Ron Carter Esperanza Spalding - Downbeat

Brad Mehldau Trio
Where Do You Start
Nonesuch 532029
HHHH
Brad Mehldau is the anti-virtuoso. Where most
pianists speak through big contrasts in volume
and flashy display, he whispers so softly
that one almost misses his message. But his
ideas are as deep as those of any other improvising
musician, precisely because of the limits
he accepts and his mastery of the options he
reserves to himself.
First, Mehldau is a stupendous technician.
In particular, he is unmatched in terms of
hand independence; where even the best of his generational peers fall
into patterns of left-hand accompaniment beneath right-hand extemporizing,
Mehldau is equipped to let each hand speak for itself. There are
moments on Where Do You Start where he plays like two horn soloists,
each blowing simultaneously, untethered to and yet aware of what the
other is doing. Characteristically, Mehldau makes these statements without
any razzle-dazzle. His improvisations happen mainly in the middle
of the keyboard, within maybe a two-and-a-half-octave span. You’ll hear
no muscular, thundering octaves or gazelle-like velocity as he stretches
out. Instead, you’ll hear what happens when an inventive and expressive
musician engages with his material, takes his time and lets his statements
evolve at their own pace.
The theme underlying Where Do You Start is that each selection,
aside from the aptly titled “Jam,” is a cover, thus distinguishing this project
from his previous all-original Ode. He does pick some exotic material
here, from his 7/8 treatment of “Got Me Wrong” by Alice In Chains to
the rock chestnut “Hey Joe,” the only item here
that doesn’t get far off the ground beyond the
simple five-chord sequence and solos anchored
to the root of each change. But the songs are not
the point; it’s more about Mehldau’s process
and the empathy with which Larry Grenadier
and Jeff Ballard support it.
In this respect, Where Do You Start thrills
as much as it informs. Listen to the construction
of his solos on Clifford Brown’s “Brownie
Speaks,” with its wry minor seconds and ninths
in cadences and solo lines, or to the way both
of his hands break into simultaneous solos on
“Airegin.” On Elvis Costello’s “Baby Plays
Around,” for 10 minutes, Mehldau plays somberly
and deliberately, in simple voicings, going out of tempo and leading
to a long and eloquent solo cadenza, rich in muffled bass and freeflowing
creation.
These moments pass, inviting us to stop and savor. But in conformity
with the notion of saying the most through implication and suggestion,
the emotional peak of Where Do You Start comes with the last track. On
the Johnny Mandel-Marilyn Bergman-Alan Bergman title song, the trio
drifts at a dignified, dreamlike pace. At one point, toward the end of the
bridge, the bass and drums hold back as Mehldau plays a painfully beautiful
fermata; his pedaling is exquisite, his timing in moving back into
tempo is flawless. This is arguably the most gorgeous few seconds on the
album—and the clearest demonstration of Mehldau’s aesthetic that softness
speaks more enduringly than extroversion. —Bob Doerschuk
Where Do You Start: Got Me Wrong; Holland; Brownie Speaks; Baby Plays Around; Airegin; Hey Joe;
Samba E Amor; Jam; Time Has Told Me; Aquelas Coisas Todas; Where Do You Start? (78:29)
Personnel: Brad Mehldau, piano; Larry Grenadier, bass; Jeff Ballard, drums.
Ordering info: nonesuch.com