Brad Mehldau Art Of The Trio Vol. 5: Progression CD

Personnel: Brad Mehldau (piano); Larry Grenadier (bass); Jorge Rossy (drums).
Recorded at Village Vanguard, New York, New York on September 22-24, 2000.
Includes liner notes by Brad Mehldau.
Personnel: Brad Mehldau (piano); Jorge Rossy (drums).
Audio Mixer: James Farber.
Recording information: Village Vanguard, New York, NY (09/22/2000-09/24/2000).
Virtuoso pianist Brad Mehldau continues his Art of the Trio series with a two-CD set titled Art of the Trio, Vol. 5: Progression. Recorded live at the Village Vanguard in New York City, this volume is his most satisfying triad outing yet. The trio opens disc one with a swinging up-tempo rendition of "The More I See You" and, for over ten minutes, Mehldau improvises his swinging instincts with his well-organized rhythmic partners, drummer Jorge Rossy and acoustic bassist Larry Grenadier. His original "Dream's Monk" features an extended variation on his profoundly introspective bebop. This composition is the centerpiece of disc one, which otherwise features covers of such standards as "Alone Together," "It Might as Well Be Spring," and "The Folks Who Live on the Hill." Disc two is evenly programmed with three originals by Brad Mehldau and three by Great American Songbook composers George & Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Sammy Fain, and Paul Francis Webster. On the nearly 15-minute rendition of the Gershwin/Kern composition "Long Ago and Far Away," Mehldau's rhythm section plays fervent bop lines over his brilliant piano arpeggios after a virtuosic introduction. Grenadier's bass solo remains one of the most memorable on this recording, with Mehldau delicately comping it with light piano chord voicings. Rossy deftly adjusts and readjusts his brushwork to provide just the right textures and musical accompaniment. Whereas The Art of the Trio, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, and Vol. 4 provided Mehldau's listeners with rich documentation of his piano mastery that often includes altered root motion and meter on standard tunes, blazing swing tempos, and poetic piano lines that can hover intensely in a ballad, his intrinsic musical signature is more substantial on Progression due to several stunning piano solos, ethereal vamps, and successive thematic transformations. ~ Paula Edelstein
On this, Brad Mehldau's fifth installment of trio records, he returns to his jazzier roots by playing a series of standard tunes including "Long Ago and Far Away," "Alone Together," and "How Long Has This Been Going On." Recorded live at the Village Vanguard, this two-disc set offers listeners 13 chances to hear this band's cerebral swing. The opening track, the Mack Gordon/Harry Warren tune, "The More I See You" shows off Mehldau's improvisational skill as he whips around the keyboard, playing flurries of notes.
Other songs such as "Cry Me A River" bring out Mehldau's experimental edge, as he employs a series of soft yet sharp accents on the piano. Sometimes lyrical, sometimes percussive, Mehldau playing runs the gamut from familiar jazz stylings to eccentric, free-floating detours. Only true fans only will spend the time to read Mehldau's liner notes though. A dry, lengthy discourse on music and mankind--squeezed into a nine-point font--gives the feeling that Mehldau is digging in a little deeper than may be necessary.CMJ (10/8/01, p.29) - "...Encompasses a mix of standards and originals....with arching, ever-shifting post-bop accompaniment that perfectly accompanies the pianist..."
Down Beat (12/01, pp.73-4) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Exhilarating..."
JazzTimes (12/01, p.138) - "...Gives evidence of of his artistic growth....he patiently reveals new ways of looking at a familiar composition..."
Mojo (Publisher) (11/01, p.106) - "...The swingers are harder and more inventive, the ballads deeper, amazingly he's just getting better..."