brad Mehldau, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian – approach the standards from new perspectives and unusual angles. They play them with freedom, tenderness and a melodic and rhythmic understanding found only amongst jazz’s greatest improvisers.

The recording was made at Birdland and mixed by Manfred Eicher and the quartet, with James Farber as engineer, at New York’s Avatar Studios. Songs selected by this team from the performances of December 9 and 10, 2009, are: “Lover Man”, “Lullaby Of Birdland”, “Solar”, “I Fall In Love Too Easily”, “You Stepped Out Of A Dream” and “Oleo”. Konitz has often said that he tries to play the material as if encountering it for the first time. With all four musicians listening intently, discoveries are continually made in the music.

New Jazz Releases for the Week of 2/21/2011

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Brad Mehldau, Eric Reed, Jazz, Matthew Shipp, New Releases

New Jazz Releases of 2/22/2011

Greeting’s jazz enthusiasts, as always it’s a pleasure to return with more new music releases. With each visit, you’ll discover a montage of new jazz recordings featured at Amazon.com that encompasses a generous diet of nuances which includes a wealth of complex and distinctive styles, textures, melodies, and rhythms exalted by a host of definitive and creative voices in the world of jazz.

For more details, please visit Amazon.com for a complete list of this week latest jazz releases!

..:: SOURCE: Amazon.com ::..

Brad Mehldau -][- LIVE IN MARCIAC (Nonesuch, 2CD-|-1DVD)

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Brad Mehldau, Jazz, Piano

Brad Mehldau - Live In Marciac (2CD-1DVD)

Brad Mehldau -][- LIVE IN MARCIAC – (Nonesuch, 2011 | 2CD-|-1DVD) – January 25, 2011

‘Live In Marciac,’ a two CD/one DVD set, is pianist and composer Brad Mehldau’s second collection of live solo recordings, joining ‘Live In Tokyo’ in his Nonesuch catalogue. This engrossing set, from a summer festival in Marciac, France, features both Mehldau originals and his ruminative explorations of material from such artists and writers as Nick Drake, Radiohead, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and Kurt Cobain, along with American Songbook classics from Cole Porter (‘It’s All Right With Me’) and Rogers and Hammerstein (‘My Favorite Thing’).

The accompanying film offers a beautifully rendered, piano’s-eye view of Mehldau from this French performance, an extraordinarily up-close opportunity to observes his hands-and mind-at work. As London’s Telegraph has noted, ‘He’s a pianist who has it all, technically speaking, and he also has a fabulously well-stocked brain that can mingle different musical traditions. He can turn a standard with consummate musicianship and real swing, he can mine the depths of a blues chord sequence, he can summon a rock-anthem ecstasy. And lurking in the background is a fascination with classical music, revealed in the way inner parts surge and pluck at the main melody.’

Metheny | Mehldau [Nonesuch]

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Brad Mehldau, Guitar, Jazz, Pat Metheny, Piano

Metheny - Mehldau

Metheny | Mehldau – Metheny & Mehldau – [Nonesuch, 2006] – Review –

It’s almost shameful on my part, but I’m finally getting around to delving into this amazing record by two of the most astounding voices in their own right to feature the renown yet prolific composer and guitarist Pat Metheny and equally talented nu-bop fusionist of his generation Brad Mehldau on piano.

After all, it’s years of working around tireless recording and tour schedules to be able to merge the intricacies of their collective voicings into one integral adventure as they join sonically to record in 2006 a stunning collection of songs which intertwines perfectly in a symphony of ambient melodies, shades and above all lingering jazz sensibilities to occupy this space strategically throughout.

The opener “Unrequited” embodies the sonic tonality we’ve come to expect from this dynamic duo as soloists. Keep in mind, as the music flows gracefully with no pitfalls foreseen until the composition “Admid-6” appears to establish their ascending voices to bond perfectly as one to sparkle cohesively with splendor. The duo theme continues to quietly permeate it’s way through the mist until “Ring of Life” emerges to unfold into a refreshing and tasteful unexpected ensemble journey. Actually, the masterful interplay by the ensemble is incredible. In essence, their intriguing voices draw telepathically from years of exploring a diverse universe of music.

Of course, this outing by the duo is not so much a detour of what they normally do individually but it was inevitable they combine their harmonically atoned and introspective voices to record this phenomenal album. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

[Flux Music Essentials] … features Hiromi, Muhammad, Mehldau & Jones

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Brad Mehldau, Hiromi, Idris Muhammad, Jazz, Quincy Jones

Flux Music Essentials

Greeting’s jazz connoisseurs, I’m back with yet another intriguing palette of creative music from some of today’s most unique, adventurous and inspiring voices known and unknown artists alike in the world of jazz.

Hiromi - Brain (Telarc, 2004)

Hiromi -][- Brain – [Telarc, 2004]

She’s got prodigious piano technique, brains and beauty (as six full-page photos included with the CD make abundantly clear), incredible energy, and lots of “mo” (is there any young instrumentalist who is bigger at the present moment?). All of which may raise some suspicions among closer followers of the jazz scene, past and present.

Admittedly, I was impressed but not captivated after a first listen. The tracks with synthesizer, the all-original program of “descriptive,” “programmatic” titles, the packaging–it smacked of commercialism and new-age aesthetics. But I recall having a similar reaction to Ahmad Jamal the first time I heard him. He didn’t employ harmonies like Art Tatum, swing like Oscar, fill up the space with complex melodic lines like Bud Powell. But over time it became clear that Ahmad was the master colorist of them all, a painter of musical tone poems that could be infinitely suggestive if not mesmerizing. Hiromi, who was “discovered” and first produced by Ahmad, has the same affinities.

Listen to “Desert on the Moon.” It ‘s a bubbling piece, more suggestive of a mountain stream in its progress through a variety of moods, tempos, textures, and dynamic contrasts. Every moment is alive and purposeful, as Hiromi takes us on a journey from rippling, impressionist passages to sharply-defined pointillism (she has some musical karate chops!) to unabashed romantic lyricism (an unapologetic allusion to “My One and Only Love”), finally bringing the force of the whole to an explosive, climactic conclusion, then just as seamlessly providing a tranquil, restorative coda.

Her piano technique extends beyond mere virtuosity. She gets a bright, pure and round sound from the instrument that is absolutely consistent in all registers and at soft as well as loud volumes. Moreover, this recording is probably the best that I’ve ever heard a piano sound on CD. If you have any sort of half-way decent stereo system, Hiromi and her Yamaha Concert Grand will be bigger than life in your living room. Better make room because from the evidence on this disk, she’ll be around for a long time to come. —Samuel Chell | Amazon.com

Flux Music [Jazz] Essentials … features [Cabrera, Hancock, Marsalis, Mehldau & Weather Report]

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African American, Brad Mehldau, Herbie Hancock, Jazz, Weather Report, Wynton Marsalis, Yosvany Terry Cabrera

Flux Music Essentials

Greeting’s fellow jazz enthusiasts, I’m back in the mix with another tantalizing yet satisfying blend of original jazz that’s shaken and stirred to perfection from the shelves of “Flux Music Essentials.”

Yosvany Terry Cabrera - Metamorphosis

Yosvany Terry Cabrera -//- Metamorphosis – [Kindred Rhythm, 2006]

Yosvany Terry Cabrera’s debut album, “Metamorphosis,” showcases his musical virtuosity and energy that he has pursued in his career with passion and dedication. Metamorphosis debuts Terry’s talents as a bandleader, composer, arranger, and powerful musician and features some of New York’s finest jazz musicians.

“Metamorphosis” is the perfect word to describe Terry’s musical journey and this fresh collection of compositions. Each track musically expresses a different experience he has had along the way. Havana, New York City and beyond: all of his influences can be heard on this album. The compositions and improvisations flow from rhythmic, energetic avant-garde to mellifluous lyricism.

Terry has now given the world a collection of contemporary jazz tracks which will open many ears, fusing the richness of his Afro-Cuban roots with the brightest, new sounds and spirit in the world of jazz. —Amazon.com

Brad Mehldau – “Highway Rider” – Video

Tags

Brad Mehldau, Jazz, Piano

** THIS VIDEO CONTAINS SOME INSIGHTFUL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FEATURED ARTIST, ALSO SOME BRIEF VULGAR LANGUAGE, UNDERSCORED BY SEGMENTS OF PROVOCATIVE JAZZ BY PIANIST BRAD MEHLDAU. **

..:: Source: mwesterholm.wordpress.com ::..

New Music [Jazz] Releases for 3/16/2010

Tags

Brad Mehldau, Jazz, Ken Navarro, Kirk Whalum, Tia Fuller

Greeting’s fellow jazz aficionados, we’re back with another lists of what’s hot this week in jazz featuring Brad Mehldau, Ralph Towner, Kirk Whalum, Ken Navarro, Anthony Jackson and featured album of the week by saxophonist Tia Fuller.

Featured Album of the Week

Tia Fuller | Decisive Steps – [Mack Avenue, 2010]

Tia Fuller - Decisive Steps

The astonishingly gifted, Colorado-born, alto / soprano saxophonist / flautist Tia Fuller is at home at all points of the musicverse – from her show-stopping solos as a member of superstar Beyoncé’s all-female band, to her scintillatingly swinging jazz dates and recordings. Her newest Mack Avenue release Decisive Steps, is the long-awaited follow-up to her 2007 label debut Healing Space. It features her Beyoncé bandmate, drummer Kim Thompson; bassist Miriam Sullivan; Fuller’s sister, Shamie Royston on piano and Fender Rhodes; with special guests, trumpeter Sean Jones and bassist Christian McBride (both Mack Avenue label mates); vibraphonist Warren Wolf; and tap dancer Maurice Chestnut.

New Music Releases

Below we have and extended list of this weeks releases, also check out Amazon.com for even more imports and re-issues.