Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau – Metheny Mehldau (2006/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:06:03 minutes | 1,25 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Nonesuch

Quartet expands upon the extraordinary musical dialogue – or, as Amazon.com puts it, the “dream pairing” – begun by guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau on their 2006 collaboration, Metheny/Mehldau. This time they incorporate the members of Mehldau’s trio, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard, into a breathtakingly eclectic set, which ranges from the airy, pastoral “So Much Music Everywhere” to straight-up rocking in the slowly building “Towards The Light.'”The collaboration between Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau is something that must have been written in the stars. Fans of both men have wondered if it would ever take place, and the end result on the Nonesuch release of Metheny Mehldau is the confirmation that it was destined. Hyperbole? Put it on and listen before you offer that remark seriously. Of the ten cuts here, eight are duets; the other two feature Mehldau’s rhythm section, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. Metheny wrote seven of these tunes, and Mehldau wrote the other three. Each man’s compositional style is evident from the word go. There’s the luxurious counterpoint that extends form the haunting melody of “Unrequited.” Further, there is the natural extension of rhythm and swing on “Ahmid-6.” But the real accomplishment here is the ease with which these men play such sophisticated and engaging music that is, perhaps on paper, difficult. But its expansive sense of lyricism and yes, rhythmic interplay, is continually surprising; there is no competition in these tunes, they flow, one into the other with a language being made on the spot. On the quartet tunes, such as Metheny’s “Ring of Life,” the influence of postmodern drum’n’bass – à la electronica – is heard in the tough breakbeats played by Ballard and the counter-rhythmic invention of both Mehldau and Grenadier. It is Metheny’s melodic voice, his continually approaching the euphoric, that holds it all together and makes something utterly moving out of it. The gentle swing of “Say the Brother’s Name” (also by Metheny) takes Mehldau’s sense of the phrase and expansive left-hand technique as it finds harmonic invention in the middle register as the key to unlocking the track’s mystery. Mehldau’s typically understated solo splits the seam and allows the genuine intensity of the cut to come through. Rhythmically there are breaks here too, but not as pronounced or as forceful as on the earlier selection. Indeed, when all is said and done, the listener is left wanting – more that it. One wishes that a double album would have been made, one with the duet – so full of startling moments it’s impossible to list them all – and quartet, whose genuine sense of extrapolative swing is not only inherent, but infectious.” (Thom Jurek, AMG)

Tracklist:

1-01. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Unrequited (05:00)
1-02. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Ahmid-6 (06:35)
1-03. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Summer Day (06:25)
1-04. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Ring of Life (07:35)
1-05. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Legend (07:02)
1-06. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Find Me in Your Dreams (06:07)
1-07. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Say the Brother’s Name (07:14)
1-08. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Bachelor’s III (07:24)
1-09. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Annie’s Bittersweet Cake (05:32)
1-10. Pat Metheny/Brad Mehldau – Make Peace (07:06)

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Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Brian Blade – LongGone (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 47:15 minutes | 992 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Nonesuch

The members of the legendary Joshua Redman Quartet of the 1990s – Redman (saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (bass) and Brian Blade (drums) – reunited after 26 years for the album “RoundAgain,” released in 2020. Now the band returns with “LongGone,” a new recording that includes six original compositions by Redman. “Disco Ears,” the first taste of the album, is available now as a live performance video.”RoundAgain,” the group’s first recording since 1994’s “MoodSwing,” immediately hit #1 on the traditional jazz album chart in the U. S., as well as #1 on the English Jazz & Blues chart. In addition, the record received no less than two Grammy nominations. NPR called the album a “flawless performance,” and found that the four musicians “have gotten better and better with time – today, every single one of them is playing at their absolute best.”

Redman recalls his first group as band leader, which stayed together for about a year and a half, as follows: “I realized pretty quickly that this band wasn’t going to last too long. For our generation, we were undoubtedly among the most skilled and innovative musicians on our respective instruments. I knew better than anyone how incredibly fortunate I was to have led this band for even a short period of time.”

Tracklist:

1-1. Joshua Redman – Long Gone (07:21)
1-2. Joshua Redman – Disco Ears (06:21)
1-3. Joshua Redman – Statuesque (08:18)
1-4. Joshua Redman – Kite Song (06:00)
1-5. Joshua Redman – Ship to Shore (06:31)
1-6. Joshua Redman – Rejoice (12:42)

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