Press Room
Brad Mehldau Trio mezmerizes audience at St. Cecilia Music Center
Friday, April 09 2010
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk | The GR Press
April 09, 2010*
4 out of 4 stars
Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau rarely opens his eyes, even as he improvises long, intricate and expansive solos at the piano. He is, however, willing to kick off his shoes, both of them, in mid-solo, at least while in Grand Rapids. “My shoes were squeaking,” he explained to Thursday evening’s audience in St. Cecilia Music Center. “That’s a first for me,” he added.
Possibly a first for Royce Auditorium as well, though, hopefully, not the last. By that, I’m referring to Mehldau’s piano playing, with or without the shoe kicking, coming back soon to Grand Rapids.
The Grammy-nominated artist and the Brad Mehldau Trio were in Royce Auditorium to close St. Cecilia’s Jazz Series for the season with an amazing performance of original tunes and a few standards.
The classically trained, pop/rock-influenced, jazz pianist, who turns 40 this year, has worked with a galaxy of artists in several styles. His new double-disc recording, “Highway Rider,” released last month by Nonesuch, has earned accolades from critics in all three genres. Next season, Mehldau will hold Carnegie Hall’s Composer’s Chair, a first for a jazz artist, since the residency was established in 1995 in New York. In standards such as Cole Porter’s lovely “I Concentrate on You” or Sonny Rollins’ complex “Airegin,” you hear it all within minutes.
Jazz, as an improvisational art, is a collaborative venture between composer and soloist. Composer provides the foundation, and the soloist takes it from there.
“Something Good,” from the film, “The Sound of Music,” was the best-known tune Mehldau’s trio played Thursday. The tempo was incredibly slow. Each of several choruses evolved further and further into new and different musical styles, though eventually working their way back to Richard Rodgers’ melody. By the time the rest of the trio dropped out, Mehldau was so far from the original tune, I wasn’t sure he’d remember where he was or what day it is. But from somewhere, the familiar song sung by Julie Andrews in the movie returned for a beautiful finale.
It seems fair to say, when Mehldau looks at the horizon, he’s seeing father than the rest of us. Perhaps surprisingly, Mehldau’s an economical player who often thinks motivically, leaving plenty of air between notes and phrases. Usually, he’s content to nestle down in the middle of the keyboard and stay there. But just the same, Mehldau’s two hands frequently operate almost entirely independent of each other. He was happy to lead with his left hand on his original tune, “Dream Sketch,” while accompanying with his right hand on the number that’s a frequent concert opener for him.
Double bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard are worthy partners who pass around ideas from person to person as if playing musical Hacky Sack. Grenadier proved a solid bass player who offered melodic solos. Grenadier worked with sticks, brushes and even his bare hands and fingers. In his solos, he didn’t strike his drums so much as draw sound from them.
Following a standing ovation, the trio returned to play “No Moon at All” as an encore. Doris Day and Julie London both sang it. But the Brad Mehldau Trio conjured it from some other place, mesmerizing the audience with solos all around, and certainly leaving them wanting more.
