The Art of the Trio (Volume 1)
Brad Mehldau Trio
Matt Pierson brought Mehldau onto the Warner Brothers label, and produced this date from 1996 and several subsequent trio recordings. “Matt had the idea of documenting the development of the trio with Larry and Jorge in a series of recordings,” says Mehldau. “He had the foresight that we were a band that would stay together – maybe more than I did at that time in fact.” The opening track, ‘Blame it on My Youth,’ marks the beginning of an approach to ballad playing unique to this the trio, characterized by a deeply felt empathy between the three players, a loose freedom in their collective rhythmic phrasing, and a certain rhapsodic quality in Mehldau’s melodic statements. The arrangement here of ‘I Didn’t Know What Time it Was’ is still a favorite encore piece in performances. Mehldau’s composistional voice continues to develop and is represented here as well, like on ‘Ron’s Place’, the moody waltz recently recorded by bassist Charlie Haden.
The Art of the Trio (Volume 1)
01. Blame It On My Youth
02. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was
03. Ron’s Place
04. Blackbird
05. Lament For Linus
06. Mignon’s Song
07. I Fall In Love Too Easily
08. Lucid
09. Nobody Else But Me
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Credits:
Musicians:
Brad Mehldau (piano)
Larry Grenadier (bass)
Jorge Rossy (drums)
Producer:
Matt Pierson