Brad Mehldau -- House On Hill: Mehldau's classical-meets-jazz style playing intrigues the hell out of me. There's a rigidity to some of his work that strains at the liquid core of his trio, who are a more traditionally jazz-oriented rhythm section of drums and bass. That's not to say there's anything particularly traditional about Mehldau's music — it's equally beautiful as it is cutting and slashing, and often at the same time.
While last year's Day is Done introduced new drummer Jeff Ballard, House On Hill marks the final trio recording of Jorge Rossy, who left to pursue new avenues of music and to spend time with his family in Spain. What remains to be seen is if House On Hill can top Day is Done — I have a feeling not, because that was a truly incredible piece of work, and Ballard was an absolute key to why it worked so well. House On Hill, however, will likely be another beautiful entry in Mehldau's catalog, and a fitting goodbye to Rossy. It just may have been more satisfying for everyone had the release dates been switched.
Grant-Lee Phillips — nineteeneighties: The great Grant Lee Buffalo may be long gone, but the heart was always just the voice and guitar of Phillips anyway, wasn't it? In between takes as Gilmore Girls' resident town troubador, Phillips found a few free moments to record this stripped down tribute to his favorite songs from, you guessed it, the 1980s. Before you start rolling your eyes, give it a chance — his choices are slightly more obscure than you might think (REM's "So. Central Rain," a strangely fitting Hawaiian take on the Pixies' "Wave of Mutilation," believe it or not) and even ones that are slightly more obvious are so fitting for his voice that you simply have to hear them — such as the Church's "Under the Milky Way" (I was sold on this the moment I saw that mentioned — I could hear his voice handling this very well, and from what I've heard, it's as beautiful as I expected it would be.)
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
i've gotta get the Thompson 1000 Years thing....been lusting after it for years.
Meldau: he'll be putting out a recording with Metheny at some point in the near future.
2 - Tom Johnson
Metheny and Mehldau . . . that'll be an incredible set, I'm sure. I haven't seen anything about that. Any word on when yet?
3 - Mark Saleski
swiped from the Metheny Group site:
This past December Pat and pianist Brad Mehldau teamed up for a long discussed and highly anticipated joint project together. Meeting in a New York recording studio for a week, the two musicians each arrived with an armful of new tunes written just for this occasion along with a few older pieces by both. The six day session resulted in what Pat has called "one of the most truly inspiring and satisfying collaborative occasions I have ever experienced". Look for the CD the last week of August. The music features Metheny/Mehldau duets and performances of Pat with the Brad Mehldau Trio (featuring Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard).
4 - J. P. Spencer
I saw Richard Thompson's "1000 Years Of Popular Music" show when it passed through Madison a few years ago. It was an hilarious night, and the band members he had with him were just great.
5 - Stephen V Funk
Mehldau and Metheny are also appearing together live at Symphony Center in Chicago in April 2007... probably touring other venues too...
I'm not sure if this will be a good duo or not... I'll try to keep my mind and ears open about it... Will definitely check out the CD...