Brad Mehldau Trio

The
series continues on Tuesday, April 1,
with a return visit by the extraordinary Brad
Mehldau Trio, featuring Mehldau on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, and Jeff
Ballard on drums. Please note that this concert will be presented in one set
with no intermission. Mehldau’s most recent local appearances have been with
his trio in 2011 and in two unforgettable solo piano concerts in 2008 and 2010.
The Boston
Globe called his trio simply “one of the finest piano trios in the history
of jazz.” Comparisons abound linking Mehldau’s music to Bill Evans and Keith
Jarrett, citing classical influences such as Chopin and Brahms, and celebrating
his pioneering jazz treatments of contemporary songs by Radiohead, Nirvana, and
Nick Drake.  The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Universally admired as one of the most
adventurous pianists to arrive on the jazz scene in years…Mehldau [can be] simultaneously
lyrical and swinging, harmonically rhapsodic and melodically spare.” The Economist praised Mehldau’s
“glittering technique and probing intellect,” stating that “he has been hailed
as perhaps the finest pianist of his generation, a claim substantiated by his
remarkable series of recordings. In turn meditative and incisive, his solos
spin out engrossing, abstract lines, while his bassist and drummer provide
subtle rhythmic and harmonic counterpoint.”