Brad Mehldau

Mehldau was born on August 23, 1970, in Jacksonville, Florida.Kennedy, Gary W. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J639000 "Mehldau, Brad"]. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved February 9, 2014. (Subscription required.) His adoptive family{{Cite web |last=Briger |first=Sam |date=February 6, 2023 |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/02/06/1154786539/jazz-pianist-brad-mehldau-shares-his-love-of-the-beatles-on-a-new-album |title=Jazz Pianist Brad Mehldau Shares His Love of the Beatles on a New Album |website=NPR |access-date=March 4, 2023}} was father Craig Mehldau, an ophthalmologist,McNally, Owen (February 25, 1998) [https://www.courant.com/1998/02/25/mehldaus-art-of-thegrammy-volume-one/ "Mehldau's Art Of Thegrammy, Volume One"]. The Courant.{{cite news|last=Fordham|first=John|author-link=John Fordham (jazz critic)|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2002/jan/29/artsfeatures.jazz |title=Ivory Power|work=The Guardian|date=January 29, 2002}} mother Annette, a homemaker, and sister Leigh Anne, who became a social worker. The family moved from Roswell, Georgia, to Bedford, New Hampshire, in 1975.{{sfn|Mehldau|2023|p=5}} There was always a piano in the house during Mehldau's childhood,{{cite news |last=Brannon |first=Mike |url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=629&page=1 |title=Brad Mehldau's Opening, Middle and Endgame |work=All About Jazz |date=October 7, 2003}} and he initially listened to pop and rock music on the radio.{{cite news |last=Peschek |first=David |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/sep/26/popandrock|title=Radiohead, Coltrane and Me |work=The Guardian |date=September 26, 2005}} His family moved to West Hartford, Connecticut, when Mehldau was 10.{{cite news|last=Hobart|first=Mike|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/6939d4d0-2d4f-11df-9c5b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2sUZB54rt|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211181226/https://www.ft.com/content/6939d4d0-2d4f-11df-9c5b-00144feabdc0#axzz2sUZB54rt|archive-date=2022-12-11|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|title=Brad Mehldau, Committed Improviser|work=Financial Times|date=March 12, 2010|access-date=2014-02-05}} Up to this point he had played mostly simple pop tunes and exercises from books, but the move brought him a new piano teacher, who introduced him to classical music. This new interest lasted for a few years, but by the age of 14 he was listening more to jazz, including recordings by saxophonist John Coltrane and pianist Oscar Peterson. Keith Jarrett's Bremen/Lausanne helped Mehldau realize the potential of the piano as an instrument.{{Cite web |author=AAJ staff |date=2002 |title=A Conversation with Brad Mehldau |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/a-conversation-with-brad-mehldau |access-date=February 25, 2025 |website=All About Jazz }}

Mehldau attended William H. Hall High School and played in its concert jazz band.{{cite news|last=Staudter|first=Thomas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/27/nyregion/a-jazz-pianist-comes-back-for-a-show-in-his-hometown.html|title=A Jazz Pianist Comes Back for a Show in His Hometown|work=The New York Times|date=January 22, 2002}} While at high school, he began transcribing jazz solos from recordings, to improve his listening skills and gain insights into improvisation.{{sfn|Mehldau|2023|p=53}} From the age of 15 until he graduated from high school he had a weekly gig at a local club, and performed for weddings and other parties, often with fellow Hall student Joel Frahm. In his junior year at the school Mehldau won Berklee College of Music's Best All Round Musician Award for school students.{{cite news|last=Comiskey|first=Ray|title=Trad with Brad|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=February 24, 1996|page=A4}} Mehldau described himself as being, up to this point, "a white, upper-middle-class kid who lived in a pretty homogenized environment".{{cite news|last=Panken|first=Ted|url=http://www.jazz.com/features-and-interviews/2008/6/5/in-conversation-with-brad-mehldau|title=In Conversation with Brad Mehldau|website=jazz.com|date=June 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407142803/http://www.jazz.com/features-and-interviews/2008/6/5/in-conversation-with-brad-mehldau|archive-date=April 7, 2014}}

After graduating, Mehldau moved to New York City in 1988 to study jazz and contemporary music at The New School, on a partial scholarship.{{sfn|Mehldau|2023|pp=100–101}} He studied under pianists Fred Hersch, Junior Mance and Kenny Werner, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. In 1989, Mehldau was a member of saxophonist Christopher Hollyday's band that toured for several months; as a result of playing so often with one group, Mehldau was able to assimilate the music of Wynton Kelly and McCoy Tyner, his two principal influences on piano up to that point, and began to develop his own sound.{{cite news|last=Milkowski|first=Bill|url=https://jazztimes.com/archives/brad-mehldau-keyed-in/|title=Brad Mehldau: Keyed In|work=JazzTimes|date=December 1998}} Before the age of 20, Mehldau also had gigs in Cobb's band, along with fellow student Peter Bernstein on guitar.

Mehldau's first recording was for Hollyday's The Natural Moment in 1991; his first tour of Europe was also with the saxophonist during the same year. Mehldau's interest in classical music returned when he was in his early twenties, and spurred him into developing his left-hand playing technique. He led his own trio from at least 1992, when he played at New York's Village Gate."Arts and Leisure Guide" (October 25, 1992) The New York Times. p. H39. Mehldau also played as sideman with other musicians around this time. His performances with saxophonist Perico Sambeat included a tour of Europe early in 1993,"Upbeat Sambeat" (February 4, 1993) The Irish Times. p. 8. and Mehldau's first released recordings as co-leader, from a May concert in Barcelona.{{sfn|Cook|Morton|2008|p=988}}[http://www.linge.de/music/records/mehldau/ "Discography of Brad Mehldau"]. linge.de Retrieved February 10, 2014. Mehldau toured for 18 months with saxophonist Joshua Redman. The association with Redman began in 1993, but they had played together for a short period the previous year. Redman and his band attracted attention, with their 1994 album Moodswing also aiding Mehldau's profile. They also played together for the soundtrack to the film Vanya on 42nd Street (1994), for which Redman wrote the music.Strick, Philip (January 1, 1995) "Vanya on 42nd Street". Sight and Sound. Volume 5/1. p. 61.

File:Larry-Grenadier.jpg, photographed in 2009]]

Mehldau graduated from The New School in 1993.[http://www.newschool.edu/about/quick-facts/ "Quick Facts About The New School"]. The New School. Retrieved May 9, 2014. He formed his first long-term trio in 1994, with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy.Hobart, Mike (October 23, 2008) [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d707a0ca-a10d-11dd-82fd-000077b07658.html#axzz2spZR7vU0 "Brad Mehldau, Barbican, London"]. ft.com In the following year, Mehldau recorded Introducing Brad Mehldau for Warner Bros., his first album as sole leader. It was well received,Bambarger, Bradley (November 1, 1997) "Jazz Up-and-Comers Are Big on Smalls". Billboard. Volume 109/44. p. 1. with The Penguin Guide to Jazz commenting that "it's as if he were aware of jazz tradition but entirely unencumbered by it."{{sfn|Cook|Morton|2008|p=988}} His second album for Warner Bros., The Art of the Trio Volume One, was recorded in 1996{{sfn|Cook|Morton|2008|p=988–989}} and was widely praised by critics. The title was selected by producer Matt Pierson as one that would attract attention and help to build a brand.

By the mid- to late 1990s, Mehldau was regarded by some as one of the leading jazz musicians of the day: Guardian critic John Fordham described him as "the next great keyboard star of jazz".{{cite news|last=Fordham|first=John|title=There's Magic in That Man's Hands|work=The Guardian|date=May 9, 1998|page=45}} The appreciation was not universal: some of the pianist's self-penned liner notes and interview comments, which included philosophical musings and complaints about comparisons with pianist Bill Evans, engendered dislike in some, thereby, in critic Nate Chinen's words, "leaving Mehldau with a lingering reputation for pretentiousness and self-indulgence." Many critics did, though, reassess their judgment of his main influences, which previously had often been given as Evans,{{cite news|last=Nicholson|first=Stuart|title=Some Call It Plagiarism. In Brad Mehldau's Hands, It's Sheer Genius|work=The Observer|date=September 19, 1999|page=D8}}{{cite news|last=Lynell|first=George|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2002/nov/17/entertainment/ca-george17/2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304041859/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/nov/17/entertainment/ca-george17/2|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 4, 2014|title=Music from Life's Mess|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 17, 2002}} an assessment that was perhaps attributable more to race than to music.{{cite news|last=Shatz|first=Adam|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/25/arts/music-a-jazz-pianist-with-a-brahmsian-bent.html|title=Music; a Jazz Pianist with a Brahmsian Bent|work=The New York Times|date=July 25, 1999}} Another, non-musical, similarity with Evans that was commented on was Mehldau's struggle with an addiction to heroin during the 1990s, up to 1998. Around 1996 he moved to Los Angeles, to try to overcome his problem with drugs.Wells, Paul (January 22, 2000) "Major Talent in Minor Key". National Post. p. 20.Himes, Geoffrey (December 2011) "1 Pianist, 2 Hands". DownBeat. p. 47. Mehldau later stated: "Once I stopped using heroin, it was like a rush of creativity that had been held in check came out".Hooper, Joseph (January 31, 2000) "The Unhipster". The New Yorker. p. 95.

In 1996, Mehldau made the first of several recordings with saxophonist Lee Konitz and bassist Charlie Haden.{{sfn|Cook|Morton|2008|p=838}}{{cite news|last=Fordham|first=John|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/may/12/brad-mehldau-jazz-lee-konitz-birdland-review|title=Lee Konitz/Brad Mehldau: Live at Birdland – Review|work=The Guardian|date=May 12, 2011}} Mehldau's contributions to film music continued in 1997, with an accompanist role for some of the tracks recorded for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. His series of trio albums also continued, employing some of the traditional elements of jazz while not conforming to or being restricted by its norms.Fordham, John (November 20, 2002) "Brad Mehldau/Chris Potter". The Guardian. p. 23. Live at the Village Vanguard: The Art of the Trio Volume Two consisted entirely of standards, and was recorded at a series of 1997 concerts at the Village Vanguard, and released the following year.Graybow, Steve (February 28, 1998) "Blue Notes". Billboard. Volume 110/9. p. 45. The title again attracted attention, as concert recordings from the same club had been issued by some of the biggest names in jazz, including Evans, and saxophonists Coltrane and Sonny Rollins.Roberts, Joel (2002) In Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (eds.) All Music Guide to Jazz. Backbeat. p. 854. {{ISBN|978-0-87930-717-2}}. The studio album Songs: The Art of the Trio Volume Three followed later in 1998, and contained Mehldau originals, standards, plus Nick Drake's "River Man", and Radiohead's "Exit Music (For a Film)".Verna, Paul (October 10, 1998) "Songs: The Art of the Trio, Volume Three". Billboard. Volume 110/41. p. 23.Cook, Richard (November 6, 1998) "Keyed Up". New Statesman. Volume 11/529. p. 40. This album was chosen by Fordham as his jazz CD of the year. "[Although it] might seem to some a little introverted, and certainly distinctly classical in flavor", he wrote, "the intricacy and counter-melodic richness of a great pianist is astonishingly balanced against the more direct and open eloquence a great vocalist might bring."Fordham, John (December 18, 1998) "Brad Attitude". The Guardian. p. A14.

Mehldau became established on the international jazz festival scene in the mid- to late 1990s, having played at events such as the Montreal International Jazz Festival"Today's Best Bets and Schedule of Performances". (June 28, 1997) The Gazette. p. E3. and the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1997,Zwerin, Mike (July 23, 1997) "The Legends and the Reality: Brad Mehldau". International Herald Tribune. p. 10. and the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1998.Nicholson, Stuart (July 19, 1998) "The Week in Reviews: Jazz: Red Hot Dutch North Sea Jazz Festival". The Observer. p. R9. Also in 1998, the pianist reunited with Redman for the saxophonist's Timeless Tales (For Changing Times),Fordham, John (September 25, 1998) "Sax Tales". The Guardian. p. A22. and played on country artist Willie Nelson's Teatro.Scherman, Tony (August 31, 1998) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,63696,00.html "Teatro (1998)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222132349/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,63696,00.html |date=2014-02-22 }}. Entertainment Weekly. That summer, Mehldau spent a few months in Germany, developing his interest in its language, literature, and music.

Mehldau's interest in figures of 19th century German Romanticism, including Brahms, Schubert, and Schumann, influenced his first solo piano release, Elegiac Cycle, which was recorded in 1999 and broke the sequence of trio recordings under his name. Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard was recorded and released in the same year, presenting more performances from the Village Vanguard. The recording features standards, Mehldau originals, Miles Davis' "Solar", and another version of "Exit Music (For a Film)".Fordham, John (October 8, 1999) "Three's Company". The Guardian. p. B25. Also in 1999, Mehldau was pianist for two albums by saxophonist Charles Lloyd.{{sfn|Cook|Morton|2008|p=902}} In the following year, Places, an album containing both Mehldau solo piano pieces and trio performances, was released.Fordham, John (September 8, 2000) "Jazz CD: Releases". The Guardian. p. B22. All of the tracks were Mehldau originals, and were based on his experiences of visiting and revisiting various locations worldwide. Progression: The Art of the Trio, Vol. 5, the final album in that series, was another concert recording from the Village Vanguard, and was recorded in 2000 and released in 2001.Comiskey, Ray (October 17, 2001) "Jazz: Brad Mehldau". The Irish Times. p. B10. Looking back on his earlier career, Mehldau commented in 2005 that "The trio created my identity". In the three or four years up to the end of 2001, his trio had toured for the majority of each year.Morrow, Martin (November 26, 2001) "Enter Prince Hamlet". The Globe and Mail. p. R3.

In 2001 Mehldau expanded from playing on film soundtracks, which had included The Million Dollar HotelRomney, Jonathan (May 1, 2000) "Expensive Mistake". New Statesman. Volume 13/603. pp. 47–48. and Space Cowboys, to scoring, with the French film Ma femme est une actrice. In the same year, he left Los Angeles. He first played with saxophonist Wayne Shorter that year, and recorded the Grammy Award-winning Alegría with him a couple of years later.Nestruck, J. Kelly (April 5, 2006) "In Praise of Jazz's Eternal Hipness". National Post. p. AL2.

While trio performances and recordings continued, Mehldau began in the early to mid-2000s to broaden the musical settings in which he appeared as leader.Chinen, Nate (January/February 2005) [http://jazztimes.com/articles/15241-brad-mehldau-anything-goes "Brad Mehldau: Anything Goes"]. JazzTimes. An early instance was his 2002 album Largo, which was Mehldau's first departure from piano solo or trio albums.Fordham, John (September 6, 2002) [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/06/jazz.artsfeatures "Brad Mehldau: Largo"]. The Guardian. It was produced by Jon Brion, whom Mehldau had met at a California club that hosted weekly happenings. On the album, in addition to Mehldau's usual trio, rock musicians and instruments associated more with classical music were employed, as were experiments with prepared piano and "multiple layers of electronically enhanced sound".Graybow, Steven (August 10, 2002) "Jazz Notes". Billboard. Volume 114/32. p. 36. As of 2010, this was reported to be Mehldau's best-selling album.

The results of two further days of recording in 2002 were split over two trio albums:Hendrikson, Tad (February 23, 2004) "Brad Mehldau's Love Letter". CMJ New Music Report. p. 7. Anything Goes, released in 2004, contained performances of compositions by others; the Mehldau originals were released two years later on House on Hill.Jurek, Thom [http://www.allmusic.com/album/house-on-hill-mw0000727399 "Brad Mehldau: House on Hill: Review"]. AllMusic. Retrieved February 24, 2014. A solo piano recording from a 2003 concert, Live in Tokyo, showed greater lyricism appearing in Mehldau's playing, and was released in 2004 as his first album for Nonesuch Records, an imprint of Warner Bros. In the summer of 2004 he toured Europe for three weeks with a band that included guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and Redman. That autumn, Mehldau formed a quartet, with Mark Turner on saxophones, Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums.Ratliff, Ben (September 30, 2004) [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/30/arts/music/30mehl.html?_r=0 "A Trio's Transformation into a Quartet"]. The New York Times.

File:jeff-ballard.jpg, drummer in Mehldau's trio from 2005]]

In 2005 Ballard replaced Rossy as the drummer in Mehldau's trio.Comiskey, Ray (February 3, 2006) "Brad Mehldau Trio". The Irish Times. p. B20. This, in the view of critic Ray Comiskey, did not radically change the trio's sound, but it did give them "a harder edge and pushed Mehldau more, with bassist Larry Grenadier left more in a fulcrum role, the centre around which piano and drums cavort."Comiskey, Ray (February 7, 2006) "Reviews: Brad Mehldau Trio". The Irish Times. p. 14. Another critic, Ben Ratliff, suggested that the new trio's sound was "denser and more tumultuous", with rhythms more overt than with the previous trio.Ratliff, Ben (November 24, 2005) [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/24/arts/music/24brad.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1396562494-RFFmHUl1GeCtoZIaDTE6vg "Jazz Review: Rhythm, Among Other Things, Is Their Business"]. The New York Times. In February 2005 Mehldau performed in Hong Kong for the first time, with his new trio.Lynam, Robin (February 24, 2005) "Jazz Trio's New Lineup; a Worthy Partnership". South China Morning Post. p. 4. Their first album, Day Is Done, was recorded the following month.{{sfn|Cook|Morton|2008|p=989}}

Mehldau continued to expand beyond trio and solo playing. In the spring of 2005 he premiered a song cycle that he had written for classical music singer Renée Fleming. This association was based on a commission from Carnegie Hall; their 2006 recording contained music set to poems by Rainer Maria Rilke and Louise Bogan.Panken, Ted (March 2011) "Idiom Weaver: Brad Mehldau Goes Full-Throttle". DownBeat. p. 26. Mehldau also collaborated with guitarist Pat Metheny from 2005 – they recorded two albums together that year, along with Grenadier and Ballard, and in 2007 went on a worldwide tour.Fordham, John (June 27, 2007) [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/jun/27/jazz.urbanmusic "When Worlds Collide"]. The Guardian.

Another Village Vanguard recording, Brad Mehldau Trio Live, was recorded in 2006 and released two years later.Fordham, John (March 28, 2008) [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/mar/28/jazz.shopping "Brad Mehldau Trio, Live"]. The Guardian. This also contained a variety of sources of material, including "Wonderwall" by rock band Oasis, "Black Hole Sun" by grunge band Soundgarden, and Chico Buarque's samba "O Que Será"; "it's business as usual – state-of-the-art contemporary jazz piano", commented Fordham. A further recording from 2006 was released as Live in Marciac in 2011; this contained two CDs and one DVD of a solo concert by the pianist.Comiskey, Ray (February 18, 2011) "Brad Mehldau: Live in Marciac". The Irish Times. p. B15. Mehldau asserted that his third solo recording "is the beginning of a freer approach, [...] and maybe [contains] more ease and fluidity in a musical texture with several simultaneous voices".Vella, Joseph (February 15, 2011) [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-vella/brad-mehldau-the-art-of-s_b_823026.html "Interview with Brad Mehldau on the Art of Solo Piano"]. The Huffington Post. In 2006 Mehldau also played on saxophonist Michael Brecker's final album, Pilgrimage.Anderson, Rick [http://www.allmusic.com/album/pilgrimage-mw0000580973 "Michael Brecker – Pilgrimage"]. AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2014.

In March 2007 Mehldau first performed his piano concerto "The Brady Bunch Variations for Piano and Orchestra", with the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.[https://www.barbican.org.uk/music/event-detail.asp?id=10847&pg=2721 "Brad Mehldau: Highway Rider: Bio"]. barbican.com Retrieved March 25, 2014. Later that decade, Carnegie Hall awarded Mehldau another commission – to write the song cycle Love Songs for singer Anne Sofie von Otter; they premiered it together in 2009Ouellette, Dan (May 2009) "Mehldau, Otter Blend Poetry, Jazz–Classical Lyricism". DownBeat. p. 22. and recorded the songs the following year. In 2009 Mehldau began a two-year period as curator of London's Wigmore Hall jazz series, which included a performance with von Otter in the second year.Hobart, Mike (June 7, 2010) [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/86d01ca6-7242-11df-a0fd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2spZR7vU0 "Brad Mehldau, Wigmore Hall"]. ft.com

In 2009 Mehldau also recorded Highway Rider, an album that combined his usual trio with guest musicians and a 28-piece orchestra. Again based compositionally on the theme of travel or a journey, the album was produced by Brion, and, in critic Mike Hobart's description, "probes the confluence of the arbitrary and non-arbitrary in music, of balancing what is committed to the page with improvisation." This was pursued further in the winter of 2010–11, in public performances of pieces from the album in the US and Europe.Kozinn, Allan (November 10, 2010) [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/arts/music/11paul.html?_r=2&src=twrhp& "Brad Mehldau Is a Jazzman in a Classical Mood"]. The New York Times.Barton, Chris (January 22, 2011) [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/01/music-review-brad-mehldaus-highway-rider-at-walt-disney-concert-hall.html "Music Review: Brad Mehldau's 'Highway Rider' at Walt Disney Concert Hall"]. Los Angeles Times. Mehldau's trio returned to the studio for the first time in several years in 2008 and again in 2011, resulting in Ode, an album of the pianist's originals,Macnie, Jim (July 2012) "Brad Mehldau Trio: Ode". DownBeat. p. 45.Jurek, Thom [http://www.allmusic.com/album/ode-mw0002294650 "Brad Mehldau/Brad Mehldau Trio: Ode"]. AllMusic. Retrieved February 24, 2014. and Where Do You Start, an album of covers.Collar, Matt [http://www.allmusic.com/album/where-do-you-start-mw0002410831 "Brad Mehldau/Brad Mehldau Trio: Where Do You Start"]. AllMusic. Retrieved February 24, 2014. DownBeat reviewer Jim Macnie commented that, on the former album, "More than ever, Mehldau uses his instrument as a drum, popping staccato notes into the maw of the rhythm section's formidable bustle."

During 2010–11 Mehldau held Carnegie Hall's Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair, the first jazz musician to do so.[http://www.carnegiehall.org/About-the-Music/Brad-Mehldau/ "About the Music"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104054106/http://www.carnegiehall.org/About-the-Music/Brad-Mehldau/ |date=2014-01-04 }}. carnegiehall.org Retrieved February 24, 2014. He also played and recorded piano duets with Kevin Hays.Hobart, Mike (September 17, 2011) [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e1ecd550-dce7-11e0-8654-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2spZR7vU0 "Brad Mehldau & Kevin Hays: Modern Music"]. ft.com[http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/modern-music "Brad Mehldau + Kevin Hays + Patrick Zimmerli – Modern Music"]. Nonesuch Records. Retrieved December 3, 2016. This collaboration was on arrangements by Patrick Zimmerli, with whom Mehldau had attended high school. One piece from their album, Modern Music, featured the pianists playing a composed left-hand part while improvising with the other hand; "to do both at once is a real test. The brain feels like it's split in half", commented Mehldau. Also in 2011 Mehldau toured with von Otter again,Chan, Wah Keung (February 25, 2011) "Von Otter Proves She Can Sing Anything Well". The Gazette. p. C3. had piano–mandolin duets with Chris Thile,Hobart, Mike (September 19, 2011) [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/a831bc26-e2a1-11e0-897a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2spZR7vU0 "Brad Mehldau and Chris Thile, Wigmore Hall, London"]. ft.com and played a series of duet concerts with Redman in Europe, six pieces from which were released five years later on the album Nearness.Fordham, John (September 8, 2016) [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/08/joshua-redman-brad-mehldau-nearness-review-cd-jazz-nonesuch "Joshua Redman/Brad Mehldau: Nearness Review – Terse Lyricism and Harmonic Journeys"]. The Guardian. In 2012 Mehldau and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra performed his "Variations for Piano and Orchestra on a Melancholy Theme" in Europe. The piece was originally for solo piano, but was converted by Mehldau for a commission by the Orchestra; it was performed in the US the following year.Landsdowne, Peter (October 6, 2013) "Orpheus Charms Mechanics Hall: Music Worcester Opens Season". Telegram & Gazette. p. B8.

In 2013 Mehldau began touring with drummer Mark Guiliana as a synthesizer-oriented duo that was given the portmanteau name "Mehliana".Kelmnan, John (March 14, 2014) [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=46851#.Uz2UwJ1wbDc "Brad Mehldau / Mark Guiliana: Mehliana – Taming the Dragon"]. All About Jazz. Their playing was largely improvised, and distantly influenced by dub, drum 'n' bass, electro, and funk.Hobart, Mike (March 12, 2013) [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d9377766-8afc-11e2-8fcf-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2x6TgLYAh "Brad Mehldau & Mark Guiliana, Village Underground, London"]. The Financial Times. They released an album, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon, in February 2014.[http://www.nonesuch.com/journal/brad-mehldau-mark-guilianas-mehliana-taming-the-dragon-electric-duo-debut-out-now-2014-02-25 "Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana's "Mehliana: Taming the Dragon" Electric Duo Debut Out Now"] (February 25, 2014) Nonesuch. Late in 2015, a collection of solo piano recordings from Mehldau's concerts in Europe in the 2004–14 period was released, entitled 10 Years Solo Live.[http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/10-years-solo-live "Brad Mehldau – 10 Years Solo Live (8-LP Set)"]. Nonesuch. Retrieved August 25, 2015. Another trio recording with Grenadier and Ballard, Blues and Ballads, was recorded in 2012 and 2014 and was released in 2016.[http://www.bradmehldau.com/blues-and-ballads#.VzCf5-QghEM "Blues and Ballads"]. bradmehldau.com. Retrieved May 9, 2016. Also in 2016, Mehldau and Guiliana formed a trio with guitarist John Scofield; they played in the United States before touring Europe.Chinen, Nate (June 3, 2016) [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/03/arts/music/review-john-scofield-brad-mehldau-and-mark-guiliana.html "Review: John Scofield, Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana Debut as an All-Star Trio"]. The New York Times.

Mehldau's interest in classical music continued with commissions by several concert halls to write pieces that were inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach compositions; he played these and the Bach originals in solo performances during 2015.{{cite web |url=http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/after-bach |title=After Bach by Brad Mehldau |website=nonesuch.com |date=8 January 2018 |access-date=March 13, 2018 }}{{cite news |last=Fordham |first=John |date=December 18, 2015 |title=Brad Mehldau Review – A Balance of Space and Intensity Perfectly Struck |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/dec/18/brad-mehldau-review-wigmore-hall-london-bach |work=The Guardian |access-date=March 13, 2018 }} They were the origins of his solo piano album After Bach, which was recorded in 2017 and released the following year.{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/after-bach-brad-mehldau-nonesuch-records-review-by-nenad-georgievski.php |title=Brad Mehldau: After Bach |last=Georgievski |first=Nenad |website=All About Jazz |date=March 2, 2018 |access-date=March 13, 2018 }} This release was followed by Seymour Reads the Constitution!, another trio album with Grenadier and Ballard, later that year.{{cite web |last=Ingalls |first=Chris |title='Seymour Reads the Constitution!' Is Brad Mehldau's 2018 Victory Lap |url=https://www.popmatters.com/brad-mehldau-seymour-reads-2569754603.html# |website=PopMatters |access-date=December 11, 2018 |date=May 21, 2018}} His next album, released in 2019, was Finding Gabriel.{{cite web |url=https://www.nonesuch.com/albums/finding-gabriel |title=Finding Gabriel by Brad Mehldau Trio |website=nonesuch.com |date=15 January 2019 |access-date=June 12, 2019 }} In the same year, Mehldau performed another of his commissioned song cycles at Wigmore Hall, this time with Ian Bostridge.{{cite news |last=Hewett |first=Ivan |date=January 7, 2019 |title=The Ten Best Classical and Jazz Tickets to Book in Winter 2019 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/classical-music/ten-best-classical-jazz-tickets-book-winter-2019/ |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=September 6, 2020}}

Jacob's Ladder, an album that explored the progressive rock musical influences of Mehldau's youth, was recorded in 2020 and 2021 and released in 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.nonesuch.com/albums/jacobs-ladder |title=Jacob's Ladder by Brad Mehldau |website=nonesuch.com |access-date=February 4, 2022 }} He later commented that the album was made when he was going through "a breakdown. It's all there – the descent, the way through and the way out."{{cite magazine |last=Panken |first=Ted |date=April 2023 |title=The Formation of Brad Mehldau |magazine=Down Beat |volume=90 |issue=4 |page=23 }} A memoir covering his early life, Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part 1, was published by Equinox Press in 2023.

Mehldau cites pianists Larry Goldings (for "his full approach to the instrument") and Hays (for adding alternative harmonies to the set ones) as well as guitarist Bernstein (for showing the value of playing melodic phrases instead of just rehearsed patterns) as direct influences on his own playing, in addition to David Sánchez (for rhythmic feel{{sfn|Mehldau|2023|pp=258–259}}), Jesse Davis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, and the other members of his own trio. He has stated that Hersch was his biggest influence as a player of solo piano. He has also questioned the patrilineal emphasis of critical discussions of influence, pointing out that he has been significantly influenced by listening to and playing with such peers as Bill Charlap, Danilo Pérez, and Ethan Iverson.

Mehldau has expressed an interest in, and knowledge of, philosophy and literature.Kohlhaase, Bill (December 2, 1999) [http://www.ocweekly.com/1999-12-09/music/the-pissed-pianist/full/ "The Pissed Pianist"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407071821/http://www.ocweekly.com/1999-12-09/music/the-pissed-pianist/full/ |date=2014-04-07 }}. OC Weekly. In a 2003 interview he commented on romanticism and nostalgia, linking pleasure and pain to musical expression:

I love the part of the Orpheus myth where he is allowed to take his wife out of Hades on the condition that he doesn't look back at her for the trip on the river Styx. When he can't help himself, he looks back, and she is pulled back downstream away from him, taken away forever. Music is that moment right when he looks at her: seeing something that you love for an instant being taken away forever. There's an element of folly to the whole thing – you look even though you know you shouldn't. Music kind of yokes together the feeling of attainment and the feeling of loss at the same time.

In Stuart Nicholson's words, "Mehldau's art is not based on negotiating his way through a harmonic sequence with a string of bravura licks [...] Instead he patiently weaves melodic developments from motifs, fragments and inversions of the [...] songs he plays into the fabric of his extemporizations, making the tunes gradually assume the proportions of an alternative composition."Nicholson, Stuart (December 2001) [http://jazztimes.com/articles/12718-progression-art-of-the-trio-volume-5-brad-mehldau-trio "Brad Mehldau Trio: Progression: Art of the Trio, Volume 5"]. JazzTimes. Fordham stated that "Mehldau demonstrates immense attention to detail, control of dynamics, and patience in developing an improvisation's shape over a longer span than the chorus-structure of a popular song."

Mehldau often plays a separate melody with each hand, and one of the central features of his music is the playing of improvised counterpoint.Berendt, Joachim-Ernst; Huesmann, Günther (2009) The Jazz Book: From Ragtime to the 21st Century (7th edition). Chicago Review Press. p. 394. {{ISBN|978-1-55652-820-0}}. He stated in 2002 that some of the content of his playing is affected by the music that he has recently been listening to: "If I'm digging a Brahms intermezzo that'll find its way in. If it's McCoy Tyner, there'll be more of that." Mehldau's performances often employ unusual rhythmic meters; for example, he plays his arrangement of "All the Things You Are" on Art of the Trio 4 in 7/4 time, and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" on Art of the Trio 1 in 5/4.Gioia, Ted [http://www.jazz.com/dozens/the-dozens-twelve-essential-brad-mehldau-performances "The Dozens: Twelve Essential Brad Mehldau Performances"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115210817/http://www.jazz.com/dozens/the-dozens-twelve-essential-brad-mehldau-performances |date=January 15, 2008 }}. jazz.com Retrieved February 17, 2014. He developed this ability over a period of around a year, with the help of Rossy. Mehldau is able to reach tenth and eleventh intervals on the piano.Goldberg, Joe (August 3, 2006) "When Classical Meets Jazz". The Wall Street Journal. p. D5.

Fordham described Mehldau's compositions as "miniature tapestries of taut lyricism and surprising turns". Mehldau himself indicated that some of his compositions address a specific need, such as integrating a particular rhythm into his trio, while others emerge from something he has played while improvising. In the latter case, Mehldau likened the difficulty of the composition process to that of a game of chess: "The opening is always easy for me, the middle gets more difficult, more of an intellectual process, more trial and error at work, and the end is always difficult for me." These struggles to find satisfactory endings stem from the tension between needing to close a piece and his desire to leave a sense of open-endedness – "an escape duct of possibility".

Mehldau is married to Dutch jazz vocalist Fleurine, with whom he has recorded and toured.[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fleurine-mn0000965845 "Fleurine – Biography"]. AllMusic. Retrieved June 9, 2013 They met in 1997,Berne, Terry (June 17, 2000) "Global Music Pulse". Billboard. Volume 112/25. p. 73. and have three children. The eldest is a daughter who was born in 2001. Mehldau stated early in 2006 that family responsibilities meant that he was making shorter tours.Bungey, John (February 10, 2006) "Between Rock and a Cool Place". The Times. p. 19. As of 2010, he divided his non-touring time between living in Amsterdam and New York City;Hewett, Ivan (March 6, 2010) "The Dazzling Jazz Master Inspired by Beethoven". The Daily Telegraph. p. 12. this remained the case until he let the lease on the Upper West Side property lapse during the COVID-19 lockdowns.{{cite magazine |date=January 23, 2023 |last=Marantz |first=Andrew |title=Brad Mehldau Trades Bach for the Beatles |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/30/brad-mehldau-trades-bach-for-the-beatles |magazine=The New Yorker }}

Mehldau's trio was, in Hobart's words, "the first successfully to add post-Beatles pop into the jazz repertoire without trivialising either", and shifted the "traditional emphasis on bravura technique and group dynamics [...] to a focus on subtleties of touch and where-my-fancy-takes-me musings." Such differences in repertoire and approach became common in small-group jazz. His combining of right- and left-hand playing, moving away from the more typical right-hand dominated playing, also influenced pianists.Kinner, Adam (June 28, 2008) "Not Covers, but Springboards to Expression". The Gazette. p. E2. Further influences on pianists are his "bittersweet left-hand melodies, clusters of dense mid-range chords and ability to conjoin the angularity of [Thelonious] Monk with classical romance".Hobart, Mike (May 23, 2017) [https://www.ft.com/content/68a133f2-3efd-11e7-82b6-896b95f30f58 "Brad Mehldau Trio, Barbican, London – Inspirational"]. Financial Times.

In 2013 Chinen stated that "Mehldau is the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years".Chinen, Nate (April 10, 2013) [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/arts/music/chris-thile-and-brad-mehldau-at-bowery-ballroom.html?_r=0 "Bluegrass and Jazz, Meeting in More Than the Middle"]. The New York Times. Pianist Ethan Iverson, a contemporary of Mehldau's, stated that Mehldau was the principal influence on his peers, beginning in the late 1990s. Pianist Gerald Clayton (born 1984) summarized Mehldau's importance in a 2013 interview: "He brought in a new feel and sound in jazz. I don't know a single modern pianist who hasn't taken something from Brad. I told him that I should be arrested for all the stuff I've stolen from him."Ouellette, Dan (January 2013) "Blindfold Test". DownBeat. p. 106. Redman said in 2010 that Largo had been particularly important to musicians: "Brad has had a lot of influential records, [...but] if you talk to musicians, especially younger musicians, so many of them will name that as a defining record."Chinen, Nate (March 11, 2010) [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/arts/music/14mehldau.html?_r=0 "A Jazz-Pop Encounter: The Sequel"]. The New York Times. Marco Benevento and Aaron Parks are among the improvisers who have been affected by the 2002 album.

Mehldau won DownBeat{{'}}s Readers Poll piano award in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2011, and 2012.[http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp?sect=cpollindex "The DownBeat Readers Poll Archive"]. DownBeat. Retrieved May 12, 2014. He was the 2006 winner of the Miles Davis Prize, awarded by the Montreal International Jazz Festival for "jazz artists who have made significant artistic and innovative contributions to the genre".{{cite web|url=https://www.montrealjazzfest.com/en/About/Prix |title=2019 Festival Award winners | website=Festival International de Jazz de Montréal |access-date=February 11, 2021 }}

In 2015 Mehldau received the Wigmore Medal, which "recognises significant figures in the international music world who have a strong association with the Wigmore Hall."{{cite web|url=https://www.nonesuch.com/journal/brad-mehldau-awarded-wigmore-medal-2015-12-21 |date=December 21, 2015 |title=Brad Mehldau Awarded Wigmore Medal |website=Nonesuch Records |access-date=February 11, 2021 }}James, Mary (December 19, 2015) [http://www.londonjazznews.com/2015/12/news-brad-mehldau-is-first-jazz.html "Brad Mehldau Is the First Jazz Musician to Be Awarded the Wigmore Medal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406040403/http://www.londonjazznews.com/2015/12/news-brad-mehldau-is-first-jazz.html |date=2018-04-06 }}. London Jazz News.

Mehldau has been nominated for several Grammy Awards.{{cite web |title=Brad Mehldau |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/brad-mehldau |website=grammy.com |access-date=November 20, 2019}} He was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo on "Blame It on My Youth" from The Art of the Trio Volume One in 1998,"40th Annual Grammy Awards: Final nominations" (January 17, 1998) Billboard. Volume 110/3. pp. 78–79. Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard in 2000,[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20000105&id=QTAxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JHADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6818,3484660 "Santana's 'Supernatural' Leads Grammy Nominations; Aguilera Gets Two Nods"]. (January 5, 2000) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. E8. Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group for Brad Mehldau Trio Live in 2009,[http://www.nonesuch.com/journal/nonesuch-artists-grab-13-grammy-nominations-2008-12-04 "Nonesuch Artists Grab 13 Grammy Nominations"]. (December 4, 2008) Nonesuch. Best Improvised Jazz Solo for the title track of Ode in 2013,[http://www.nonesuch.com/journal/nonesuch-artists-earn-14-grammy-nominations-including-five-for-the-black-keys-2012-12-06 "Nonesuch Artists Earn 14 Grammy Nominations, Including Five for The Black Keys"]. (December 6, 2012) Nonesuch. and Best Improvised Jazz Solo for "Sleeping Giant" from Mehliana: Taming the Dragon in 2015.[http://www.grammy.com/nominees?genre=16&=Go "57th Annual Grammy Awards Nominees"]. grammy.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014. He received two further nominations at the end of 2016: for Best Improvised Jazz Solo on "I Concentrate on You" from Blues and Ballads; and for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for the duo album Nearness, with Redman.[http://www.grammy.com/nominees?genre=16 "59th Annual Grammy Awards – Winners & Nominees"]. grammy.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016.[http://www.nonesuch.com/journal/nonesuch-artists-earn-six-grammy-award-nominations-2016-12-06 "Nonesuch Artists Earn Six Grammy Award Nominations"]. (December 6, 2016) Nonesuch Records. At the end of 2018, Seymour Reads The Constitution! was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental album, and "De-Dah" from that album was nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo.{{cite magazine |date=December 7, 2018 |title=Daversa, Salvant, Mehldau Nominated for Grammy Awards |url=http://downbeat.com/news/detail/daversa-salvant-mehldau-nominated-for-grammy-awards |magazine=DownBeat }} Finding Gabriel won Best Jazz Instrumental Album in 2020.{{cite web |title=2019 Grammy Winners & Nominees |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/62nd-annual-grammy-awards-2019 |website=grammy.com |access-date=January 27, 2020}}

{{Main|Brad Mehldau discography}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book

|title=The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings

|first1=Richard

|last1=Cook

|author-link=Richard Cook (journalist)

|first2=Brian

|last2=Morton

|author-link2=Brian Morton (Scottish writer)

|publisher=Penguin

|edition=9th

|year=2008

|isbn=978-0-14-103401-0

}}

• {{cite book |last=Mehldau |first=Brad |title=Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part One |year=2023 |publisher=Equinox |isbn=978-1-80050-313-7 }}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Brad Mehldau}}

• [https://www.bradmehldaumusic.com/ Official Brad Mehldau website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20150202011900/http://www.savagewatch.com/westhartfordcelebs.html High School Picture of Brad Mehldau]

{{Brad Mehldau|state=autocollapse}}

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Category:1970 births

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Category:Grammy Award winners

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Category:Living people

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Category:Entertainers from West Hartford, Connecticut

Category:Post-bop pianists

Category:The New School alumni

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Category:21st-century American male musicians

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Category:Jazz musicians from New York (state)