Word: ballads
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...With the second set came both a change in mood and approach. Mehldau yielded to ever-longer improvisations on more melodically emphasized ballads, many of which were named and a few of which have even appeared on albums, such as "Resignation" from 1999's Elegiac Cycle. Comparisons here to the classical forefathers might be inappropriate, as Mehldau himself is a master of the piano ballad, but the languid shifts and poignant phrasings are all nonetheless reminiscent of the great French romantic Chopin...
...that there is something inherently preferable about melody over improvisation, or ballad tempo over fugue. But Mehldau, like Bach, is at his best slowed down. Like Glenn Gould playing 32nd trills as eighth notes, Mehldau proves that virtuosity is not dependent on quick pace alone. Yet even at a more leisurely speed, Mehldau's improvisational line exhibits an overall concern with counterpoint, which at once indicates his post-bop tendencies and classical training. But here they tend to be more appropriate, as Mehldau's impromptus have a tendency to fall into the trap of classical meter at brisker tempos...
...album's ten songs are love songs, in some form, and set to a folk or country sound. For most rockers, this combination may sound silly, but for Young the effect is sweet and touching. His lyrics are direct, which sometimes works well, as on the ballad "Good to See You"-"Good to see you/Good to see you again/Good to see your face again/It's good to see you"-but when Young gets unfocused it sounds sappy ("Love don't care if you're wrong or right/Love don't know if you're black or white," from "Horseshoe Man"). Young...
...South Africa. On Homeland Makeba's music sounds timeless and tireless. The succulent African pop songs are in English and in Xhosa (Makeba's native tongue). The first track, Masakhane, is a stirring call "for unity and hope in the postapartheid era." Another track, Lindelani, is a gentle ballad written for and named after her great-grandson...
with competent sidemen, Schwartz is undeniably sweet and ponderous on "Peace Dollar" and offers striking introspective moments such as the Billy Strayhorn ballad "Chelsea Bridge". Schwartz also borrows from funk, soul and hip-hop influences, stretching out melodically on the fusion-groove "Don't Ask", and an eight-minute bossa nova "The Curve of The Earth" provides some expansive and impressive melodic inventions, while still maintaining a paradoxically loose and driving Latin feel. Everything emerges extremely ear-friendly, and while Schwartz doesn't provide extraordinary insights into old material, he does offer a varying array of comfortable, well-worn tunes...