Everybody Digs Brad Mehldau

Brad Mehldau Trio
"House on Hill"
(Nonesuch)


Released yesterday.



I love this pianist's music. He may be the Bill Evans of his generation. Or the Keith Jarrett, sans the humming and moaning.

The New York Times (subscription needed) writes:

Last year the pianist Brad Mehldau replaced the longtime drummer in his trio, Jorge Rossy, with a much more loamy percussionist, Jeff Ballard. The results, as heard in performance by the new trio and on Mr. Mehldau's last Nonesuch album, were salutary, like drawing the curtains to let the daylight in. Still, Mr. Mehldau's original trio, with Mr. Rossy and the bassist Larry Grenadier, was a joy throughout its 10-year run. And it bowed out on a high note, with the exceptional standards album "Anything Goes," in 2004.

Mr. Mehldau had recorded a partner album of original material, but his label, Warner Brothers, imploded its jazz division before it could be released. That phantom material has now materialized in the form of "House on Hill" on Nonesuch, a Warner Music Group company. The album is a marvel of collective self-assurance, worth hearing not only for Mr. Rossy's weightless time feel but also for Mr. Mehldau's thoughtful compositions.

"loamy percussionist"? .....