Brad In Tokyo

The first time I heard Brad Mehldau was in 1995. I was at the University of Hartford with a friend to see a Jazz quartet that included Christian McBride on Bass, Brian Blade on Drums, Joshua Redman on Saxophones and Brad Mehldau on Piano. This is one of the most classic line-ups in Jazz that has ever been assembled. I mean I have seen others, but this is like the new generation of great musicians.

Watching this two plus hour show I realized that I should like the piano a lot more then I do. I mean I love Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Fred Hersch, Geri Allen, Paul Bley, and others. Somehow, I realized I should been paying more attention to them with their groups they are in. There was a few moments in the concert that made it clear of this attention when Joshua Redman would step back and let Brad do a solo. The person next to me who I came with was in awe. He could see it even before I did. The notes that Brad was playing were so great, that the skill was amazing and effortless. My friend told me on the way home how much he liked Brad Mehldau's playing.

I asked my friend (who was much older then myself) what his piano playing reminded him of. He did not hesitate to tell me he reminded him of Bill Evans. I said really, since I never saw Bill Evans perform and if I could go back in time to 1962-1964 for all over again to watch him. My friend did in the early years of Bill Evans with his classic lineup of Paul Motian and Scott LaFaro. Both amazing musicians and both legacy far beyond the jazz world. Scott in his short time on earth was the musicians, musician and was talked about as a future great if his life was not cut short at an early age.

Brad's playing left a great impression on me. It was not the only time he did. I went to see him again two years later and this time it was with his own trio. This show was in New York City. I was like a giddy school kid getting kissed by a girl for the first time. When I got to the show they said that this show was being recorded for an album. I was wondering if he was going to play lives versions of some of the stuff off his first album. After all, it was actually pretty good on it's own.

Of the course of the night he played standards of John Coltrane, Cole Porter, Richard Rogers and Duke Ellington. All these songs were great, but he did not stretch out like I thought he would. Most songs where like six to seven minutes. Then he nodded to Jorge Rossy and Larry Grenadier take a small break. They diserved it, they were working too hard this night. He got on the microphone and told the crowd he was going to play two pop songs. Some of the Jazz purists got a little nervous, and myself I was wondering what he was going to do. The first song was a Nick Drake song. Since I was still a little unfamiliar with his material I could not figure it out. He told us the title and I quickly wrote it down. Then he explained to the crowd that there is a band that is taking Rock and Roll by storm and they are called Radiohead. He explained that they are one of his favorite bands. Then he sat back down and played "Exit Music (for Film)." After the song ended he got a great ovation.

Fall of 2000 came around and I was back at school. By this time I have seen Brad Mehldau about six times. My friends informed he was going to do a solo show at this place that holds between 150-175 people. I decided to go. He once again came out and told the audience that he was going to standards and pop cover songs. The crowd was anticipating what he would do. He opened up with a few Monk tunes and I was in awe, since I am a fan of Monk it was a great treat. Then midway through the show he decided to pull a rabbit out of his hat. He started hitting the piano keys. I recognized the piece. It was "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead. He played this for a total of like twenty minutes. It was amazing, even my friend where speechless. At the end of the show I cam up to him and asked him to sign my CD and I thanked him. He told that one day that version will be on a CD.

In 2004 I went shopping for my birthday. I saw a new Brad Mehldau. I picked it up. Sure enough he kept his promise. A solo piano album with "Paranoid Android" on it. I bought it and quickly put it in my car. It was amazing, it even brought back memories of what I remember on that night of 2000. I strongly recommend this one Live In Tokyo is awesome. Solo Piano music has been always wonderful and this is no exception. Anything is great by him, but this is my personal favorite. Enjoy!