Word: mehldau
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Some of Johannes Brahms' music was just a hop, skip and syncopation away from ragtime piano. So it's not surprising that 30-year-old jazz pianist Brad Mehldau holds the composer so close to his heart. But emulating Brahms is the least of Mehldau's worries, as comparisons to the late jazz great Bill Evans tend to follow him wherever he plays...
Like Evans, Mehldau prefers the trio format, performing last week at Scullers with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy. A so-called piano intellectual, Mehldau lived up to his reputation, often quoting Bach-not only Johannes Sebastian, but Carl Philip Emanuel, whose "Solfeggio in C minor" was heard in skeletal form during one improvisation...
...Aside from the somewhat indeterminate allusions to classical music, not a familiar melody was provided in the first set. Mehldau related that the compositions are all "untitled," perhaps suggestive of works in progress. This is not to say that the tunes were inferior, but indeed the trio seemed intent on making these songs as aurally esoteric as possible, with Grenadier's bass line rarely walking and Rossy's beat rarely metered. It never came off as pretentious, but nevertheless made for a challenging listen. Mehldau joked at the end of the set that perhaps only one melody would have...
...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...