Brad Mehldau, Pat Metheny - Metheny Mehldau Quartet
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Free Music Notes for Metheny Mehldau Quartet
Free Music Review: Very satisfying
Hit: 5 Stars
A continuation of the earlier historic meeting of these two seminal jazz artists, the eponymous Metheny/Mehldau disc which was released exactly six months earlier, Quartet reverses the proceedings, featuring mainly quartet numbers (Metheny, electric, acoustic, 42-string, and guitar synth; Mehldau, piano; Larry Grenadier, bass; and Jeff Ballard, drums, the last two the rhythm section of Mehldau's regular trio) and a few Metheny/Mehldau duos.
After repeated listenings, I'm convinced this disc displays all the earmarks of a classic--great songs, spectacular playing by the leaders, magical group interaction; and it's brilliantly recorded as well, with stunning clarity and imaging. The mercurial Metheny displays his full arsenal: lovely romantic acoustic musings on "Don't Wait"; the mysterioso/Celtic-sounding 42-string guitar on "The Sound of Water"; if not exactly guitar heroics, some serious e-guitar shredding on "Fear and Trembling"; the trademark synth guitar, going all the way back to at least Offramp, lighting up the anthemic "Towards the Light" and more gently gracing the balladic, samba-ish "Secret Beach". The highlight for me is the friendly/forbidding "En la Tierra Que no Olvida" (roughly translated, I believe, as "In the Land Where no One Lives"--nicely evoking the Scottish Highlands of the sleeve cover, or, perhaps some Scandinavian wastes, or even Patagonia, given the Latinate vibe) which lilts and gambols with measured frenzy, casually evoking "Are You Going with Me" and also exhibiting Mehldau's sly brilliance with Latin material.
Throughout, Mehldau displays his huge chops lightly worn, always finding the exact chordal voicings on his splendid comping, and soloing with a controlled abandon. But it's their dual lead approach, best demonstrated on "Santa Cruz Slacker," a loping bloozy number, that fully reveals these two players' genius, whether they're doubling a tricky melodic or rhythmic passage, or spinning out back-to-back solo statements, or simultaneously improvising, as they do near the end of the piece. This number also most fully displays Jeff Ballard's unique drum approach--hugely coloristic without too much busyness.
This disc, although perhaps not as wildly expressive of some of the more innovative contemporary jazz (one thinks, e.g., of Our Theory, Triosk, and The Claudia Quintet), nevertheless moves across the borders of classic and modern jazz with the ease and conviction one expects from two of this music's greatest masters. Very highly recommended.
Free Music Review: Soaring Melodies, Driving Rhythms
Hit: 5 Stars
Earlier this year I picked up a copy of these two jazz giants' first collaborative effort, simply titled Metheny Mehldau (Nonesuch 79964-2). Although I enjoyed it, I was disappointed that it contained more duets than music featuring the whole quartet (Metheny playing with Mehldau's trio).
Lo and behold, a few months later the Quartet album hit the streets, and as I played the first cut, I found myself grinning from ear to ear as the kind of sound I had envisioned burst forth from my speakers, Metheny wailing on guitar as part of a really tight and soaring quartet sound. This is what I wanted to hear from these guys! Where Metheny's group albums had become more and more grandiose, this album with Mehldau's trio seemed more jazz-oriented--more direct and more exuberant. Soaring melodies, driving rhythms, the kind of music that makes you just want to play the CD over and over again.
After playing the Quartet album over and over again, I then went back to the first recording. To my surprise, I found myself enjoying it much more than when I had first auditioned it. Hearing the second album had somehow prepared me to enjoy the first more completely. Yes, it is not quite an energetic as the Quartet CD, but in its own way, it is just as intense--perhaps more so. Once I got past my initial reservations, I wanted to play it over and over again, too.
I now treat the two CDs as though they were a two-CD set (actually, both were recorded during the same session, so they easily could have been combined into a single release) that I want to play over and over again. The set is stronger than the most recent releases by either the Pat Metheny Group or the Brad Mehldau Trio. Highly recommended to fans of both ensembles.
Free Music Review: AN EXTREMELY STRONG FOLLOW UP
Hit: 5 Stars
From the opening drum kick this is a significantlty more dynamic and impressive recording than the first collaboration, and that was a lovely pastoral recollection of the joys of Bill Evans and Jim Hall. For this one, Mehldau's full band jumps in and they rock harder throughout this disc than any of Metheny's stripped down Group ensembles. That's a very good thing for Metheny. Anything that opens him up beyond the closed ranks of Rodby and Mays pays significant dividends to his outlook. For Mehldau, to work with a protean guitarist like Metheny gives him an edge that sometimes lies subsurface in his own recordings.
This is more akin to what you might here from the Scandinavians, most specifically the irrepressible EST. Thus, you'll find that as terrifically as this is recorded, the music flies and rocks and pushes all the principles in more adventuresome dynamics than are standard fare for them. Without question, this is a stand out disc in Metheny's impressive body of work and should be on any jazz devotee's i-pod, cd spinner, whatever. This is a keeper. Small wonders abound as well. The usual geeky use of the 42-string harp guitar, which most times is a tech-head diversion of little significant contribution, is here put to great employ in the service of the cuts on which it appears. There may be a point to all that after all.
I am still waiting for Metheny to get on the download bandwagon, as Live he is a different beast altogether. And last year's Quartet with the Sanchez's and Christian McBride in Wilmington was possibly the best concert of his I have ever seen, warts and all. Who knows maybe he'd even more time to stay home? Anyway, we'll dream on and celebrate this effort. 5 stars and superb all the way.
Free Music Review: Even better than the first one!
Hit: 5 Stars
These two guys are very clever. Putting their incredible musical capabilities to one side for a minute, they are obviously good businessmen as well. It would seem to me that while the first set of songs they put out last year on the Metheny / Mehldau CD were pretty good, they definitely saved the best till last. I'm guessing it's also going to work out better for them to have the two sets on separate albums when it seems they could've easily put everything out on a double CD last year.
Not that I'm complaining. Good music is always worth paying a little extra for in my humble view and there is good music aplenty on this CD. There are more songs in the quartet format here than in the last one, hence the title I suppose, and Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard more than step up to the plate. While Mehldau sticks to playing piano, Metheny gives us 42-string guitar, acoustic guitar and guitar synth (which works better on this CD than on the last one, I would say).
Each song says something different to me and touches me in different ways. I have no favourites. This is a solid set of 11 modern jazz songs. Metheny writes 7 of them, Mehldau writes 3 and one of the songs is co-written by them both. The more I play it, the more I love it.
Free Music Review: Absolute genius
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a superb collaboration. Such beautiful, honest, subtle musical story telling. It's the most creatively that Metheny has played in years. Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard are absolute geniuses in their own right. And Brad Mehldau is just on a another plane - he is incredible.
The new quartet truly respects each others' styles, yet they don't play as individualists - they truly collaborate and amplify one another's work. The duos between Metheny and Mehldau are like a yin and yang dancing around one another - they just work together. Established structures emerge and then unwind in various directions in a way that just seems to make sense. Hard to put into words. It's sophisticated, beautiful, challenging, and exhilarating.