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Rating:
Whether or not Brad Mehldau is, as many proclaim, the most influential pianist of his generation, I could not resist the lure of his solo concert in my town. Solo productions by great musicians are something I am immensely passionate about; I love the feeling of intimacy they exude: when it comes to jazz piano, “Alone” by Bill Evans and “Thelonious Himself” by you can imagine who, are my desert island records. That said, “Elegy Cycle” and the two live albums by Brad Mehldau don't displease me at all.
A small digression. One thing that is unbearable is the unhealthy passion some peoples have for queuing up. Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing to be able to form queues and respect them, but it's not always necessary. For example, if there's a huge atrium and you form a straight line, a hundred people are enough to fill it. And then the unlucky ones who arrive later have to crowd in at the back to avoid freezing outside. All this hassle only for the line to collapse when the doors open: we are at the German border, but, in the end, we share a language with Marseille.
Our man is casual, as always, and quite slimmer compared to photos from the early 2000s. Mehldau starts right away with a dynamic piece, without discount, making it a bit challenging to acclimate to the room's acoustics and the instrument's timbre. In his typical solo style, he creates a sonic magma, in an almost percussive way, from which lyrical ideas and more or less singable melodic lines emerge from time to time. By assembling heterogeneous material, he creates suites with multiple movements, which open with the exposition of the theme in the first movement and echo it in the last, using a wide variety of atmospheres and approaches. Throughout the concert, there are moments where his classical training is evident, à la “Elegiac Cycles,” and others where he shows he knows what swing is, pushing the limits of Jerry Lee Lewis's incendiary rock n roll. The whole is held together by moments of strong lyricism, with a continuous stimulation of the listener now in one direction, now in another. It's fascinating to observe how the melodic line is played back and forth between Mehldau's right and left hands.
Although Mehldau is known for the characteristic, a bit genius and a bit cheeky, use of themes from popular music (Nick Drake, Radiohead, Nirvana, and the like), I was unable to identify any during the concert. It was only for the encore that I could revel, when our man unexpectedly gifted us “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Bob Dylan.
Overall, a very engaging and emotional performance, perhaps just a bit short (an hour and twenty minutes), but given the intensity with which he plays, it can be forgiven.
Bye Brad, come back to visit us.
A small digression. One thing that is unbearable is the unhealthy passion some peoples have for queuing up. Don't get me wrong, it's a great thing to be able to form queues and respect them, but it's not always necessary. For example, if there's a huge atrium and you form a straight line, a hundred people are enough to fill it. And then the unlucky ones who arrive later have to crowd in at the back to avoid freezing outside. All this hassle only for the line to collapse when the doors open: we are at the German border, but, in the end, we share a language with Marseille.
Our man is casual, as always, and quite slimmer compared to photos from the early 2000s. Mehldau starts right away with a dynamic piece, without discount, making it a bit challenging to acclimate to the room's acoustics and the instrument's timbre. In his typical solo style, he creates a sonic magma, in an almost percussive way, from which lyrical ideas and more or less singable melodic lines emerge from time to time. By assembling heterogeneous material, he creates suites with multiple movements, which open with the exposition of the theme in the first movement and echo it in the last, using a wide variety of atmospheres and approaches. Throughout the concert, there are moments where his classical training is evident, à la “Elegiac Cycles,” and others where he shows he knows what swing is, pushing the limits of Jerry Lee Lewis's incendiary rock n roll. The whole is held together by moments of strong lyricism, with a continuous stimulation of the listener now in one direction, now in another. It's fascinating to observe how the melodic line is played back and forth between Mehldau's right and left hands.
Although Mehldau is known for the characteristic, a bit genius and a bit cheeky, use of themes from popular music (Nick Drake, Radiohead, Nirvana, and the like), I was unable to identify any during the concert. It was only for the encore that I could revel, when our man unexpectedly gifted us “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” by Bob Dylan.
Overall, a very engaging and emotional performance, perhaps just a bit short (an hour and twenty minutes), but given the intensity with which he plays, it can be forgiven.
Bye Brad, come back to visit us.
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