After Bach

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DescriptionExcerpt

After Bach comprises Brad Mehldau's recordings of four preludes and one fugue from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, each followed by an After Bach piece written by Mehldau and inspired by its WTC mate. "There have always been elements of Mehldau’s style that recall Bach," writes Timo Andres in the liner note. "After Bach surveys their shared ground as keyboardists, improvisers, and composers, making implicit parallels explicit."

Description

Brad Mehldau's After Bach is due March 9, 2018, on Nonesuch Records. The album comprises the pianist/composer's recordings of four preludes and one fugue from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, each followed by an After Bach piece written by Mehldau and inspired by its WTC mate. The album begins with Mehldau's own "Before Bach: Benediction" and ends with his "Prayer for Healing." 

As Mehldau's label mate Timo Andres says in his After Bach liner note, "As a professional organist, much of Bach's work took the form of improvisation, and during his lifetime it was the virtuosity and complexity of these improvisations for which he was most admired … Some three centuries after the fact, Brad Mehldau takes up this tradition and applies it to a frustratingly unknowable aspect of Bach's art."

Andres continues, "There have always been elements of Mehldau's style that recall Bach, especially his densely-woven voicing—but he's not striving to imitate or play dress-up. Rather, After Bach surveys their shared ground as keyboardists, improvisers, and composers, making implicit parallels explicit."

After Bach originated in a work Mehldau first performed in 2015—commissioned by Carnegie Hall, The Royal Conservatory of Music, The National Concert Hall, and Wigmore Hall—called Three Pieces After Bach.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Brad Mehldau
Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Tom Lazarus
Recorded April 18–20, 2017, at Mechanics Hall, Worcester, MA
Additional Mixing by Brian Montgomery
Piano Technician: Barbara Renner
Production Coordination: Tom Korkidis

Design by Evan Gaffney Design
Cover Photograph by Peter Marlow, 1991 © Peter Marlow/Magnum Photos
Portrait Photograph by Michael Wilson
Concert Photograph by David Bazemore

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

565982

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Brad Mehldau
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Brad Mehldau, piano

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597931730
Label
MP3
Price
11.00
UPC
075597931792
Label
FLAC
Price
12.00
UPC
075597931754
Label
96/24 HD FLAC
Price
13.00
UPC
075597931778
  • 565982

News & Reviews

  • Brad Mehldau shares the story behind his upcoming album, Ride into the Sun—a songbook record of music by the late singer, songwriter, and guitarist Elliott Smith—and his relationship to Smith's music in a new video filmed at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, where the album was recorded. Singer/guitarist Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear, singer/mandolinist Chris Thile, and bassist John Davis, who perform on the album, share their thoughts as well. You can watch it here. The album, due August 29, also features bassist Felix Moseholm, drummer Matt Chamberlain, and a chamber orchestra led by Dan Coleman. 

  • Pianist and composer Brad Mehldau’s Ride into the Sun—a songbook record of music by the late singer, songwriter, and guitarist Elliott Smith—is due August 29 on Nonesuch. It features performances by singer/guitarist Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear, singer/mandolinist Chris Thile, bassists Felix Moseholm and John Davis, drummer Matt Chamberlain, and a chamber orchestra led by Dan Coleman. The album's ten Elliott Smith songs are complemented by four Mehldau compositions inspired by him and interpretations of Big Star’s “Thirteen,” which Smith also covered, and “Sunday” by Nick Drake, whom Mehldau sees "in some ways as sort of Smith’s visionary grandfather.” Two album tracks, “Tomorrow Tomorrow” and “Better Be Quiet Now,” are out now; in-studio videos of the musicians recording both songs can be seen here.

  • About This Album

    Brad Mehldau's After Bach is due March 9, 2018, on Nonesuch Records. The album comprises the pianist/composer's recordings of four preludes and one fugue from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, each followed by an After Bach piece written by Mehldau and inspired by its WTC mate. The album begins with Mehldau's own "Before Bach: Benediction" and ends with his "Prayer for Healing." 

    As Mehldau's label mate Timo Andres says in his After Bach liner note, "As a professional organist, much of Bach's work took the form of improvisation, and during his lifetime it was the virtuosity and complexity of these improvisations for which he was most admired … Some three centuries after the fact, Brad Mehldau takes up this tradition and applies it to a frustratingly unknowable aspect of Bach's art."

    Andres continues, "There have always been elements of Mehldau's style that recall Bach, especially his densely-woven voicing—but he's not striving to imitate or play dress-up. Rather, After Bach surveys their shared ground as keyboardists, improvisers, and composers, making implicit parallels explicit."

    After Bach originated in a work Mehldau first performed in 2015—commissioned by Carnegie Hall, The Royal Conservatory of Music, The National Concert Hall, and Wigmore Hall—called Three Pieces After Bach.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Brad Mehldau, piano

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Brad Mehldau
    Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Tom Lazarus
    Recorded April 18–20, 2017, at Mechanics Hall, Worcester, MA
    Additional Mixing by Brian Montgomery
    Piano Technician: Barbara Renner
    Production Coordination: Tom Korkidis

    Design by Evan Gaffney Design
    Cover Photograph by Peter Marlow, 1991 © Peter Marlow/Magnum Photos
    Portrait Photograph by Michael Wilson
    Concert Photograph by David Bazemore

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

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