Customer Reviews

Art of the Trio, Vol. 5: Progression

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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The piano remains for me the greatest musical invention. And one of the great musical challenges for any musician is to tackle a "standard". Mr Pletnev did it at Carnegie Hall on 1st November 2000 when he made magnificent again, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No 32, op.111(documented on DG 471157-2). Mr Mehldau has done it in his series of albums entitled the Art of the Trio and his latest (double) CD documents some of the music he made over three nights at the Village Vanguard during September 2000. At times I feel his incisive, searching, surprising ballad playing is his great strength ( cf The Folks Who Live On the Hill, Disc 1, Track 3) but then he reworks Alone Together into an uptempo piece preceded by a stunning piano solo introduction then staccato piano phrases punctuated by drums and bass delivering a musical exploration at the very edge of its form for 15 minutes of musical delight. And then on disc 2 Track 2 an absolutely exquisite, achingly beautiful reworking of the (originally strikingly banal)Secret Love. My view is that Mr Mehldau has no tricks, no theatre, no look-at-me-and-what-I-can-do bravura, no cliches, no licks, but is all music. He is one of the very few pianists I listen to who gives the impression that the music is speaking through him, and this is how it is. Music doesn't get much better than that made by Mr Mehldau, Mr Genadier and Mr Rossy.

The Brad Mehldau Trio's fifth offering in the Art of the Trio series may just be their best yet. Of course, the fact that this set, recorded live at the Village Vanguard contains over 135 minutes of music on two discs doesn't hurt. This set documents a piano trio at the top of their form. The interactions between Mehldau, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Jorge Rossy are second to none in this day.
This set (recorded in September 2000) includes four Mehldau compositions (all terrific), but is mostly a set of jazz standards leaning toward the lyrical side of things (Gershwin, Kern, Fain, Hammerstein, Rogers) and includes a terrific version of Nick Drake's "River Man" (the 11+ minute recording on this disc far surpasses the 5 minute version on the brilliant 'Art of the Trio Vol. 3 studio disc). As with the previous Trio albums, Mehldau mixes swing with ballads with skill and ease (this album is much more similar to the outstanding 'Art of the Trio 4' than the most recent Mehldau release, the also terrific, but more moody 'Places' from last year). The set opens with a romping display (Grenadier particularly shines) on "The More I See You" and continues pace with the original "Dream's Monk". Things are slowed down a little with a terrific performance of Hammerstein and Kern's "The Folks Who Live On the Hill". The spell complemented by tinkling glasses (on this song and several others--it is a live recording in the truest sense) and briefly disturbed by the ring of some fool's cell phone at the 2:57 mark. Nevertheless, the performance is not to be missed. The remainder of disc one picks up the pace again with a great performance of "Alone Together", a brief foray into "It Might as Well Be Spring" and concludes with soothing brilliance on "Cry Me a River" and the already mentioned "River Man". Wow! And there's still one disc to go...
Disc 2 is more subdued than disc 1 and includes three Mehldau originals--"Quit", "Sublation", and the beautiful, haunting "Resignation"--mixed with standards and features the expected extended improvisations and lyrical play throughout, culminating with 25 minutes of piano trio perfection on performances of "Long Ago and Far Away" and "How Long Has this Been Going On?". I cannot recommend this disc highly enough. Naturally, the liner notes contain Mehldau's typically esoteric comments. This time, the subject is music and language. Enjoy!

This CD, combined with my seeing the trio last week at the Village Vanguard, confirms in my mind that Mehldau is the strongest, most creative pianist in Jazz today. One might think that the consistent stream of "Art of the Trio" releases would get tiresome, but Mehldau and his group have revealed new ideas on every album. His reharmonizations of standards like The More I See You and Alone Together are ingenious, and his ballads are haunting and soulful. Mehldau was even better a year later, at his recent Vanguard date, and I look forward to volume 6.

This is the best cd live of Brad's trio.

It really gives an respectful and stunning image of Brad's trio live. Music and playing are profoundly inspired, with an emotional range which is extremely vast, from the liquid, profoudly intense ballads as 'the folks who...' to the almost hysteric speed bop version of 'the more I see you', passing through bossa moods ('resignation') and bluesy sighs ('how long has this...').

The recording is better sounding than the live vol.2 and 4 of the art of trio series, the piano being more bodied, present.

Together with 'Songs' (again with the trio, but studio recording) and 'Elegiac cycle' (solo piano) this is the perfect cd to start if you don't know Mehldau.

If you like Brad Mehldau and prefer his live stuff, buy this album. First cd is SMOKIN. Even better than vol 4. The first two tracks on disc 1 take off with no abandon. Song 3 is a lovely ballad played very beautifully. Then the rythym section absolutely tears apart a 7/8 number and then the disc ends with a haunting Nick Drake cover. There really isn't a dull moment on the first disc.

The second disc isn't quite as seamless as the first, but it's still pretty amazing. After another energetic opener, they slow things down with a "Secret Love" that is gorgeous. And then the Trio really gets "out there" on the original Sublation. This song is probably the highlight of the album in my opinion. I've always loved when bands take a song and build, and build, and build getting crazier and crazier until you just can't take it anymore. And then BAM!! they're right back in the melody as if nothing ever changed. This is a trick that one of my favorite rock band's Phish, has really mastered in a live setting, and it is REALLY cool to see it done by virtuoso jazz musicians. Music is all about exploration, and whatever gripes you may have about Mehldau, nobody can question his eagerness to explore.

I think this album will appeal not only to Mehldau and jazz fans, but to anyone who truly appreciates passionate and daring live musical performance. This Trio is one of the only jazz acts I've ever heard that captures the energy and wild abandon that is usually reserved for rock.

If you've never heard Brad Mehldau check out "Anything Goes" for the studio sound, or this album "Progression: AOT vol 5", for the live experience. You won't be disappointed. It's well worth the price of admission.

this large chunk of music is hard to digest at once, but it is worth trying! it is much better than largo (brad, what were you thinking?) to me, however, i think that Art of trio 4 is the very best of brad mehldau. it is shorter, more to the point, but just as outstanding in the best places and nothing can compete with all the things you are!

Brad Mehldau, Jorge Rossy and Larry Grenader conform the best and unique modern jazz formula, just like Coca-Cola no other indredient can supply any of this three basic elements named "Brad Mehldau trio progression" if any component would be changed the taste would be never the same, this time this unique ensamble perform in a cut-breath way their most precious pieces from "introducing Brad Mehldau" thru "Elegiac Cycle" all pieces played with great entusiasm and improvisation, Mehldau never plays the same twice and this is so refreshing , you never know whats gonna happen when you see them live, is almost like a very enjoyable suspense. Art of the Trio, Vol. 5 is the most essential piece in live Mehldaus albums
HM

This 2-CD set by the Brad Mehldau Trio (Mehldau on piano, Larry Grenadier on bass, Jorge Rossy on drums) was recorded live at the Village Vanguard. The sound is generally quite good, but those with powerful subwoofers will notice some extraneous bass rumbling from time to time. If you can hear it (the vast majority of systems will not reproduce the rumble at any sort of audible level), just think of it as adding to the live ambience, I guess. At any rate, if you can get past the rumble and the liner notes, you will be rewarded by some excellent music. Mehldau has imagination and skill in spades, and his bandmates are highly competent.

You don't quite get the same sense of organic music making that you do from Keith Jarrett's "Standards" trio (with Mehldau, there is more of a sense that he is the leader and the others are providing accompaniment), but the end result is still awfully, awfully good. The tunes range from standards (e.g., "The Folks Who Live on the Hill," "It Might as Well Be Spring," "How Long Has This Been Going On") to nonstandard covers (e.g. "River Man" by Nick Drake) to Mehldau originals. If you are a fan of piano jazz, this release is a must-have.

This is some of the best piano jazz ever. Brad seems to have an endless capacity to improvise. Even on the most lengthy songs he makes each moment new and inspired.

I'll keep this short - my second favorite trio album of all time - next to volume 4. Brad Mehldau is a genius, just try transcribing him! If you want enlightenment, buy this album.