House on Hill

Brad Mehldau | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 27, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000E6ET4I
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,058 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Brad Mehldau's "Art of the Trio" trio, which was together from 1994-2004, underwent a change when drummer Jorge Rossy was replaced by Jeff Ballard. As evidenced by the new group's excellent Day is Done(2005), which may be Mehldau's best record, that has hardly been a detriment. But the pianist remains devoted to the original lineup, which was last heard covering standards, pop tunes, and Radiohead on Anything Goes (2004) and here, on a program mostly drawn from the same sessions, interprets Mehldau originals. Interestingly, he is less frisky with his own material than the standards. "The very condition that allows for expressivity implies its own limitation," he writes in his lengthy, professorial liner notes, which spare no references to Bach and Brahms. But at its best, the upbeat material still has a kind of lyrical swagger--Mehldau creates his own lively contrapuntal effects in playing his right hand off his left--and the ballads attain a pristine beauty. As ever, the trio maintains its intensity in searching for both emotional answers and musical solutions. --Lloyd Sachs

Product Description

Brad Mehldau’s House On Hill represents the culmination of the pianist’s studio work with his original trio line-up of bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy. Mehldau specifically composed nine tracks with the particular strengths of his longtime band-mates in mind. House On Hill completes a significant chapter in Mehldau’s decade-plus career.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Swan Song of the First Mehldau Trio, July 13, 2006

By 

Joanne L'Oiseau (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: House on Hill (Audio CD)

This is the last recording of the Trio as we used to know it, and I love it. If you are a Brad Mehldau-fan only because he occasionally covers Radiohead, this might be over your head .But if you loved PLACES or Elegiac Cycle and love the original compositions that one can find on all of Mehldau's previous releases, go for it. These songs are truly beautiful and as with all of his originals: they grow on you intensly. Jorge Rossy plays his [...] off here. If you loved Art of the Trio, this is a gorgeous swan song for the first Mehldau Trio which should not fail in your collection.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything In Its Right Place, July 7, 2006

By 

Kenneth R. Cervelli (Clarksville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: House on Hill (Audio CD)

Having seen Jeff Ballard perform with Joshua Redman a few years back, I couldn't help but wonder what he would sound like playing with Brad Mehldau and Larry Grenadier. I imagined the three of them locking into a super-tight groove (but with plenty of finesse and grace)--which is exactly what we hear on a track like "Artis" (from _Day Is Done_). And like many listeners, I am absolutely into the "new" trio. Jorge Rossy was there from the start, however, and it is only fitting that Nonesuch sanctioned the release of this wonderful session.

Now, the reviews have been very mixed, and I'll confess that some of them have left me scratching my head, since to my ears _House on Hill_ beautifully captures the trio as they were evolving in 2002. The perfomances are immaculate (but not "bloodless"--at least not in my opinion), and Mehldau was clearly growing (even more) as a composer. It is also an effectively paced recording. So what's not to like if you're a fan of the Brad Mehldau Trio? I was also happy to to read Mehldau's words again. (Mehldau is an extraordinarily gifted writer and thinker, and I personally enjoy it, say, when he takes on those critics who seem to insist that he sounds like Bill Evans, which of course he doesn't.) Perhaps some might find his musings on jazz composition and improvisation pretentious, but the fact of the matter is that he has earned the right to reflect on the creative process from his own point of view. Finally, it is impossible not to miss Jorge Rossy after listening to this recording (his loose-limbed approach to the kit was a big part of this trio's sound) even while we're at the same time looking forward to the next phase of Mehldau's eventful artistic journey.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Bill..., July 6, 2006

By 

A. Mathes (Hamden, CT USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: House on Hill (Audio CD)

all of Brad's CD's won't be stand outs that gain immediate "5 star" status from most reviewers, but when later viewed in the context of an entire career opinions might change. As a document of original material played by the original trio not long before they changed drummers, House On Hill deserves appreciation from thoughtful listeners who view Mehldau's CD efforts as episodes in a life in music, not as a series of possible "5 star" albums. I suppose "Songs" approaches that, but is that what we really want or expect from someone like Brad Mehldau? This is probably not his "Kind of Blue". So what? It's a fine album, full of wonderful, challenging music from a "serious" (in the best sense of the word) recording artist that you need to listen to over time as part of an ongoing work to understand its place in that continuum. That won't always get 5 stars from some people but it gets my enthusiastic 5 stars because I am defintely on board for the long ride.