Has Brad Mehldau always been one step ahead of jazz? In this episode, Peter and Adam trace his evolution from the straight-ahead Art of the Trio series to the produced, cinematic experiments of his 2002 opus Largo. We look at how Brad’s late nights in LA, love of Radiohead, and partnership with producer Jon Brion blurred the lines between indie pop, alt rock, and jazz, creating a new “Populist Jazz.” Discover how Brad Mehldau’s Largo paved the way for a generation of genre-bending artists from The Bad Plus, to Robert Glasper, to our very own Adam Maness – and cemented his place as the greatest genre hacker in jazz.
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Try OS Membership today! → https://osjazz.link/about
Looking to drop a question? Want to listen to the audio pod? Look no further!
https://youllhearit.com/
Creators & Guests
Host
Peter Martin 🎹
Peter Martin is an acclaimed jazz pianist and entrepreneur. Over the past 25 years he has performed at most of the major venues and jazz festivals on six continents, including twice at the White House for President Obama. He is the founder of Open Studio, pioneering in the field of online jazz education. Peter was recently featured in the New York Times for his ground breaking work
What is You'll Hear It?
A podcast about music - how to listen, play, practice, and enjoy. Listen for a combo of advice, insights, and occasional humor from pianists Peter Martin and Adam Maness. A podcast from Open Studio
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Speaker 2
Hey, Peter.
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Speaker 3
Hey.
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Speaker 2
What do you do when it snows?
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Speaker 1
I go to Jamaica.
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Speaker 2
What do you do when it hails?
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Speaker 3
Oh, I put on a helmet.
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Speaker 2
What do you do when it rains?
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Speaker 4
Oh.
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Speaker 4
Whoa!
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Speaker 2
I'm Adam, and I'm Peter Martin, and you're listening to the You'll Hear It podcast.
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Speaker 3
Music explored.
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Speaker 2
Explored, brought to you today by Open Studio. Go to open studio jazz.com for o your slash lesson needs. Hey. Peter gave a twirl to the lazy Susan at.
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Speaker 3
The lazy Susan.
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Speaker 2
It's not quite the Lazy Susan because it's awfully small. For our listeners on our podcast, we've got this iPad that we're gonna be playing a bunch of tracks from today. Yes,
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Speaker 2
a bunch of Brad Mehldau tracks.
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Speaker 3
And also known as Brad Mehldau.
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Speaker 2
Because Caleb producer Caleb called him Brad Mehldau.
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Speaker 3
I think that's kind of fitting for the bespoke goodness. He's off his playing.
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Speaker 2
He's a fancy.
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Speaker 3
Guy. He's a fan. He's a fancy pianist. Damn fancy in all the right way.
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Speaker 2
Fancy, as we're going to find out today. So today we're going to be focusing on or at least leading up to his 2002.
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Speaker 3
Opus.
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Speaker 2
Opus is very interesting. Yeah, but so that, again, is. Yeah, it's very.
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Speaker 3
It's a new season, but same jokes, you see the same joke.
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Speaker 2
I think I dive in, I hope they every day. Man.
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Speaker 3
This is episode two of our brand new season. Our brand new.
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Speaker 2
Set.
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Speaker 2
How great is it to have the rhythm section? We got that debut on the bass. Caleb Kirby was
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Speaker 2
with us killing it. We're going to do some playing later in the show, too. Oh, yeah, we hit up a little. Maybe a little dusty McNugget at the end.
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Speaker 3
Oh, I love.
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Speaker 2
To for that.
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Speaker 2
But yeah, we're talking about his 2002 opus. Of course, Largo. And I really wanted to Peter.
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Speaker 3
Focus 23 years ago. Let's talk about that. And is that right?
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Speaker 2
That's not right. Thank you. But I wanted to talk about kind of the lead up to Largo and kind of catch people up to speed. So,
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Speaker 2
Brett now, though, he's about your age, right? You guys are almost the same age. I think we're.
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Speaker 3
At exactly.
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Speaker 2
The same age. And so some of this episode today, I feel, might be a little weird for you because you were around for all of this, like, kind of in this with him. At this point, you guys are peers. You're coming up in the same scene. You're playing with a lot of the same people. Yeah. And,
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Speaker 2
I'm, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on some of this because I know, like,
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Speaker 2
pianists, we never know each other that well.
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Speaker 3
Right? Because. Because we're not on the same gig.
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Speaker 2
Never on the same gig. Yeah, but, yeah, I think it's gonna be interesting to hear your insights on that era specifically, because that's what we're going to be focusing on, is kind of like his come up and and capping it off with, I think what you might consider sort of the the end of his breadth first era and sort of the beginning of his new era with Largo.
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Speaker 3
No, I agree. And it's like, is it the end or is it the beginning? Is it a transition?
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Speaker 2
It's never that clean cut. I feel like there is like something transitional and we'll even talk geography because there is a transitional geography that happens there.
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Speaker 3
But going to the west coast, this has some West Coast vibes. This whole record, the whole vibe of this.
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Speaker 2
That's John Bryan. Yeah. We'll also talk a lot about on this album again. So this was recorded in 2002. It was on the Warner Brothers label, which I always am gobsmacked by that. You know, we covered Josh Redman's Beyond a few months ago. Yeah. Also on Warner Brothers.
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Speaker 3
Huge Time Warner was huge in jazz. Matt Pearson shout out Matt Pearson, who's,
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Speaker 3
still doing stuff now with, with several,
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Speaker 3
young hours, but at that time was a real,
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Speaker 3
promoter, obviously producer. And, you know, in terms of directionality for jazz with Warner,
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Speaker 3
was was just like a huge force. And I think, Brad, like, this is really coming.
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Speaker 3
I don't remember the exact timing, but all those trio records.
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Speaker 2
Well.
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Speaker 3
We're all before this, right. All right. Well, all the not the volumes one, two, three, four.
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Speaker 2
There's only one. Volume five is after this, but all one through four is before this, which we're going to play a little bit from. And, and what I really want to focus on in that. And I think what sets Brad apart besides his style rhythmically, which I think sets him apart from a lot of his peers. Yeah.
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Speaker 2
Just gives him his own sound is that he was, to my knowledge, the the most accomplished of that generation who started playing music that, you know, I was in high school when all this was happening, and he started playing music on his acoustic trio records.
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Speaker 2
Yes.
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Speaker 2
That spoke to me like with.
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Speaker 3
Larry Grenadier bass, George Rossi primarily. Yeah. That was the first big trio.
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Speaker 2
Right. But before that, my first introduction to Brad Metal that I was a player was in 1994 on a Joshua Redman album called Mood Swing. This is chill. And I remember when I heard this because I heard some things that I really hadn't heard up to this point for modern pianists, and.
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Speaker 2
I pick it up in Brad's solo here on Chill.
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Speaker 2
Dynamics is the first thing that comes to mind. The left hand.
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Speaker 3
Dynamics between the hands.
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Speaker 2
So early on. He's a young dude at this point.
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Speaker 1
Yeah.
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Speaker 2
That distinctive kind of floaty eighth note. Yeah. Comes to mind. That major minor thing that happens, just a really distinct sound. And then from there, people might know him from his 1995, his first trio album called introducing, which was a fascinating record because it featured the first. That's the first recording. Introducing Brad Mehldau is the first recording features one.
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Speaker 3
An imaginative to title for that one, the first.
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Speaker 2
Recording that features,
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Speaker 2
his what would become the known be known as this like 90s rhythm section of Grenadier and George Rosti, and it also featured on half the album Brian Blade and Christian McBride, which is like, right, interesting.
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Speaker 2
I don't know whose idea that was, if that was part of the label. But he has this, like distinctive two parts to the record.
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Speaker 3
Well, that was his rhythm section with Joshua Rhythm. They were still playing because I actually came in that at the end of that year.
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Speaker 2
My mood swing, that's the rhythm section, I believe it is.
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Speaker 3
But they were still touring and I was going to start with the band earlier, but I was doing I was playing with Roy Hargrove.
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Speaker 2
Because you picked up right off right after Brad.
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Speaker 3
Exactly. But it was with McBride and blade and then eventually Chris Thomas. Well, actually, very quickly, Chris Thomas and.
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Speaker 2
Then Peter Bernstein came some time. Yeah.
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Speaker 2
So this is introduced from introducing Brad Mellow Out. This is featuring what would become to to be known as the 90s trio with Larry Grenadier and George Rossi, which is kind of the iconic the start of the iconic run. Yeah. It might as well be spring.
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Speaker 3
Far. But this is James. Got to be former engineer.
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Speaker 2
Engineering.
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Speaker 3
And tell it. I'm gonna go out on a limb on that one.
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Speaker 2
The interplay between these three was what they became. Yeah. For this. Sort of, like, loose talking. Yeah. Rhythm section for each other. That's an incredible record. And most of that are actually all of that. Besides maybe an original or two are all like great American Songbook standards, right?
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Speaker 3
Straight ahead, straight ahead, swing in its groove. And its very like a.
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Speaker 2
Distinctive feel, for sure. But like the repertoire is, is still kind of straight ahead.
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Speaker 3
There's some like, I just want to throw one thing out, sort of a macro,
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Speaker 3
Brad is, that you're going to hear up till this day. And actually, I heard him last year right here in Saint Louis at the Sheldon with Larry Grenadier. Yeah.
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Speaker 3
Player Grenadier. Larry Grenadier, right here. Still playing with them or, you know, it's come and gone, obviously.
00:10:02:16 - 00:10:09:04
Speaker 3
But this, this element that you talked about, the dynamics between the left and the right, like that very submissive left.
00:10:09:04 - 00:10:10:11
Speaker 2
Hand greatest, but.
00:10:10:11 - 00:10:24:15
Speaker 3
But beautiful melodic melody at the top of that and stuff. But his great balance between the hands like that has that became a part. And you're going to hear a lot on Largo, a part of his style, you know, underneath. But a lot of really interesting things. With that left hand. Rose got the melodies.
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Speaker 2
Rose got an incredible left hand. Oh, yeah. An incredible yeah.
00:10:27:21 - 00:10:41:19
Speaker 2
So next up on our on our sort of journey up to Largo is the first album that he would title the Art of the trio, and there would eventually be five of these. And this is the Art of the trio, volume one, which was a studio album.
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Speaker 2
And this is actually in 1997 now an important thing happens here. Brad moves to Los Angeles, and so he's living in LA during this time. And this begins this incredible, like five, six, seven year run with this trio where they make some of the greatest music of the 90s.
00:11:02:01 - 00:11:03:15
Speaker 3
Made mostly in New York.
00:11:03:17 - 00:11:23:22
Speaker 2
Well, but they know all over the place. But they recording. They are like road dogs. They're all over the road. They're in the studio all the time. The recording live albums is we're going to hear. Yeah. And on the first entry, I'm sorry, on the first part of the trio, volume one is a Beatles song, not too uncommon for any jazz musician, but he plays Blackbird in a way that would catch your attention.
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Speaker 3
Changed the game, would you say? Which are you?
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Speaker 2
And they don't just, like, cover it. They do it with the same sensitivity that they would do. It might as well be spring. Yeah, it's a great American songbook standard. And there's incredible solos.
00:12:03:23 - 00:12:17:14
Speaker 3
The arrangement here, you might think. You know, it'd be easy to say, oh, there is no arrangement. They're just playing it. But this is a very distinctive, very deliberate, very intentional arrangement. The foundation is that Larry Grenadier segments.
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Speaker 2
Going on the left hand. Yeah. George, just grooving on the brushes.
00:12:21:18 - 00:12:26:03
Speaker 3
Larry's played one note so far.
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Speaker 3
It's a good note to G.
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Speaker 3
It's in tune.
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Speaker 2
That's easy to do on a G. Come on.
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Speaker 3
Well right. But it's not an open it's not an open G though. It's a high G.
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Speaker 2
So there's then the Art of the trio volume two, which is live at the Village Vanguard and full of just mostly standards.
00:12:45:07 - 00:13:06:06
Speaker 3
Can I just say that I now I'm remembering back to that period because we were young guns, kind of young lions. We were starting to feel like aged lions by this point. But we were like Brad. All of us played Redman all kind of late 20s, mid mid to late 20s. But I do remember there was a little bit of controversy with them, with him titling this record, this series of record.
00:13:06:12 - 00:13:10:18
Speaker 3
Well, I remember the art of the trio, volume one. I was like, okay, that's cocky, right? That is.
00:13:10:18 - 00:13:12:11
Speaker 2
Cocky. You know? It's got to be more first.
00:13:12:11 - 00:13:26:05
Speaker 3
Of all, there's going to be more and you're saying you. It's not like we're getting to the art of the trio. It's like, this is the art of the trio. And we've got more coming that's going to make it even more artistic. Of the trio. Yeah. So 1998, damn it. He followed through, though.
00:13:26:07 - 00:13:46:14
Speaker 2
The trio of volume two comes out. It's live at the Village Vanguard, one of the great live albums ever. But it's another album, 1998 out of the trio volume three. Yeah, that I think for people of my age who were, jazz musicians, but also really caught up in to like an indie rock scene, grunge scene of the 90s as well.
00:13:46:16 - 00:14:08:23
Speaker 2
Yeah. When I heard this, I my ears, my young high ridge ears perked up quite a bit. This is Radiohead's Exit Music from a film, and this is music for a film. Excuse me. And this is not something I think you would typically hear up to this point. I can't recall any other jazz musicians covering Radiohead before this on a major release like this.
00:14:08:23 - 00:14:44:20
Speaker 2
I'm sure there were. So don't come at me internet. But, this had come out just the year before on okay computer, which is like Radiohead's big breakthrough artistically. Yeah, it's been and it was amazing for us like this for, for people my age, I think we're into those two different kinds of genres to hear.
00:14:44:22 - 00:14:52:20
Speaker 2
It doesn't hurt that Thom Yorke is influenced by Chopin. Yeah, Schumann. And yeah. Wrong, right. Like it's in kind of Brahms.
00:14:52:21 - 00:14:55:03
Speaker 3
Huge influence. Obviously a brand. Yeah.
00:14:55:05 - 00:14:55:21
Speaker 2
It's in Brad's.
00:14:55:21 - 00:15:16:16
Speaker 1
Wheelhouse. Yeah.
00:15:16:18 - 00:15:35:00
Speaker 2
But just capturing dynamics, the pensive ness of Radiohead acoustically so. Well, it takes a lot of virtuosity to do this as well as they're doing this right now. Here's a little bit of the original featuring, way the boys of Radiohead lads, the.
00:15:35:00 - 00:15:35:08
Speaker 3
Last.
00:15:35:09 - 00:15:36:12
Speaker 1
New.
00:15:36:14 - 00:15:41:14
Speaker 2
Again exit music for a film from okay computer, The Drive.
00:15:41:16 - 00:15:57:21
Speaker 4
And, your t today. We just came. With a scan.
00:15:57:23 - 00:16:05:10
Speaker 2
So I was already listening to that in my car. Yeah. And then to hear my favorite jazz pianist cover. That was amazing.
00:16:05:10 - 00:16:06:11
Speaker 3
It was like connecting the dots.
00:16:06:11 - 00:16:10:06
Speaker 2
It was totally connecting the dots. And then another track on that album.
00:16:10:08 - 00:16:12:17
Speaker 3
And you're like, there's more volumes to come. It's promised.
00:16:12:17 - 00:16:35:02
Speaker 2
Another one on volume three was Nick Drake's River ramen. Oh yeah. And this was kind of I was right at the start of sort of the Nick Drake renaissance that happened in the late 90s, where those albums became popular again. But again, I mean, the common tone here is this Pennsylvania step brats. So this whole trio so amazing at capturing right.
00:16:35:03 - 00:16:38:07
Speaker 2
And it's kind of it's pointing the way towards what lager would be.
00:16:38:07 - 00:16:51:23
Speaker 3
Yeah. Right. And there's a cinematic feel like you can draw the connection certainly from these once you get into like volume two, volume three, it starts to get much more cinematic, which Largo, I feel is a very cinematic record.
00:16:52:01 - 00:16:59:23
Speaker 2
When you could hear this on a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. Yeah, you know what I mean. Incredible. And then he does, my actually one of my favorite.
00:17:00:00 - 00:17:09:02
Speaker 3
There's a simplicity there. There's a perhaps I want to throw a word in. We're going to revisit this later just so I can marinate on our listeners. And you might reject this. You are the Brad Melville expert.
00:17:09:02 - 00:17:13:10
Speaker 3
Is there a populism there? Is there a jazz populism, a connection there? A.
00:17:13:10 - 00:17:15:01
Speaker 2
Little bit, yeah. I think.
00:17:15:03 - 00:17:15:15
Speaker 3
Does it I.
00:17:15:16 - 00:17:20:18
Speaker 2
Mean, it's not groundbreaking to pull like popular music of your day. Yeah. Right. That people.
00:17:20:18 - 00:17:22:17
Speaker 3
Do that. I'm thinking more in terms of like.
00:17:22:17 - 00:17:23:23
Speaker 2
Ten years or whatever.
00:17:24:01 - 00:17:36:10
Speaker 3
Like jazz piano, a jazz trio, and then eventually Largo, which is like a treat, like a solo piano and trio and beyond with chamber stuff and electronic music, EDM. Well, working with Chip Ryan.
00:17:36:10 - 00:17:38:21
Speaker 2
Yeah, that's like I think what makes Largo large.
00:17:38:22 - 00:17:46:21
Speaker 3
But I mean populism and as in, this could be for anybody like the music of the people as opposed to bespoke jazz that you have to have,
00:17:46:21 - 00:17:49:18
Speaker 3
a beret on to come here, you know, which is like the beginning. Right?
00:17:49:18 - 00:17:51:01
Speaker 2
I think giving these sort of
00:17:51:01 - 00:18:17:09
Speaker 2
these artists that are in this genre that isn't typically covered by jazz musicians giving them the same, the same treatment that you would give to, you know, jazz standards and Great American Songbook standards. I think that what is what was the draw and also the playing, the sound. Yeah, it's like top shelf because they're, you know, they're doing exit music and they're doing Riverman, but it's surrounded by like, you know, it might as well be spring and all these standards, the way you look tonight and like there's and
00:18:17:09 - 00:18:20:16
Speaker 2
volume four we got even Miles Davis is so layered.
00:18:20:17 - 00:18:30:11
Speaker 2
You know again this live from the Village Vanguard part of the trio volume four, mostly jazz standards by great American Songbook standards and then cover of Exit Music on this. But it's these already recorded.
00:18:30:17 - 00:18:42:09
Speaker 3
Right. And this way of playing this is when he really got into comparisons to Keith Jarrett in the Keith Jarrett trio, you know, which obviously was an influence for them. You know, you don't hear it as much in the other tracks we've heard.
00:18:42:09 - 00:18:51:06
Speaker 2
So far this, by the way, number four, one of the great live recordings of the 1990s is the 1999 and, unbelievable, unbelievable live.
00:18:51:06 - 00:18:58:03
Speaker 3
Everything we've heard so far to the sound quality, the engineering, the mix, the mastering. This is a huge part of any successful.
00:18:58:03 - 00:18:59:23
Speaker 2
Artists Vanguard never sounds that.
00:19:00:01 - 00:19:03:22
Speaker 3
Well. No, but it can sound bad on a recording, just like anything. I mean, just like a great studio can.
00:19:03:23 - 00:19:06:05
Speaker 2
What's the Vanguard recording? That doesn't sound great.
00:19:06:07 - 00:19:12:07
Speaker 3
Well. Well, I don't know. That's for another episode. Right? I mean, they say they could do it. It could happen.
00:19:12:07 - 00:19:30:06
Speaker 3
But I'm just in general, like his piano. I think he's very particular about how his piano is recorded, as he should be. Totally. And like just a big part. Like, we I think when we analyze these great recordings, we never give enough depth to, you know, the contribution to the recording of the instrument.
00:19:30:06 - 00:19:40:00
Speaker 3
He's playing very simply, very beautifully. And then he's going for stuff, but it's all captured the whole trio. I mean, that Larry Grenadier sound in the I mean, that's like you're sitting right there. Yeah.
00:19:40:02 - 00:19:43:23
Speaker 2
So we're up to about 2000, 2001 here.
00:19:44:01 - 00:19:45:22
Speaker 3
Y2K, we're all scared.
00:19:45:23 - 00:20:10:21
Speaker 2
Brad's still living in Los Angeles, and he records an album, beautiful album called places. All originals. Yeah. Opening track is called Los Angeles. Which kind of stupid record? It was a great record. And maybe slept on a little bit. It's fairly subdued. Yeah, for what they're doing, but it's beautiful. And the sort of emotional tone of the originals again, is going to foreshadow, I think, some things that happened on winter.
00:20:10:21 - 00:20:13:21
Speaker 2
Yeah. The simplicity of this.
00:20:14:01 - 00:20:17:08
Speaker 3
Simplicity subdued, somber.
00:20:17:10 - 00:20:31:21
Speaker 2
These are all things that yeah, if anything, we've chosen. Yeah. Today, I mean, I'm picking specific examples that are that are definitely leaning into that. But I think that's what this trio does so well. They capture that incredible of what'd you call it.
00:20:31:23 - 00:20:40:06
Speaker 3
Yeah I yeah. But I mean it's almost like this is Los Angeles. It's cinematic, but this is not at the beach. Sunny Santa Monica. This is like early in the day. I'm not sure.
00:20:40:06 - 00:20:42:06
Speaker 2
Brad. Mother's ever been to the beach. I'll be honest.
00:20:42:06 - 00:20:45:08
Speaker 3
It is beach. I don't know, maybe that.
00:20:45:10 - 00:20:54:09
Speaker 2
So this leads us now to 2002. He leaves Los Angeles in 2001, and I'm guessing before he goes, he sets up this,
00:20:54:09 - 00:20:56:04
Speaker 2
with John Brian. So John Brian,
00:20:56:04 - 00:20:58:22
Speaker 2
credible producer, multi-instrumentalist,
00:20:58:22 - 00:21:04:08
Speaker 2
has produced a ton of people. Film composer to film incredible film composer.
00:21:04:08 - 00:21:11:00
Speaker 2
And in fact, you might recognize John Brian from something like this.
00:21:11:02 - 00:21:20:12
Speaker 2
Is, Fiona Apple. Yeah. Criminal. One of the great. Yeah. Pop records in the 1990s. John Brian's playing all.
00:21:20:12 - 00:21:30:14
Unknown
Over this album.
00:21:30:16 - 00:21:33:20
Unknown
I've been a bad, bad, bad girl.
00:21:33:22 - 00:21:49:07
Speaker 2
Mellotron is represented hard. And John Brian stuff. Here is the, this is the overture from Punch-Drunk love, a Paul Thomas Anderson film that John Brian scored one of a few. I think. This was recorded the same year as Largo.
00:21:49:09 - 00:21:57:15
Speaker 3
Foreshadowing of some woodwinds and brass. Brass. You're reading my mind blowing. Sorry. My mind. That's reading your paper too.
00:21:57:17 - 00:22:05:02
Speaker 2
So this again was the same exact same time as Largo is recorded. It's a beautiful soundtrack by the way. Great movie.
00:22:05:02 - 00:22:06:02
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:22:06:03 - 00:22:21:03
Speaker 2
And in 2002 Brad Mehldau and John Brian get together in a studio with a bunch of musicians that aren't in this trio. Yeah, George is there and Larry's there. Larry plays on it.
00:22:21:03 - 00:22:29:17
Speaker 2
But it's a whole different vibe. Yeah. Produced by John Brian. This is when it rains.
00:22:29:19 - 00:22:40:05
Speaker 2
This is the opening track for Marty. One of the best opening tracks ever.
00:22:40:07 - 00:22:55:03
Speaker 2
Sounds like it could be on the Punch-Drunk love soundtrack.
00:22:55:05 - 00:23:08:04
Speaker 2
You.
00:23:08:06 - 00:23:37:23
Speaker 3
The piano sounds and is being played beautifully right now.
00:23:38:01 - 00:23:46:17
Speaker 3
That it's a very cinematic, like intro transition and then, like, now, the movie's rolling.
00:23:46:19 - 00:23:53:07
Speaker 2
The triplets in the left hand of the piano against the 16th straight 16th notes I had on the track.
00:23:53:09 - 00:23:55:13
Speaker 3
Yeah. No one's ever tried to duplicate this since then.
00:23:55:15 - 00:24:13:07
Speaker 2
What was that create? So that's Matt Chamberlain on the drums, who plays on, I think every track on this album. Yeah. One of the great pop drummers of the last 40 years, probably Jim Keltner, another amazing pop drummer, is on this album all over this album.
00:24:13:09 - 00:24:18:12
Speaker 3
That would win Pat in there, such as some.
00:24:18:14 - 00:24:19:18
Speaker 2
And this is Larry Grenadier on the.
00:24:19:18 - 00:24:28:10
Unknown
Bass for this track. He.
00:24:28:12 - 00:24:37:15
Speaker 2
The horn passed behind it. Yeah. No other jazz pianist who's making Village Vanguard records, right, is also making.
00:24:37:20 - 00:24:50:11
Unknown
Stuff like this.
00:24:50:12 - 00:24:55:14
Speaker 2
And this solo is. And all the time for Brian. It's one of his top three.
00:24:55:16 - 00:25:06:08
Speaker 3
Slow burn, slow burn. And he's really taking advantage of those very simple. You know football woodwinds.
00:25:06:10 - 00:25:17:02
Speaker 1
To comp a lot less make except.
00:25:17:04 - 00:25:36:14
Unknown
Yeah.
00:25:36:16 - 00:25:38:03
Unknown
Sample woodwinds go up here.
00:25:38:03 - 00:25:41:19
Speaker 1
Yeah.
00:25:41:21 - 00:25:44:19
Speaker 1
But the triplets.
00:25:44:21 - 00:25:49:22
Unknown
I think the slow burn vamp solo with Brad soloing. That's the thing.
00:25:50:02 - 00:25:50:23
Speaker 1
That kind of connects.
00:25:50:23 - 00:25:56:00
Unknown
Us. Like, you do a lot of this on the record.
00:25:56:02 - 00:25:59:17
Unknown
Also maintaining from this. Yeah, this groove is heavy.
00:25:59:23 - 00:26:01:01
Speaker 1
You have a deep pocket.
00:26:01:01 - 00:26:12:09
Unknown
And the drums are very upfront in the mix is also in. Right. Yeah. Not just to forget, you know.
00:26:12:11 - 00:26:44:02
Unknown
Through, you know.
00:26:44:04 - 00:26:57:12
Unknown
Oh. You.
00:26:57:14 - 00:27:05:14
Unknown
Know. Oh! Hey.
00:27:05:16 - 00:27:06:17
Speaker 2
This is good.
00:27:06:19 - 00:27:18:16
Unknown
Yeah. Brad. Oh!
00:27:18:18 - 00:27:27:09
Unknown
Oh!
00:27:27:11 - 00:27:31:00
Unknown
Oh!
00:27:31:02 - 00:27:37:23
Unknown
You. Oh!
00:27:38:01 - 00:27:43:02
Unknown
Let me.
00:27:43:04 - 00:27:57:19
Unknown
Lucky the o w here. Beautiful.
00:27:57:21 - 00:28:14:21
Speaker 2
Looking like that of that simple form. It's like indie pop production of the late 90s, early 2000 with just, like, crushing solo. Yeah, crushing jazz piano, like face melting is catnip for me.
00:28:14:21 - 00:28:20:00
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:28:20:02 - 00:28:38:00
Speaker 3
Beautiful. You know who's a big influence on this? Charlie Haden, one on for Cat West, especially 100%. I know Brad all over this. Yeah, I know Brad was interacting with him a lot in LA during this time, which is the cinematic approach. You know, you really hear that we could do the transitions.
00:28:38:00 - 00:28:45:18
Speaker 2
Podcast itself on Charlie Haden, his influences and yeah, how far they stretch because you're I have not put that together until this moment, but you're.
00:28:45:18 - 00:28:49:20
Speaker 3
100% I just when he went to that transition made me think of that. And remember courts at West.
00:28:49:20 - 00:28:54:21
Speaker 2
This could have been a mid 90s. Charlie. Hey now. Yeah, 100%. Right. Great. Great call.
00:28:54:23 - 00:28:59:02
Speaker 3
With. Yeah. Some other group. Okay. So let's talk about Brad.
00:28:59:02 - 00:29:03:01
Speaker 3
And really Larry and it really the whole I think Horton hoary on here on some.
00:29:03:01 - 00:29:03:22
Speaker 2
Cases and a couple of things.
00:29:03:22 - 00:29:13:19
Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah I know this is not a Brad Trio record, but they're these whole sections like to me it's several. And we might even get into this and quibble bits a little bit is like, is that a.
00:29:13:19 - 00:29:14:19
Speaker 2
Little bit with this. Yeah.
00:29:14:19 - 00:29:43:11
Speaker 3
Is it like four different records. Is it, you know, a trio record where it's kind of Brad going for broke but but I but I think but then there's the solo piano thing. Some of them are a little bit like or you know, beautiful playing of all the time. Like such care, such beauty in how it's recorded. But the overarching concept of let's put a jazz musician or jazz musicians improvising musicians with all the skills and abilities that they bring to the table in a different situation like that.
00:29:43:12 - 00:29:59:03
Speaker 3
What what is that groove they were just playing that was not like a backbeat groove. It was. It's kind of like you said, indie pop is probably the best way to describe it. But like, it's not like Brad is like, oh, let me not play a major Sam Smith or anything. He's still kind of playing the way he's playing live at the Vanguard or something.
00:29:59:07 - 00:30:02:21
Speaker 3
But the the constriction, the guardrails,
00:30:02:21 - 00:30:12:21
Speaker 3
it's like when you're bowling, when you have those, those rails on the side for the kids, even if you don't hit those, there are guardrails to this kind of arrangement. This kind of a two. I think the.
00:30:12:21 - 00:30:30:10
Speaker 2
Closest thing I can think of that would be before this would be Keith Jarrett in the 70s. Right. You know Treasure Island like that kind of vibe which was a little bit more open for sure than this. Not as produced. Yeah. But similar feeling. Yeah. Like we're going to take on more of this modern thing and like use those kind of guardrails like what you're talking about.
00:30:30:12 - 00:30:50:09
Speaker 2
I think we almost take for granted what we just heard with When It Rains now, because after this we've had the bad. Plus we've had Robert Glasper, who has, I think, really taken the torch of this in a lot of ways. And yeah, and spun it into a whole other thing. But like, we get more of this now.
00:30:50:12 - 00:30:51:22
Speaker 2
Yeah. Right. Like but there.
00:30:51:22 - 00:31:14:16
Speaker 3
Is that element of like, you know, be it in hip hop, be it in indie pop, beating classical, like all these different, what they used to call fusions of different musics. But like placing jazz in a situation where you can improvise and be yourself as a jazz musician. But the reality is there's some hope that that anybody who likes that kind of music would like this, you know, because this is pre like coffeehouse jazz and like backgrounds.
00:31:14:20 - 00:31:32:07
Speaker 3
I mean, it was background stuff or whatever, but there wasn't crappy YouTube coffeehouse jazz. Just be like, oh, it's kind of jazzy, but like this could be something where it's like, since there's no vocals and since there's improvising, since there's vamps, since there's an openness that's being brought to the table. But then Brad doesn't have to worry about, like, am I swing?
00:31:32:07 - 00:31:56:06
Speaker 3
It's okay to swing on this. Is it okay to, like, play a substitution? Like all that is kind of organically introduced. And the personality, the individuality, the intentionality of his playing can still come out, but it's placed in another situation that there's, I just think, a potential for more appeal. That's what I meant by populism, where it's just like, okay, this is music of potentially anyone coming along to.
00:31:56:06 - 00:31:59:08
Speaker 2
Be like 100%. Yeah. Why 9%? Let's talk a little bit about the name.
00:31:59:08 - 00:32:02:12
Speaker 3
Of the in the way that like kind of blew us up. We're going to get to that. I mean.
00:32:02:14 - 00:32:06:10
Speaker 2
Let's talk a little bit about the name of the album, Largo, of course, is a musical marking. Yeah.
00:32:06:10 - 00:32:11:07
Speaker 2
But Brad talks about the name and the origin here.
00:32:11:09 - 00:32:38:20
Speaker 6
Yeah. Well, the name of the record is, is called Largo, which kind of has a double meaning, I guess. First and foremost, it's the name of, so great club in Los Angeles where I met John Brion, the producer of the record. He's had a show, every Friday night there for about, I think, more than 5 or 6 years, where he does his own kind of, one man band thing.
00:32:38:20 - 00:32:53:21
Speaker 6
There's there's no way to describe it, but, hearing him over the years, has been a real, inspiration. And I've gotten a lot of ideas musically about what music can do about what I can do. With jazz Improvization
00:32:53:21 - 00:33:02:21
Speaker 2
So Largo is like the cool kids club. Yeah. In LA, or at least it was. I'm not even sure if it's still around post-pandemic. I don't think so.
00:33:02:21 - 00:33:16:17
Speaker 2
But yeah, John Brian had a Friday residency. They're doing like a one person show kind of thing. Bunch of musicians like cool musicians playing there. Elliott Smith, a dude, and even like indie comedy, indie sketch comedy happening there.
00:33:16:17 - 00:33:32:22
Speaker 2
Oh yeah, like Tig Notaro is live was recorded there. This like, you know, incredible stand up record and a bunch of a bunch of cool stuff happens happened at Largo. Here's John Bryan on his residency, Largo.
00:33:33:00 - 00:33:58:02
Speaker 7
Largo is run by Mark Flanagan, who's a long time friend of mine. And it was a very, very funny, interesting, beautiful, poignant moment for me. It's like I had just gotten this club back that he had been involved in as a co-owner for a couple of years and gotten out of because the other people he was working with didn't understand that music was why people went there.
00:33:58:07 - 00:34:13:16
Speaker 7
And he said, I want you to play Friday nights here. I said, you shouldn't give me that night. That's going to be your best night for people drinking, and you're making money. And I want this thing to be a success. I'll open for people on like Mondays and Tuesdays. It's like, no, no, no, no, I'm putting it on Friday night.
00:34:13:17 - 00:34:26:09
Speaker 7
It's going to work. So, you know, what do you need? You know, what's your rant? Didn't it was 400 bucks at the time. I said, okay, well, what if I give you 200 bucks a week like bucks in L.A.
00:34:26:10 - 00:34:27:04
Speaker 2
Come on.
00:34:27:06 - 00:34:28:04
Speaker 7
But you might not.
00:34:28:10 - 00:34:29:03
Speaker 3
Back in the day.
00:34:29:04 - 00:34:48:07
Speaker 7
But people at the door. So I argued with them, and I just thought about it for a second. Oh, you're willing to take a risk for me and you believe in me, and my rent will be played, and I'll get to play whatever music I want, and I just win one win.
00:34:48:09 - 00:34:49:06
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:34:49:08 - 00:34:56:16
Speaker 7
Okay. You have a deal. I used to go see Les Paul in New York, and he had discovered after his, like, years of fame that.
00:34:56:17 - 00:34:57:10
Speaker 2
He.
00:34:57:12 - 00:34:59:04
Speaker 7
Was playing to a small.
00:34:59:06 - 00:35:00:03
Speaker 3
Fat Tuesdays.
00:35:00:03 - 00:35:18:06
Speaker 7
I think he found a weekly gig in New York doing that. He did it for the last 30 years of his life. I remember that I was a regular attendee, and you never knew what you were going to get. Suddenly, I found myself doing the same thing. Suddenly people were showing up, and I really am. Everything felt right.
00:35:18:06 - 00:35:42:00
Speaker 7
And within weeks, suddenly it was sold out. There were all sorts of different people coming through. Other artists were coming through, and all these, people who had to do the self-promotion things, which I've just chosen not to. We're coming to me going, wait a minute, you've got it figured out. You just do the fun part. Yeah.
00:35:42:02 - 00:35:59:01
Speaker 2
Pretty great. Yeah. He was talking about Les Paul's residency. I think it was the okay in New York for like 30 years. He was there all the time and you would go and small rooms. I love that what he said about like, I just want to play in a small place where people are paying attention. Yeah. Like we we love doing that in, in my trio here in Saint Louis.
00:35:59:01 - 00:36:00:21
Speaker 2
Absolutely. The most fun thing you can do.
00:36:01:00 - 00:36:01:15
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:36:01:17 - 00:36:12:12
Speaker 2
So let's play just a couple more tracks here and then let's get to some. Well, maybe we can just get to some categories. Peter. Okay, how about some desert island tracks? Ooh, what do you got?
00:36:12:12 - 00:36:16:19
Speaker 3
I'm ready for desert. Let's do it. Okay. All right. I love dusty McNugget. I love
00:36:16:19 - 00:36:31:19
Speaker 3
the groove. And what what where? That places Brad into his solo. Like, when he gets to the soul, there's a lot of cool. Yeah, it's the way it starts. Started again without be talking over. Because I want to. Really. Oh, I got him nervous.
00:36:31:19 - 00:36:50:09
Speaker 3
Do you know how to do that? Yeah. Okay, let's do it. I like I love those. Kind of like you're falling into it, right, Tim Cook right. But it's important. Like, that's the most important transition that.
00:36:50:11 - 00:37:01:07
Speaker 3
It's just the way Brad's playing the backbeat with his left hand, with the dynamics playing. It's so interesting dialed in.
00:37:01:09 - 00:37:10:19
Speaker 2
Let's play this on the way out, too, I think. Be fun. My desert island track is When It Rains. The opening track is already.
00:37:10:21 - 00:37:11:19
Speaker 3
There. Matt Chamberlain on.
00:37:11:19 - 00:37:15:20
Speaker 2
Drums. On it is. Yeah, he's killing it. It's the greatest. What a what a pocket.
00:37:15:20 - 00:37:26:06
Speaker 3
And it really is like not being a, like, straight ahead jazz drummer. Like, there's, there's a different element that comes to it. I think that really set off Brad in an interesting way.
00:37:26:08 - 00:37:27:02
Speaker 2
So,
00:37:27:02 - 00:37:30:21
Speaker 2
let's talk about some apex moments. Your apex moment is on dusty.
00:37:30:23 - 00:37:46:11
Speaker 3
Yeah. If you want to go ahead to like, I don't know, a little bit before for if that makes sense. Like this is a slow burn. Another slow burner solo. For.
00:37:46:13 - 00:37:57:19
Speaker 3
A lot of cool kind of dancing and blues stuff.
00:37:57:21 - 00:38:21:14
Unknown
For. You you know. Yeah. Yeah. It's a lot of storytelling in this kind of play. Like melodic. Know.
00:38:21:16 - 00:38:27:02
Unknown
Don't, don't.
00:38:27:04 - 00:38:27:22
Speaker 1
Curse it.
00:38:27:23 - 00:38:31:17
Unknown
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:38:31:20 - 00:38:34:07
Speaker 1
Like the Wolverine girl.
00:38:34:09 - 00:38:37:03
Speaker 3
Check this out.
00:38:37:05 - 00:38:44:05
Unknown
Girl. Hey, I do this.
00:38:44:07 - 00:38:50:15
Speaker 2
And I noticed the brand's not too far away from the blues in any moment. Yeah, yeah, it's always in there. Yeah.
00:38:50:17 - 00:39:11:12
Speaker 3
That's great. That's a really great solo. And it's like. It's so well crafted, you know, playing over that kind of. It's almost like a vamp. It's it's it can become very self-indulgent when you have the, the horns behind it. And like the drums are like it can just get to the point where it's just like you're vamping. But that is a great example of extending out, really telling a story, taking it on a journey.
00:39:11:14 - 00:39:20:04
Speaker 3
Obviously, you know, like rhythmically blues, laying back, pushing they head. There's all these sort of musical elements. But I think it's, it's it's a really cool way to play, you know.
00:39:20:05 - 00:39:21:17
Speaker 2
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:39:21:19 - 00:39:23:04
Speaker 3
Cinematic still for sure.
00:39:23:04 - 00:39:43:23
Speaker 2
My apex moment is an entire track. You know, we heard Exit Music for a film on of the Tree of Volume three from Radiohead. The Radiohead cover. Yeah. And they cover another Radiohead on this, which is like way more ambitious from the same Radiohead album. Okay. Computer. It's Paranoid Android and it just goes. It's nine minutes long.
00:39:44:01 - 00:40:01:16
Speaker 2
There's prepared piano we're hearing here. John Brian was super in it. Yeah, all over that soundtrack. Things are.
00:40:01:18 - 00:40:20:03
Speaker 2
I think this would be the equivalent of, like, this would be the equivalent of someone in the 80s. It's like a Kenny Kirkland covering Pink Floyd or something. Yeah, you know what I mean. Like, it would be that or like.
00:40:20:05 - 00:40:34:16
Speaker 2
Like Herbie covering the Beatles in the 60s. Right? Like in 1969 or 1970.
00:40:34:18 - 00:40:48:09
Speaker 2
They recorded this live too. There no overdubs. Yeah. So they did. They had, like, John Ryan running around doing all kinds of stuff, Jim Keltner running around and all kinds of stuff. Rad. Doing all kinds of stuff. Matt Chamberlain, hold it down.
00:40:48:11 - 00:40:50:08
Speaker 2
Anyway, it goes.
00:40:50:10 - 00:40:51:14
Speaker 3
It's another slow burn, right?
00:40:51:19 - 00:41:01:14
Speaker 2
It's epic, epic version of Paranoid Android. If you're a Radiohead fan, I can't recommend enough listening to all nine minutes of that track. Yeah.
00:41:01:14 - 00:41:04:13
Speaker 2
Okay, Peter, bespoke playlist titles. What do you got?
00:41:04:14 - 00:41:15:01
Speaker 3
Well, this is kind of bland, but I got populist jazz I like, I don't know, I'm going to this populism thing. I know that the word's getting thrown around like negative ways now, but I mean, the right wing.
00:41:15:01 - 00:41:17:09
Speaker 2
Populism or like what, right wing populism?
00:41:17:09 - 00:41:27:20
Speaker 3
No, no, no. Okay. All right. Oh no no no. Just populist jazz. Jazz. That's for the people. Jazz is for the masses, you know what I mean? Got it. Yeah. I don't even know if that's what. Populist music. That's what I think it means.
00:41:27:22 - 00:41:29:19
Speaker 2
Yeah, I so okay.
00:41:29:21 - 00:41:31:04
Speaker 3
And I mean, the other kinds
00:41:31:04 - 00:41:34:22
Speaker 3
of albums that would be in there, I mean, this is stale, but you talk about,
00:41:34:22 - 00:41:50:00
Speaker 3
you know, secrets. You talk about kind of blue, you talk about secrets. Yeah. Secrets. Exactly. You talk about songs of the Key of Light, like stuff that is at a high artistic level and obviously incorporating jazz, but is really for anybody potentially.
00:41:50:00 - 00:42:08:07
Speaker 3
I mean, this might be, you know, some people might be like, this records weird. Yeah. You know, if you're only listening to the Taylor Swift or something. But this is this is stuff that like, is willing to take, take a different doorway than the typical way, you know what I mean? And a lot of that is, is pushed forwards by the repertoire repertoire choice.
00:42:08:07 - 00:42:19:02
Speaker 3
But also, you know, the production and the approach, the whole thing. But you still say, I'm going to be me, but I'm going to place myself at a different party, right? But I'm going to be my own personality.
00:42:19:03 - 00:42:23:13
Speaker 2
Populist, jazz populist jazz. I'm going to have three suggestions here. For a bespoke player.
00:42:23:13 - 00:42:24:02
Speaker 3
You see that?
00:42:24:04 - 00:42:28:14
Speaker 2
Imagine you're in Spotify and you saw shoegaze jazz now, before any shoegaze who.
00:42:28:14 - 00:42:31:14
Speaker 3
Started dream fans for the first time before any.
00:42:31:14 - 00:42:41:04
Speaker 2
Dream pop or shoegaze fans come at me, which are you have every right to? Because I realize this doesn't sound like shoegaze, which is like very shimmery or whatever. But if you've ever watched Brad Melo play the piano.
00:42:41:04 - 00:42:48:17
Speaker 3
Grab me the well, now he's he's gazing at a shoes buddy. Now, if I go to Spotify, is there an actual genre called shoegaze, jazz or playlist?
00:42:48:17 - 00:42:49:05
Speaker 2
I doubt.
00:42:49:05 - 00:42:51:06
Speaker 3
It. Oh, maybe. I don't know how official it is.
00:42:51:07 - 00:43:05:05
Speaker 2
My next one is PTA jazz. Yeah, not parent teacher association, but well, I guess it could be at this point. We're all in our 40s. But more Paul Thomas Anderson jazz. Okay, you can hear this on a Paul Thomas Anderson soundtrack.
00:43:05:05 - 00:43:08:16
Speaker 2
In fact, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood, like, now, does all the PTA soundtracks.
00:43:08:16 - 00:43:18:13
Speaker 2
And my favorite one is because of the sort of melancholic, because of the somber nature of a lot of what I love about this music.
00:43:18:15 - 00:43:30:17
Speaker 2
We're calling it SSRI love. Jazz is the name of the playlist. So SSRI is an antidepressant. Prescription drug is like it's a whole classification. You know, you're Prozac, you're so lost.
00:43:30:17 - 00:43:35:01
Speaker 3
So we maybe leave this one off. Are we treading into territory we want to go to SSRI.
00:43:35:02 - 00:43:38:04
Speaker 2
They're super helpful okay. But it's a playlist called SSRI. I love.
00:43:38:04 - 00:43:40:16
Speaker 3
Jazz, I got it because the is the connector point.
00:43:40:16 - 00:43:42:20
Speaker 2
Guy I was reaching probably okay, so.
00:43:43:01 - 00:43:47:17
Speaker 3
But that brings up a good point. We alluded to this earlier. Is this a sad and somber record?
00:43:47:19 - 00:43:49:10
Speaker 2
Not all of it, no. But there is.
00:43:49:14 - 00:44:04:03
Speaker 3
No but I mean, overall, if you were to describe it, the mood of it, because we're talking about how cinematic it is, how how thematic it is different, the stories that are told within it. If you look at the overall story arc of this album, is this a sunny record or is it a somber record?
00:44:04:03 - 00:44:10:00
Speaker 2
You know what this is? This is driving late at night around Los Angeles to me. Yeah. You ever driven around late at night? Unless.
00:44:10:01 - 00:44:13:13
Speaker 3
Yeah, that can be kind of sad, but it's kind of sad. It can be surreal.
00:44:13:13 - 00:44:14:06
Speaker 2
Surreal.
00:44:14:06 - 00:44:16:07
Speaker 3
It can be certainly cinematic. It can be in.
00:44:16:07 - 00:44:17:14
Speaker 2
A beautiful color. Yeah.
00:44:17:14 - 00:44:20:01
Speaker 3
The color tones. You know, the characters.
00:44:20:01 - 00:44:28:21
Speaker 2
It's not sunny. L.A. It's not summer. L.A. It's like winter and it's driving around at night. Yeah, way late at night. And this captures.
00:44:28:21 - 00:44:34:05
Speaker 3
There's some beauty. There's like, not only hidden beauty, but like, you have to. You have to keep your eyes open to see the.
00:44:34:05 - 00:44:38:17
Speaker 2
Beauty sparkling with lights. You know what I'm talking about? And it's. Yeah, to me, that's a great.
00:44:38:19 - 00:44:39:18
Speaker 3
That's a great description.
00:44:40:00 - 00:44:46:17
Speaker 2
Okay. If this were if this were playing on any kind of streaming service and there was an up next. Yeah. Recommended. Up next. What do you got?
00:44:46:19 - 00:44:59:13
Speaker 3
Well, if we I don't know what they would put, but I would say so I got elastic from Josh Friedman. I threw that in there because that's right around this time it might even be in the same year. Certainly right around that time. Elastic. The album with the, you know, the elastic band, the first one.
00:44:59:13 - 00:45:03:05
Speaker 3
And then that kind of leads to bad plus Josh Redman, also a good record.
00:45:03:05 - 00:45:18:14
Speaker 3
That's a good take. Obviously bad plus super influence from this record. Yeah. And then the obvious one that's why I put it in brackets is Highway Rider, which was what was that ten years later or 12 years later whatever with same similar collaboration, between John and Brad. And when that come up next?
00:45:18:18 - 00:45:19:05
Speaker 2
I would think.
00:45:19:05 - 00:45:22:07
Speaker 3
So, yeah. But that's kind of an obvious one. I like the elastic one I've got.
00:45:22:08 - 00:45:22:22
Speaker 2
You know, the best.
00:45:22:23 - 00:45:25:03
Speaker 3
Is like populist jazz, you know, I mean.
00:45:25:05 - 00:45:31:08
Speaker 2
I think the bad plus is an obvious one. I've got these are the vistas which came out a few years, a couple of years after this where they come up.
00:45:31:08 - 00:45:32:01
Speaker 3
Quite a bit later.
00:45:32:01 - 00:45:34:16
Speaker 2
One and now this is like 2004.
00:45:34:18 - 00:45:36:15
Speaker 3
Really. And I thought that was okay.
00:45:36:17 - 00:45:37:08
Speaker 2
The cover.
00:45:37:08 - 00:45:41:10
Speaker 3
Nirvana. Yeah.
00:45:41:12 - 00:45:42:06
Speaker 3
Does this record.
00:45:42:06 - 00:45:43:09
Speaker 2
Exist also kind of.
00:45:43:09 - 00:45:47:00
Speaker 3
Populist without Largo?
00:45:47:02 - 00:45:49:07
Speaker 2
Probably like the dudes are doing it at the time.
00:45:49:07 - 00:45:50:20
Speaker 3
Like, no, I know, but I.
00:45:50:22 - 00:45:52:18
Speaker 2
But there's definitely.
00:45:52:18 - 00:45:53:14
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:45:53:16 - 00:45:56:04
Speaker 2
There's definitely they're in that vein. And Brad did at first.
00:45:56:07 - 00:46:04:04
Speaker 3
I mean, if and if we talk about Brad as being potentially certainly on the shortlist for the most influential pianists of this generation, right.
00:46:04:04 - 00:46:05:11
Speaker 2
100%, then.
00:46:05:11 - 00:46:09:04
Speaker 3
Ethan Iverson being influenced, although he's of the same generation, also the.
00:46:09:04 - 00:46:11:11
Speaker 2
Young actual though. But yeah, because of.
00:46:11:14 - 00:46:12:07
Speaker 3
Influenced by.
00:46:12:07 - 00:46:12:14
Speaker 2
These are the.
00:46:12:18 - 00:46:15:10
Speaker 3
Yeah. You talk about Aaron Parks, you.
00:46:15:12 - 00:46:16:10
Speaker 2
There's a ton. Yeah.
00:46:16:11 - 00:46:27:06
Speaker 3
I mean like, I'm, I really made the call that I wasn't really I should have probably been more influenced by Brad, but because we came up right at the same time, there isn't that same kind of thing. You know, I would.
00:46:27:06 - 00:46:29:15
Speaker 2
Hate to put this in in.
00:46:29:17 - 00:46:34:05
Speaker 3
Is there an Aaron Parks without Brad Miller as he is now? Of course, there's I mean, there's not a great player.
00:46:34:05 - 00:46:48:15
Speaker 2
Who came after that. He was so popular, right? I mean, even like, you know, Robert Glasper, his cover and Radiohead on some of his albums. And he may or may not do that without Brad Miller, but it's got to be in there. He's my age, right. So he came up with when this was all happening. It's all in there for all of us, you know what I mean?
00:46:48:17 - 00:47:09:13
Speaker 2
I think he was like, it just changed sort of what we thought we could do. Another up next, I think would work really well. Is Elliott Smith's either or? Produced by John Bryan. They were actually John Bryan had like a, a TV show for a while and Brad and Elliott Smith were on. Oh, I think I remember that, like it's on YouTube.
00:47:09:14 - 00:47:23:12
Speaker 2
Yeah, fine. It's incredible. Oh, nice. Between the bars. Yeah. You could do a nice the whole album either or is amazing. Yeah. And then I had Beck's SeaChange. I know that just spoke as, something that I think would fit really well. Yeah.
00:47:23:12 - 00:47:25:04
Speaker 2
Okay. Quibble bits. You got any quibble bits.
00:47:25:04 - 00:47:26:01
Speaker 3
Anything quibble bits.
00:47:26:03 - 00:47:26:13
Speaker 2
Little bit.
00:47:26:13 - 00:47:46:15
Speaker 3
Yeah. So the only things and these are really I put question marks behind because I don't really like I'm just forced into doing some quibble bits. I think it's a great record. I don't know if it's the most cohesive record in a way. Like it's right, but but also great. That's but that's part of the I think beauty like not everything has to be cohesive.
00:47:46:15 - 00:48:01:18
Speaker 3
You know, it's several like the last track to me is a little bit disconnected from the rest of the record. But he starts out solo piano and he ends that like there's some interesting, like, connections on a bigger sort of meta level. So I don't think it's necessarily, I don't know, I agree.
00:48:01:18 - 00:48:05:08
Speaker 2
Man, I'd actually take it further. And I'm again, I'm a huge fan.
00:48:05:08 - 00:48:05:13
Speaker 3
Oh, I.
00:48:05:13 - 00:48:08:14
Speaker 2
Know this is like one of my favorite records. I think it's hit or miss.
00:48:08:14 - 00:48:13:23
Speaker 3
I think it's I didn't I don't think it's a hit or miss track to track its interest. I was surprised you said that.
00:48:13:23 - 00:48:15:16
Speaker 2
I think it's I think if everything.
00:48:15:16 - 00:48:16:18
Speaker 3
What are the misses?
00:48:16:20 - 00:48:24:04
Speaker 2
There's a I don't I don't want to get too specific with it, but there's, there's just it just comes in waves, like there's really great stuff. And then it's, there's kind of like but.
00:48:24:04 - 00:48:25:01
Speaker 3
It's kind of like a.
00:48:25:03 - 00:48:34:13
Speaker 2
It doesn't hit me as hard anything. Was this as poignant as When It rains? Right. Which I think is just one of the most beautiful tracks of the 2000. If he made a whole album like that.
00:48:34:13 - 00:48:52:01
Speaker 3
Then it wouldn't be as impactful. I hear. You know, it's like you got to have the peaks and the valleys, like the thing that connects the record high rich country. I know, I know, but I'm saying, like, I really don't think we'd feel the same way. And that's what I respect about this. This work is that if we the thing that connects it is Brad's piano playing.
00:48:52:01 - 00:49:17:05
Speaker 3
Like there's certain elements to the way that he played, because he's very authentic on this. Although I think at the time, I remember at the time it was seen as a big departure for him in terms of like, you know, a jazz player anymore. Yeah. But like, this is a very jazzy piano record, actually, the actual way that he's playing, you know, and all this sort of Brad isms, we talk about the bounce between the hands, you know, the triads and then going to some other voicings, just a single line, you know, all those kinds of things.
00:49:17:07 - 00:49:38:23
Speaker 3
The phrasing of his melodic lines, which are almost all improvised except when he's stating melodies and stuff, is very, very much storytelling of Brad, very authentic to him, very much like, like when you hear a saxophone, like Sonny Rollins, that Sonny Rollins, it's like. And that's hard to do on the piano. Okay. So to me, that's what connects it and keeps it from being too disparate of a thing.
00:49:39:01 - 00:49:46:02
Speaker 3
The only real quibble, but I will say there's some sonic effects on here that maybe haven't aged that great. You know, maybe,
00:49:46:02 - 00:49:53:06
Speaker 3
I don't know, just there's there's some things that sound and part of it and even some of the fade outs and stuff. To me, that that's a little bit.
00:49:53:06 - 00:49:56:00
Speaker 2
I feel kind of the same early computer days, right? Yeah.
00:49:56:00 - 00:50:01:00
Speaker 2
I mean, computers have been around for a long time. Yeah. But it was still like, not where it is today as far as production goes.
00:50:01:00 - 00:50:01:12
Speaker 3
Yeah.
00:50:01:12 - 00:50:06:17
Speaker 3
But again, the piano and the beautiful sound, the piano, even with the different sounds of the piano, that's the connector.
00:50:06:17 - 00:50:07:12
Speaker 2
It's anemometer.
00:50:07:12 - 00:50:10:04
Speaker 3
It's nanometer. Okay. If we look at this.
00:50:10:04 - 00:50:11:23
Speaker 2
I really like what you've done with. Yeah.
00:50:12:01 - 00:50:14:04
Speaker 3
Well, these jazz snobs that it's a two.
00:50:14:05 - 00:50:15:21
Speaker 2
That's so good. You know what I mean? And if it's pops.
00:50:15:21 - 00:50:19:00
Speaker 3
If it's a pops, it's a nine. I mean, a ten. You nailed.
00:50:19:00 - 00:50:24:15
Speaker 2
This. Like, if it is a jazz snob, it's a two in that it's super accessible. Yeah. It's just like oh okay. This is great.
00:50:24:15 - 00:50:29:05
Speaker 3
Right? Even though I'm sure Ethan obviously loves this record, I don't know, I bet he does.
00:50:29:05 - 00:50:32:18
Speaker 2
I bet he loves, like out of the trio volume form.
00:50:32:19 - 00:50:34:05
Speaker 3
But lost takes. Or maybe.
00:50:34:05 - 00:50:34:23
Speaker 2
He just he he's.
00:50:34:23 - 00:50:35:06
Speaker 3
Not.
00:50:35:09 - 00:50:39:08
Speaker 2
He's not close to Brad age and John. Right. So he's just like I'm out of the whole.
00:50:39:12 - 00:50:44:10
Speaker 3
How would how would, Allen Iverson rate this on this in the monitor.
00:50:44:12 - 00:50:53:22
Speaker 2
A nine? Okay. Which is what you have here for John Rock pop fans. Yeah, I think nine. I put seven in general. Yeah, but I can I like the way you did this better actually. Yeah.
00:50:53:22 - 00:50:56:06
Speaker 2
Is it better than kind of blue? No, no.
00:50:56:06 - 00:51:00:15
Speaker 2
Easy. Accouterments. I put a nine. I love this cover so much.
00:51:00:17 - 00:51:04:11
Speaker 2
All of the, like the digital media that came with it, the EPK and the liner notes.
00:51:04:11 - 00:51:05:08
Speaker 3
Oh, I don't remember all that.
00:51:05:11 - 00:51:06:00
Speaker 2
Oh, yeah, man.
00:51:06:00 - 00:51:08:19
Speaker 3
Yeah, I give it an eight. It's solid. It's it's very good. Very good.
00:51:09:00 - 00:51:15:01
Speaker 2
EPK time. This is like internet 2.0. You know what I mean? People were still making electronic press kits, ghosted cities.
00:51:15:01 - 00:51:16:14
Speaker 3
There's probably a GeoCities link.
00:51:16:14 - 00:51:17:07
Speaker 2
GeoCities.
00:51:17:07 - 00:51:18:07
Speaker 3
GeoCities. Is that right?
00:51:18:11 - 00:51:19:05
Speaker 2
Either way, we don't know.
00:51:19:05 - 00:51:20:19
Speaker 2
Okay. Hey, leave a comment.
00:51:20:21 - 00:51:34:09
Speaker 3
Yeah. What do you guys think about this? Like, how how do you think it's age? That's what I really want to think about because for me was having some separation from it. I think it age great. I know I said a few comments that some of the sonic effects, but that's a very minor thing. I actually think this has gotten better.
00:51:34:12 - 00:51:49:03
Speaker 3
Yeah. Over time, in a way that signifies a really great work. You know, I'd love to hear what a Brad's been in the comments before. Brad, drop. Drop us. Yeah. Drop us a comment on how you think this is aged. How do you think we broke this down? And also thoughts that you have on this.
00:51:49:03 - 00:51:52:16
Speaker 2
Brad, if you're in the comments, congratulations on this. Yeah, man. Well done.
00:51:52:16 - 00:51:57:17
Speaker 3
And keep in mind we're not going to put a lot of credence in what you say because you can't be objective about this. No.
00:51:57:19 - 00:51:58:04
Speaker 2
But it'd be.
00:51:58:04 - 00:52:00:22
Speaker 3
Interesting to see what you say.
00:52:01:00 - 00:52:01:16
Speaker 1
Cool.
00:52:01:17 - 00:52:03:22
Speaker 2
So, don't forget about the nerd nook.
00:52:04:02 - 00:52:05:03
Speaker 3
Oh, that's going to be fun.
00:52:05:03 - 00:52:13:07
Speaker 2
Yeah. So the nerd nook, we're going to go for our piano nerds. Yeah, we are going to cover the the chord changes to when it rains. I'm going to show you a little bit of the voice, leaving.
00:52:13:09 - 00:52:14:05
Speaker 3
Some details in there.
00:52:14:05 - 00:52:16:04
Speaker 2
Real simple, but really cool to know.
00:52:16:05 - 00:52:17:18
Speaker 3
That's for open studio members only, right?
00:52:17:18 - 00:52:20:19
Speaker 2
Yeah. You can find that in the Hang Under as seen on.
00:52:20:21 - 00:52:29:12
Speaker 3
But if you go to open studio jazz.com and you want to sign up just for trial stuff so that you can check out the demo nook, you can do that. You get a 14 day trial. Check out all the free trial. Yeah.
00:52:29:12 - 00:52:30:09
Speaker 2
Well, man, this has been a.
00:52:30:09 - 00:52:33:22
Speaker 3
Blast, but awesome, man. We nailed it. Yeah.
00:52:34:00 - 00:52:37:14
Speaker 2
Oh. It sounds like Bob and Caleb are ready for a little dusty. Maybe I can join them. Yeah.
00:52:37:14 - 00:52:38:05
Speaker 3
Till next time.
00:52:38:06 - 00:54:07:03
Speaker 2
You'll hear it.
00:54:07:05 - 00:54:19:20
Speaker 4
But,
00:54:19:22 - 00:55:18:09
Speaker 4
Boom!