Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Brad Mehldau's first solo piano album is not only his best record to date, it is one of the most searching, most inventive solo piano albums since Keith Jarrett's best solo concerts of the 1970s, and it throws virtually the whole Maybeck series into a cocked hat, too. For one thing, it is a truly unified cycle of mostly improvised reminiscences, starting from a Chopin prelude-like base on "Bard," peaking dynamically with "Trailer Park Ghost," and cycling right back to the "Bard" theme seamlessly, inevitably, at the close. It is also radically different from so many jazz solo piano records because Mehldau's primary thrust is contrapuntal, with both hands playing independent single lines, not the usual bop runs with harmonies or stacked chords. Perhaps Mehldau's playing doesn't swing here as much as one would like, but it is always intelligent, often endearingly melodic, always technically resourceful ("Memory's Tricks," for example, turns into a two-part invention), and even when he breaks off some startling change, you always sense the shape and direction of each piece. Here, he throws off the shackles of the Bill Evans model once and, hopefully, for all, employing classical models other than impressionists (Bach, Brahms, Chopin, and Schumann come to mind), and in doing so, he makes a big mark on the future of jazz solo piano. And Mehldau is not only an unusually gifted pianist, he is also an intriguing thinker; his long, rambling, wide-ranging essay in the booklet is one of the most interesting artist-penned liner notes in memory.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From CA$ 10.83/month
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Brad Mehldau, Producer, Piano, Writer, MainArtist - Bernie Kirsch, RecordingEngineer - Alan Yoshida, MasteringEngineer - MICHAEL DAVENPORT, ExecutiveProducer - Alisha Chamberlain, AssistantEngineer
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 1999 Nonesuch Records Inc.
Album review
Brad Mehldau's first solo piano album is not only his best record to date, it is one of the most searching, most inventive solo piano albums since Keith Jarrett's best solo concerts of the 1970s, and it throws virtually the whole Maybeck series into a cocked hat, too. For one thing, it is a truly unified cycle of mostly improvised reminiscences, starting from a Chopin prelude-like base on "Bard," peaking dynamically with "Trailer Park Ghost," and cycling right back to the "Bard" theme seamlessly, inevitably, at the close. It is also radically different from so many jazz solo piano records because Mehldau's primary thrust is contrapuntal, with both hands playing independent single lines, not the usual bop runs with harmonies or stacked chords. Perhaps Mehldau's playing doesn't swing here as much as one would like, but it is always intelligent, often endearingly melodic, always technically resourceful ("Memory's Tricks," for example, turns into a two-part invention), and even when he breaks off some startling change, you always sense the shape and direction of each piece. Here, he throws off the shackles of the Bill Evans model once and, hopefully, for all, employing classical models other than impressionists (Bach, Brahms, Chopin, and Schumann come to mind), and in doing so, he makes a big mark on the future of jazz solo piano. And Mehldau is not only an unusually gifted pianist, he is also an intriguing thinker; his long, rambling, wide-ranging essay in the booklet is one of the most interesting artist-penned liner notes in memory.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 00:56:42
- Main artists: Brad Mehldau
- Label: Nonesuch
- Genre: Jazz Contemporary Jazz
© 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing ℗ 2005 Warner Records Inc. Manufactued & Marketed by Warner Strategic Marketing
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.