Have you heard that pianist Brad Mehldau is no longer with Warner Bros., his label of nine years, and that he’s signed to Nonesuch? Yep. He’s on a new label, but it’s the same old Brad: His first Nonesuch release features a mix of standards and Nick Drake and Radiohead covers. (Don’t get the wrong idea. We like the same old Brad.)
The album, Live in Tokyo, will be out Sept. 14 and was recorded during a recent spate of solo performances in Japan. Along with the Radiohead and Drake covers, Mehldau goes it alone on Cole Porter’s “From This Moment On” and Thelonious Monk’s “Monk’s Dream,” among other classics. Here’s the full track list:
1. Things Behind the Sun (Drake)
2. Intro (Mehldau)
3. Someone to Watch Over Me (Gershwin/Gershwin)
4. From This Moment On (Porter)
5. Monk’s Dream (Monk)
6. Paranoid Android (Yorke/O’Brien/Greenwood/Greenwood/Selway)
7. How Long Has This Been Going On? (Gershwin/Gershwin)
8. River Man (Drake)
Mehldau is currently working on a piece commissioned by Carnegie Hall for voice and piano, to be performed in the spring of 2005 with soprano Renee Fleming. He also has a number of tour dates lined up, in both solo and group settings. Check ’em out:
9/3/04 • Paris, France • Jazz Festival/La Villette (solo)
9/28 – 10/03, 2004 • New York, NY • Village Vanguard (w/Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier and Jeff Ballard)
10/6/04 • Boston, MA • Scullers (solo)
10/7/04 • Boston, MA • Scullers (solo)
10/8/04 • West Hartford, CT • Hall High School Auditorium (trio)
10/9/04 • Vienna, VA • Wolftrap (trio)
10/22/04 • San Francisco, CA • SF Jazz Festival (solo)
10/23/04 • Seattle, WA • The Town Hall (solo)
10/26/04 • Chicago, IL • University of Chicago (solo)
10/29/04 • Tarrytown, NY • Tarrytown Music Hall (w/John Scofield Trio)
10/30/04 • Albany, NY • The Egg (trio)
11/7/04 • Sao Paulo, Brazil • Jockey Club (no group info)
11/14/04 • Cork, Ireland • Cork Opera House (no group info)
11/14/04 • Cork, Ireland • Cork Opera House (no group info)
11/15/04 • Dublin, Ireland • (no venue or group info)
11/25/04 • Bern, Switzerland • Theater IM National (no group info)
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