Brad Mehldau Art Of The Trio Vol. 4: Back At The Vanguard CD

In his lengthy liner notes to the album, pianist Mehldau expresses his dismay at the constant comparisons between himself and Bill Evans.It may be assuming too much to assert that his work here actively attempts to discourage such comparisons by avoiding previous ostensible similarities to Evans, but the knotty, Monk-like intervals that open the album on Mehldau's exploration of "All the Things You Are" might at least lead one to speculate. Certainly, there's a more urgent feel at work here, and less of that liquid, filmic, Debussy-ish feeling of Mehldau's earlier recordings.

As always, Mehldau and his stalwart rhythm section--bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy--constantly challenge each other, pushing the music into new, exciting harmonic spaces. One hears not so much a pianist backed by a drummer and bassist, but three musicians engaged in an interdependent quest for new sonic ground. Whether the source for the trio's explorations is a chestnut like "I'll be Seeing You" or Radiohead's "Exit Music (For a Film)," what's important is the consistently fresh ground Mehldau and company break in their intrerpretations/deconstructions.

Recorded live at The Village Vanguard, New York, New York from January 5 to January 10, 1999. Includes liner notes by Brad Mehldau.

ART OF THE TRIO 4: BACK AT THE VANGUARD was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual Or Group.

Personnel: Brad Mehldau (piano); Jorge Rossy (drums).

Audio Mixer: James Farber.

Liner Note Author: Brad Mehldau.

Recording information: Village Vanguard, New York, NY (01/05/1999-01/10/1999).

Photographer: John Clark .

Personnel: Brad Mehldau (piano); Larry Grenadier (bass); Jorge Rossy (drums).

Entertainment Weekly (10/1/99, p.75) - "...combining a technical grasp with a knack for transcending traditionalism and making each solo an excursion....He's in tune with his generation, too, turning Radiohead's 'Exit Music (for a Film)' into an inventive etude." - Rating: A-
JazzTimes (12/99, p.145) - "...continues a remarkable evolutionary course...another fluidly empathetic trio date....art is precisely the right term."
Mojo (Publisher) (1/00, p.31) - Included in Mojo Magazine's "Best Jazz Albums" of 1999.