Customer Reviews

Introducing Brad Mehldau

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm in the odd position of really liking this album while having serious misgivings about Mehldau's work in general. Some of his later work suggests a musician who could use some restraint--I saw a concert of his here in Toronto recently which started out wonderfully (an unpremeditated open-form improvisation which rivalled Lennie Tristano's "Becoming" as a transfiguring warm-up) but eventually became too unrelievedly virtuosic (the music critic in the paper the next day chided Mehldau for moments where he became "a human music-box"). I find his solos on _Alone Together_, his album with Konitz & Haden, truly irritating.

And yet....it would take a determinedly tin ear not to find the man a fresh & welcome presence on the jazz scene, one of the few younger players to work squarely within the jazz mainstream & yet sound entirely & compellingly original. He's digested the entire keyboard literature whole--both classical & jazz, notably the instances of Evans, Jarrett & Corea, I think--& come out on top.

Whatever my ambivalences, I'm not ambivalent about this album: it's a truly stunning debut, & one of the best jazz albums of the 1990s. It kicks off with an insouciant version of "It Might as Well Be Spring"--it's indeed wonderfully bucolic, & it took me a few listens until I noticed that he's given it an understated off-kilter lilt by performing it in 7/8. Works just fine. The album is a mix of his originals (I especially like "Angst") & some shrewdly chosen standards--as usual with Mehldau, the originals are fairly straightforwardly done while the standards inspire him to his most intricate & far-reaching playing. "My Romance" goes Bill Evans one better in terms of daringly slow tempos--it's performed with the melody & chords at half-speed, & it's utterly remarkable. "Prelude to a Kiss" is similarly remarkable. "From This Moment On" is performed in a coyly dissonant mid-tempo arrangement with some unexpected Latin interludes spliced in; it stutters for a moment, & then breaks into a furious uptempo for Mehldau's solo. What's impressive here & throughout is Mehldau's preference for sparseness in his solos: they're technically extremely impressive, but he doesn't simply fill up all the available space with notes.

Great stuff. Half the album features the rhythm section which Mehldau has continued to work with throughout his career (Larry Grenadier on bass, Jorge Rossy on drums); the other half has the more stellar names of Christian McBride & Brian Blade; they provide excellent support, though it's clear that Mehldau's regular team permits him a much more daringly dialogic & oblique trio music than the hired guns can. But basically the album is a pleasure from first to last.

Brad Mehldau's "Introducing Brad Mehldau" sounds like it should be "Brad Mehldau's Greatest Hits." From listening to this CD, you would have no idea that this is a debut. Along with his trio, he has created a remarkable and stunning album.

The 7/4 "It Might as Well Be Spring" is a marvelous opener, and sets the mood for the whole CD. I am also partial to "Countdown," a ridiculously fast John Coltrane standard that Mehldau simply knocks off with ease. The Rodgers-Hart standard "My Romance" is played unbelievably slow, and when listened to correctly, could bring a tear to a listener's eye.

However, my favorite song on the album is without a doubt the 10-minute rendition of Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss," which stays mellow and melancholy throughout the whole song. I adore it, and it is a marvelous work by Mehldau and his group.

As if Mehldau had been playing for millions of years, this album is a classic. Pick it up--it is a must for the true jazz fan.

I bought this CD in 1996 when I studied in the US. At that time, Brad Mehldau was completely unknown to me but as a jazz fan for many years I just bought the CD. Already after ten seconds of listening I loved it. Today, I love all Brad Mehldau's trio recordings. In all there is this perfect feeling of rhythm and melody, this touch of grace. But this one has a particular freshness. After listening to it my whole beeing feels energized like after a cold shower. Again and again. Check it out!

I think this is his best album. It Might As Well Be Spring, My Romance, Prelude to a Kiss are all gems. And the 7/4 interpretation of It might has well..was highly original for its time and has influenced many guys in the last 8 years. Well worth it through repeated listens. He has run amock since in my view. He has fallen prey to pretension and complete musical density since.

It's hard to describe how much this album has impacted me as a listener of jazz. Aside from some Joshua Redman, which I would categorize as easy listening, this is the first relatively recent jazz album I've ever purchased. Prior to this, my diet consisted of Bill Evans, John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery, all in the 1960's. There is a consistency with the soloing in that era, maybe a symmetry in the phrasing, or the accents always being on the downbeats. To my knowledge, this was the only way to solo. I had heard other modern attempts at changing the music, but it only sounded contrived-like they were trying to be different.

What Mehldau does on this album is truly extraordinary. I'm not a musician by any means, so forgive my lack of terminology. Mehldau uses a kind of unbalanced approach to his soloing. It consists of quick stabbing runs that begin in between beats and end just before a beat. They cascade sometimes over changes and end abruptly in the middle of its path just as the chords change. It's not just his rhythm, but his whole rhythmic concept, how he constructs phrases, how he hears them, that turns the phrasing of the 60's completely upside down. His theme and variation is not so much lyrical as it is piecemeal. It's a bite here, a bite there, often played against the rhythm and sometimes used, it seems, to blur the lines between chord changes. He goes on a strange triplet run in Countdown that begins in the last 8 measures of the second to last chorus and then continues until half way through the last chorus, ending blithely with the melody. It's a bewildering run of notes to follow. But there is something sort of cool about it. That's all I can really say, it's just kind of cool that he did that.

Once you wrap your mind around how he works, that is if you can still feel the rhythm of the song while he is soloing, then you will find yourself tapping your foot furiously with your jaw open, especially to From This Moment On. That song is siiiick.

I think Brad Mehldau is one of the best jazz pianists of his generation, if not the best. He can swing, play lyrically, and has a great sense of dynamics. People have said this or that about him, but I don't think they're listening hard enough. "Introducing Brad Mehldau" is, as the title suggests, a great introduction to his style of playing. I prefer his early recordings, because of the way he renders and reharmonizes jazz standards. He doesn't play that many standards anymore. Mehldau is joined by Larry Grenadier or Christian McBride on bass and Jorge Rossy or Brian Blade on drums. This is swinging set and I encourage anyone who's unfamiliar with his playing to pick this album up. Highly recommended.

I timidly purchased this album after listening to bits and pieces of Brad's work, I and must say I was pleasantly surprised. Each of these tracks contains a distinct sound and ambiance which sets it apart, from the slow and methodical "Prelude to a Kiss" to the upstart and youthful "It might as well be spring." I wasn't much of a Jazz aficionado, but this album has introduced me to a ferociously new frontier in music. Brad's unorthodox and seemingly chaotic style weaves its melody gracefully and effortlessly, captivating the listener. Bottom line: This is jazz at its best.

I recall the first time I heard Brad back in the late 1990s. I thought he must be in his 40s or 50s, as he sounded like a very seasoned jazz pianist. To learn he was in his mid-20s was a shocking revelation. This CD illustrates just how good a young jazz pianist can be. Fine CD, especially for such a "youngin" at the time.

You could say the same about his long time bandmate Peter Bernstein. Jazz musicians just can't be that good at such a young age. However, they are.

I'm very grateful to Brad, Peter and Bill Stewart for keeping the tradition of straight ahead jazz alive and well. Thanks guys.

3 1/2

Classy introduction (though actually a sophomore release) this album began to clue listeners into the modern pianistic force Mehldau would become despite the disc's gentle, ballad-bearing tone.

I timidly purchased this album after listening to bits and pieces of Brad's work, I and must say I was pleasantly surprised. Each of these tracks contains a distinct sound and ambiance which sets it apart, from the slow and methodical "Prelude to a Kiss" to the upstart and youthful "It might as well be spring." I wasn't much of a Jazz aficionado, but this album has introduced me to a ferociously new frontier in music. Brad's unorthodox and seemingly chaotic style weaves its melody gracefully and effortlessly, captivating the listener. Bottom line: This is jazz at its best.