Brad Mehldau's performance of his piece "L.A. Pastorale," from the upcoming album I Still Play, is out now, along with a video for the song featuring photographs from Los Angeles. The song is available to download now with pre-orders of the album, which will be released on May 22, along with Timo Andres's performance of works from the album by Nico Muhly and Philip Glass. You can watch the "L.A. Pastorale" video here:

"'Pastoral: having the simplicity, charm, serenity, or other characteristics generally attributed to rural areas.' How would that sentiment apply to Los Angeles, a metropolis of concrete, cars and freeways?" asks Mehldau. "Although I think of Bob as a New Yorker—he is part and parcel of my New York City experience in all the time I’ve known him—Los Angeles is his city of origin. It’s a place I know as well, having lived there for five years. A few years ago, Bob showed me a collection of photographs he made in L.A. that speak of something particular to that city: Amidst the urban facades, the brash advertisements that promise impossible salvation, and the ceaseless flow of humans, there is a quiet flow, and there are pockets of beauty if you take the time to look. It’s the L.A. pastorale."

I Still Play is eleven new solo piano compositions by artists who have recorded for Nonesuch Records, written in honor of the label’s longtime President Bob Hurwitz on the occasion of his 2017 shift into the Chairman Emeritus role. The album features works by Mehldau, Muhly, Glass, John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Timo Andres, Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy, Steve Reich, Pat Metheny, and Randy Newman, performed by Andres, Mehldau, Newman, and Jeremy Denk.