Brad Mehldau: Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehlda

Brad Mehldau

"Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles" is the promising title of Brad Mehldau's live solo album, which includes nine interpretations of John Lennon & Paul McCartney songs, as well as his reinterpretation of a George Harrison piece. Although a selection of Beatles songs has been part of Mehldau's solo and trio concert programs for years, he has not yet performed any of the "Your Mother Should Know" pieces. The album ends with a classic penned by David Bowie, a link between the Beatles and pop songwriters who followed them. "Your Mother Should Know" was recorded at the Philharmonie de Paris in September 2020. A live performance video of the album's title track, recorded at New York's legendary Village Vanguard, is available now. Another video version is introduced by an intro from the pianist and composer. "The Beatles' songs are marked by undeniable universality," Mehldau says. "Their music cuts across cultural and generational boundaries as new listeners continue to discover them for themselves. Her songs have an immediacy and integrity that draws everyone in. The Beatles were not on my radar when I started playing piano, but much of the long-lived piano pop music I heard on the radio came from their songs. This music became part of my personality, and when I later discovered the Beatles, everything connected. Their music and their great influence on other artists continue to shape my work." "In his book 'The Western Canon,' Harold Bloom confronted the question of what accounts for the longevity of certain books: 'In most cases, the answer points to idiosyncrasies and forms of originality that either cannot be assimilated or that so assimilate us that we no longer regard them as idiosyncrasies,'" Mehldau continues. "When we consider the Beatles and the multitude of artists who have been influenced by one facet or another of their output, this paradoxical recipe for longevity is one way to understand their enduring footprint in popular music," Mehldau continues. "Because much of their music is very idiosyncratic, especially in the string of groundbreaking albums that began with 'Rubber Soul' and extended to the release of their last album, 'Let It Be.'" Brad Mehldau's debut on Nonesuch Redcords was the 2004 solo album "Live In Tokyo." His subsequent 18 releases on the label include six albums with his trio, as well as a number of collaborative and solo albums. His most recent releases are two recordings with the original Joshua Redman Quartet from the 1990s, "RoundAgain" (2020) and "LongGone" (2022). "Variations On A Melancholy Theme" (2021) was a commission he recorded with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Prior to that, a solo album he recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown, "Suite: April 2020," was released. That year saw the release of "Jacob's Ladder," an album that includes pieces reflecting on Scripture and the search for God through music. The album was also inspired by the prog rock that Mehldau loved as a young teenager. Mehldau's memoir, "Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part I," will be released in March 2023 via Equinox Publishing, offering a rare glimpse into the mind of an artist at the top of his game in his own words.

"Concentrated, he teases out the finest nuances from the Lennon/McCartney compositions, tracing their core, [...] seasoning and garnishing the melodies, embellishing and playing around them - and taking them to entirely different spheres." (Good Times, February/March 2023) "He subtly ensnares the pieces, embellishes the accompaniment or the melody a bit, but never strays too far from the wonderful originals [...] A program with level and class." (stereoplay, March 2023) "Reduced to the piano, one can experience Mehldau uncovering layers, reinterpreting." (STEREO, May 2023)

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