Long Ago And Far Away (Live)

Albumbeschreibung

Label Impulse! has unearthed from its archives this previously unreleased concert from November 2007 between two absolute giants: Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau. The bass player, who passed away in 2014, met the pianist for the first time in the early nineties. The spark was instantaneous, and the two virtuosos regularly worked together, both on stage and in studio. But never in duo. This 2007 live was the first time. At the invitation of Heidelberg Enjoy Jazz Festival, in Germany, Haden and Mehldau agreed to perform together in the magical setting of a church, the Christuskirche in Mannheim. And while the result was stunning, the tapes remained in storage for over a decade… "It’s thrilling to play with someone who improvises like this”, recalls the American pianist. “After all, this is the guy who did it first on his instrument. Those early records of the Ornette Coleman Quartet like This is Our Music or Change of the Century were not “free” in the sense that they abandoned the principles of harmony. They often were free of a fixed harmonic schema, though, and Charlie was improvising the harmony, from the ground up!"

Above all else, it’s the depth of their complicity that shines through on this recording. The ease with which Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau integrate space and silence in their exchanges is sublime. In terms of repertoire, they opted for classics  (Charlie Parker, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer, Gershwin, Kern…) that they stroke with their fingertips. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz