Seymour Reads the Constitution!

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On Seymour Reads the Constitution!, Brad Mehldau Trio performs three Mehldau originals combined with interpretations of pop songs (Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson), jazz tunes (Elmo Hope, Sam Rivers), and the American songbook (Frederick Loewe). "This is sumptuous, collective improvisation of the highest order," exclaims The Arts Desk. "It's so good, it sounds effortless ... Gorgeous." Grammy Award Nominee: Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Improvised Jazz Solo.

Description

Grammy Award Nominee: Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Improvised Jazz Solo

Brad Mehldau Trio's Seymour Reads the Constitution! was released May 18, 2018, on Nonesuch Records. The pianist and his longtime trio, which includes drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier, perform three Mehldau originals combined with interpretations of pop songs (Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson), jazz tunes (Elmo Hope, Sam Rivers), and one work from the American songbook (Frederick Loewe's "Almost Like Being in Love"). 

The Trio's previous release, Blues and Ballads (2016), received critical acclaim, with the Guardian saying, "Mehldau is a genius (and a still-improving one) at taking predictable materials to unpredictable destinations … These are old songs subjected to an old jazz method, but brought scintillatingly into the here and now." Mehldau released the solo album After Bach earlier this year; the album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Album chart, 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 Financial Times said of After Bach, "As each piece gathers momentum, fresh melodies emerge, change shape and are developed anew over voicings that shimmer, fade and rumble to a peak. And, following Bach, Mehldau's improvisations unfold with an iron inner logic, a reminder … that Bach, in his day, was admired more for his abilities as an improviser than for his written scripts."

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Brad Mehldau
Recorded and Mixed by James Farber at Avatar Studios, New York, NY
Assistant Engineers: Aki Nishimura, Tim Marchiafava
Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
Production Coordinator: Tom Korkidis

Design by John Gall
Cover Photograph by Mitch Epstein

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

563508

ns_album_releasedate
Album Status
Artist Name
Brad Mehldau Trio
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Brad Mehldau, piano
Larry Grenadier, bass
Jeff Ballard, drums

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
LP+MP3
Price
21.00
UPC
075597934380
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597934373
Label
88/24 HD FLAC
Price
14.00
UPC
075597929928
Label
FLAC
Price
11.00
UPC
075597934397
Label
MP3
Price
10.00
UPC
075597934427
  • 563508

News & Reviews

  • Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley, has announced its 2023–24 concert season, including performances by Brad Mehldau (both solo and with his Trio), Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kronos Quartet, Rhiannon Giddens with Silkroad Ensemble, and Attacca Quartet.

  • Brad Mehldau has published his debut book, Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part I, out now on Equinox Publishing. "It's an autobiographical bildungsroman of sorts, tracing my musical and personal formation up until the age of twenty-six," he says. "Along the way, it gives a picture of what the New York City jazz scene felt like in the late 1980s and early ’90s." Joshua Redman says: "His music is nothing short of magic—an impossible wonder of ecstatic and empathic creative communion, to which I myself have borne witness, time and time again. Now, in this probing and provocative memoir, Brad finally shares with us some of the secrets (or at least the stories) behind the casting of his innumerable spells. A worthy read for anyone intrigued by the genesis of genius.”

  • About This Album

    Grammy Award Nominee: Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Improvised Jazz Solo

    Brad Mehldau Trio's Seymour Reads the Constitution! was released May 18, 2018, on Nonesuch Records. The pianist and his longtime trio, which includes drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier, perform three Mehldau originals combined with interpretations of pop songs (Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson), jazz tunes (Elmo Hope, Sam Rivers), and one work from the American songbook (Frederick Loewe's "Almost Like Being in Love"). 

    The Trio's previous release, Blues and Ballads (2016), received critical acclaim, with the Guardian saying, "Mehldau is a genius (and a still-improving one) at taking predictable materials to unpredictable destinations … These are old songs subjected to an old jazz method, but brought scintillatingly into the here and now." Mehldau released the solo album After Bach earlier this year; the album, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Jazz Album chart, 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 Financial Times said of After Bach, "As each piece gathers momentum, fresh melodies emerge, change shape and are developed anew over voicings that shimmer, fade and rumble to a peak. And, following Bach, Mehldau's improvisations unfold with an iron inner logic, a reminder … that Bach, in his day, was admired more for his abilities as an improviser than for his written scripts."

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Brad Mehldau, piano
    Larry Grenadier, bass
    Jeff Ballard, drums

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Brad Mehldau
    Recorded and Mixed by James Farber at Avatar Studios, New York, NY
    Assistant Engineers: Aki Nishimura, Tim Marchiafava
    Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
    Production Coordinator: Tom Korkidis

    Design by John Gall
    Cover Photograph by Mitch Epstein

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz