The Art Of The Trio, Vol. 4 - Back At The Vanguard [LIVE]

Brad Mehldau

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 28, 1999)
• Original Release Date: September 28, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B00000JZMN
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #106,397 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 1999

Brad Mehldau is surely one of the most hailed pianists jazz has seen in the 1990s. But his string of trio recordings presents a long, studied meditation on the piano trio. He plays with hair-raising energy, cascading over the keys and still finding endless space to slow down and count off each chord as if it were a lone haiku. --Andrew Bartlett

Amazon.com

Simply put, Brad Mehldau can flat-out play. Beyond his phenomenal skills is an uncanny ability to wring new sentiment out of old tunes ("I'll Be Seeing You") while also recontextualizing interesting contemporary pop as jazz composition (Radiohead's "Exit Music for a Film). On this, his fourth Art of the Trio recording, Mehldau again finds himself in the friendly confines of the Village Vanguard for an evening of his mood-swept melodies and tangled bop knots. Starting with an uptempo "All the Things You Are," the pianist concentrates on blistering right-hand solo work, taking only the slightest detours to wonder over the delicate soul of the tune. But this diversion is so subtle, so whispered that it threatens to go unnoticed if Mehldau were not meticulous with every melody he presses into the keys. Mehldau is often thought of as an "impressionistic" player, and on volume 4 he gives every song both the time and the permission to explore, change, and mutate. One minute, Mehldau is roaring up and down the keys on "Sehnsucht," the next he's turning the tune into a Brahms-like suite. With skills like that, we can only hope there's no end to Mehldau's Art of the Trio series. --S. Duda

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs Editing in music and words, October 20, 1999

By	andre salz (Quakertown, Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been following Brad Mehldau's music through recordings from the start and recommended to a friend of mine that she see him at the Vanguard when the present recording was made. The young firebrand is always a healthy thing in art but when its end product is technique for its own sake, that's a step backward. For me that's what is going on here, there are wonderfull moments, but too many notes, too much posturing. The player is not lost in the music. Miles once said to a fellow horn man "to much trumpet and not enough mucic", that about sums it up for me. A note must be added on the liner notes and Mehldau's "I am not Bill Evans" sthick. In spite of Ahmad Jamal, Wynton Kelly and his trio etc... It's obvious that the modern jazz piano trio was reinvented by Evans, Lafarro and Motian. Every trio after is influenced by those Vanguard recordings and if you don't want to be influenced, certainly do not include Solar which was a feature of the Evans trio.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Voice, May 15, 2001

By	Thomas C. Zink (Long Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a working Jazz pianist myself, I can only say that Brad Mehldau does everything I dream of, and even more that I've never imagined. With this album in particular, he seems to ascend to even greater heights in his imaginative treatment of both standards and original pieces. "All the Things You Are" in 7/4 is worth (many times over) the price of the CD for the solo playing of each of the members, as well as their trio interaction. I've never heard 7/4 actually swing in such an amazing way. Mehldau's original pieces are beautiful and at times haunting, and it seems that each time he records a song, he and the trio are able to bring something entirely new to the musical table. Not just new solos, but a new approach and freshness rarely heard on even the first outing of compositions for most groups. After probably 40 complete listenings, I can honestly say that the disk is still fresh and (awe) inspiring.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars jazz in it's most reverent presence, December 1, 1999

By	Todd White (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

Over the past few years I have had the pleasure of following all of Brad's work from his earlier recordings such as "Introducing Brad Mehldau" and "Art of the Trio, Vol 1, 2 and 3". Additionally his work on other albums such as Joshua Redman's MoodSwing, where on a somewhat average album he stood out amongst some very talented young musicians. On "Back at the Village Vanguard" much like his earlier release at the Village, he has pushed the trio format to the limit, offering a splendid performance. However this album is not for the novice listener, this album is for the serious listener especially one who plays or enjoys jazz piano. Rhythm, harmony, improvisation, balanced with music that one must feel rather than listen to, this is obviously Mehldau's best work to date. As a long-time fan I highly recommend this recording as it's jazz in it's most reverent presence...feeling..improvisation..harmony..melody..