The Brad Mehldau Trio's new two-disc set, Live, was recorded during a weeklong residency the group played at New York's famed Village Vanguard in 2006. Reviewer Ron Hart, giving the album an 8 of 10 in Pop Matters, writes that "there's something about the sound of piano trio in that room that inspires monumental performance," and there may be no one who "understands that concept quite like Brad Mehldau."
Hart calls the latest offering from the Mehldau Trio, Brad's third live disc from the venue, an "impressive showcase" and "classic Mehldau through and through ... a well-hued balance between original and cover material." Where Live differs from Brad's previous outings recorded at the Vanguard, says Hart, can be seen in the "bolder choices in the tunes he tackled" this time around. While he still pays tribute "to the jazz gods," like Ray Noble, Jimmy Heath, and John Coltrane,
it's when Mehldau does what's earned him a loyal following amongst the new generation of jazz aficionados, rearranging nuggets from our alt-rock youth in a post-bop motif, does Live earn its bragging rights as the piano man's strongest Village Vanguard album to date ... And it's in those moments where Mehldau earns his most rightful place on the stage of the last great American jazz club.
To read the full review, visit popmatters.com.
An additional three hours of music is available now as an album of MP3s exclusively in the Nonesuch Store. It contains the complete music from all three Friday night sets during the Trio's Vanguard residency. Friday's versions of just "Fit Cat" and "Secret Beach" appear on Live, so The Complete Friday Night Sets offers 13 additional tracks.
Click here to add the two-CD Live set directly to your Shopping Cart for $17, along with that album's MP3s at no additional charge.
Click here to add the Trio's Complete Friday Night Sets all-MP3 album to your Cart for $20.
