This was a concert that Eric bought tickets to, and I would join him mostly because… well, why not?… just because he was going. In the end, Eric got sent off to Manchester for the week, and I went on my own.
They turned out to be talented musicians, but the music (much of it from their latest CD “Day is Done”) was not really to my taste. It was the sort of refined and elegant jazz that makes experts nod knowingly at each other and comment on how skilled the bassist is. And that may be entirely true, but isn’t enough to carry a whole concert, unless you’re one of those experts, which I am not. The kind of jazz where every song sounds much like every other song, at least to an untrained ear. They could have played any one of them again, and I wouldn’t have been able to say whether I had already heard it or not. (Even reviewers at The Guardian who gave it 4 stars described it as “absentmindedly drifting”.) I like music to have some sense direction, not just aimlessly wandering improvisation.
A few of the songs had more character, more groove and melody. Their rendition of “The very thought of you” was quite nice. But most of it was pleasant but rather boring, in my opinion.
Brad mehldau is completely dull and totally overrated as a jazz pianist. People with sensitivity see his improvisation as extreemely dull and boring.
I realize how old this blog article is, but I just want to confirm that almost 4 later, and Brad Mehldau is STILL a dull and overrated jazz pianist! Honestly, I have never understood all the hype about this guy, going back to the mid 90s. His influences are more classical than jazz, he likes to tinker around with pop melodies, he supposedly was a heroin addict for a few years (said Warner Bros. Records Marketing Dept, gotta throw that in to boost the Bill Evans comparisons ya know)….he’s no less a record company invention that Brittany Spears is.
Agree with the article and totally agree former comments