Brad Mehldau

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Brad Mehldau (born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist.

1 Life
2 The musician
3 Discography
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Life

Mehldau was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1970, grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Hall High School in 1988.^[1] He played piano from an early age, and discovered jazz at the age of twelve, when a friend played him a live recording of John Coltrane. Keith Jarrett's solo album Solo Concerts (Bremen/Lausanne) was another early influence, as were Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Charlie Parker [1]. He went on to play in his high school's jazz band. The first jazz record he purchased was Coltrane's Blue Train[2].

Mehldau moved to New York in 1988 to study jazz at The New School, studying under Fred Hersch, Junior Mance and Kenny Werner, and also playing with Jackie McLean and Jimmy Cobb [3].

He went on to play as sideman with a variety of musicians, most importantly with the Joshua Redman quartet, before forming his own trio in 1994.

[edit] The musician

Mehldau plays original compositions, jazz standards and jazz arrangements of popular music, having a particular liking for the music of Radiohead, Paul Simon, Nick Drake and The Beatles. Mehldau has a distinct talent for transforming these 'Rock' songs in such a way that they sound as if they were Jazz Standards in the first place. He is best known as leader of the Brad Mehldau Trio, with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummers Jorge Rossy and Jeff Ballard (who succeeded Rossy in 2005).

He has also played and recorded solo and with co-leaders Peter Bernstein, Mark Turner, Charlie Haden, Pat Metheny and others. In 2004, Mehldau toured with Kurt Rosenwinkel and Joshua Redman.

Mehldau is sometimes compared with Bill Evans but dislikes the comparison, explaining why in the liner notes of The Art of the Trio IV. Also compared to Keith Jarrett, he describes Jarrett's solo work as more inspiration than influence. Other influences cited by him are Miles Davis, Larry Goldings, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jesse Davis, David Sanchez, Oscar Peterson and the other members of his own trio [4]. His classical training shows, and he often plays a separate melody with each hand in unusual rhythmic meters such as 5/4 and 7/4.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums as leader or solo

Introducing Brad Mehldau (1995)
The Art of the Trio (1996)
The Art of the Trio II — Live At The Village Vanguard (1997)
The Art of the Trio III — Songs (1998)
Elegiac Cycle (1999)
The Art of the Trio IV — Back At The Vanguard (1999)
Places (2000)
The Art of the Trio V — Progression (2001)
Largo (2002)
Anything Goes (2004)
Live in Tokyo — Solo Piano (2004)
Day is Done (Trio) (2005)
- a complete piece from the album (streaming, official)
House on Hill (Trio) (2006)

[edit] Albums as co-leader

New York-Barcelona Crossing Volume 1 (1993) Mehldau, Rossy, Rossy, Sambeat
New York-Barcelona Crossing Volume 2 (1993) Mehldau, Rossy, Rossy, Sambeat
When I Fall In Love (1993) Mehldau & Rossy Trio
Consenting Adults (1994) Mehldau, Turner, Bernstein, Grenadier, Parker
Alone Together (1997) Mehldau, Haden, Konitz
Another Shade of Blue (1999) Mehldau, Haden, Konitz
Close Enough For Love (1999) Fleurine
Don't Explain (2004) Joel Frahm, Brad Mehldau
Love Sublime (2006) Brad Mehldau, Renée Fleming
Metheny/Mehldau (2006) Brad Mehldau, Pat Metheny
Metheny Mehldau Quartet (2007) Mehldau, Metheny, Grenadier, Ballard

[edit] Albums as sideman

"Mood Swing" (1994) Joshua Redman
Timeless Tales (for Changing Times) (1998) Joshua Redman
The Water Is Wide (2000, ECM) Charles Lloyd
Hyperion With Higgins (2001, ECM) Charles Lloyd
Works For Me (2001, Verve) John Scofield
Alegria (2003, Verve) Wayne Shorter
Like a Dream (2004, CryptoGramophone) Darek Oleszkiewicz
Deep Song (2005, Verve) Kurt Rosenwinkel
Blues Cruise (2005, FSNT) Chris Cheek

[edit] TV Appearances

SOLOS: the jazz sessions (2004) Bravo! Canada

[edit] Soundtracks

Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Space Cowboys (2000)
Million Dollar Hotel (2000)
Ma Femme Est une Actrice (2001)
"Unfaithful" (2002)
Mehldau's "When It Rains", the opening track on Largo (2002), and "Young at Heart" appear in the 2006 film The Lake House but not on the accompanying soundtrack itself.