If you’re looking for some great new music to discover this weekend, look no further…
Tag: Brad Mehldau
A previously unreleased recording of one of Miles Davis’ final live concerts; a modern guitar…
The winners of the 63rd GRAMMY Awards were announced on March 14 during a ceremony…
Throughout his career, Brad Mehldau has showcased a penchant for borrowing rock material and making…
For his latest album, RoundAgain, saxophonist Joshua Redman reconvenes the original lineup of his quartet from the…
The Week in Jazz is your roundup of new and noteworthy stories from the jazz…
A star-studded quartet’s first studio album in 25 years; previously unreleased Art Blakey and Thelonious…
Acclaimed guitarist Bill Frisell has announced that his newest project, Valentine — the debut recording…
Pianist Gerald Clayton will release his Blue Note Records debut, Happening: Live at the Village…
On April 24, Blue Note Records will release Just Coolin’, a never-before-released studio album by…
Jazz may not have an official yearbook, but it does have a vast and well-documented…
The winners of the 62nd annual Grammy Awards were announced on January 26, during a…
Jazz may not have an official yearbook, but it does have a vast and well-documented…
Of all the qualities for which composer, keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Brad Mehldau earns praise (and…
Ryan Porter’s new album Force For Good is featured on our Weekly Discover Playlist for June…
Summer is upon us, and with it comes the 40th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal presented by TD Bank Group in collaboration with Rio Tinto. The fest is all set to take place June 26 through July 6 in downtown Montreal, with several hundred thousand people descending upon the Canadian city to experience the biggest jazz celebration in the world.
Vocalist Michael Bublé reclaimed the top spot and jazz fusion group Pieces of a Dream debuted at No. 2 in this week’s Billboard Jazz 100 Charts, while over in the JazzWeek Radio Charts, guitarist Dave Stryker entered his second straight week in the No. 1 spot with his grooving retro-funk album Eight Track III.
Looking for some Monday motivation? We’ve got you covered. From an electronic duo’s debut project…
This meeting between Charlie Haden and Brad Mehldau unites two musicians from separate generations who…
The pair first met in 1993 and began recording together shortly after, first on 1997’s Alone Together (with saxophonist Lee Konitz) and then on 2011’s Live at Birdland (featuring Konitz and drummer Paul Motian). Stunning as these albums were as ensemble pieces, they were remarkable for the focused attention they brought to Haden and Mehldau’s musical chemistry. These were artists who shared a passion for impressionistic harmonies, graceful understatement and deeply attentive interplay.
Long Ago and Far Away was recorded in Germany in 2007 and marks Haden and Mehldau’s only recording as a duo. Much like these artists’ previous work, the album — a program of six Great American Songbook standards — has the candid feel of a conversation between close friends. Here, however, the conversation has been elevated to the level of poetry. The pieces on this disc are long and contemplative, but within them are statements of sublime elegance and laconic wisdom. On their version of Charlie Parker’s “Au Privave,” for example, their dialogue begins with a clear declaration of the song’s melody, but later, through artful interpretation, proceeds into dark and cosmic new territory. The effect renders the familiar contours of the song as eerily foreign. They achieve a similar result on the heartbreaking “What’ll I Do.” As the song unfolds, it becomes an anthem of uplift and optimism, its harmonies somehow more invigorated and profound.
On the whole, Long Ago and Far Away documents a superb pairing of musicians. Rarely do jazz artists intertwine as tightly — and with as magical a result — as they do here. —Brian Zimmerman