Largo

by Brad Mehldau

Overview

In the most enigmatic project up to this point in his career, Brad Mehldau explores conflicting aesthetics, sometimes in tracks positioned next to each other, and occasionally within the confines of a single performance. A spare simplicity governs much of the album, emphasized by almost puritanical horn arrangements -- long notes, mournful triadic chords. After acknowledging these episodes with childlike figurations on the piano, Mehldau then builds his solos along more dissonant lines, which invariably end up enhancing the mood. But then there are tracks like "Dropjes," whose electronic effects gnash angrily at the piano, or "Free Willy," on which putty attached to the instrument's low strings allows Mehldau to unleash a feral improvisation, with lines that suggest scurrying rodents more than bebop blowing. Producer Jon Brion stimulated much of this adventurism, at times diving directly into the mix with his guitar synth or Chamberlin keyboard. But what intrigues most about Largo in the end is the perspective it offers on Mehldau, whose playing here is, as always, intelligent, perhaps a bit cerebral, and now open as well to sonic exotica. ~ Robert L. Doerschuk

Product Details

Release Date:	06/16/2023
Label:	Nonesuch / Wea / Wea/Warner Jazz
UPC:	0075597904901
Rank:	39252

Tracks

Disc 1

1. When It Rains
2. You're Vibing Me
3. Dusty McNugget
4. Dropjes
5. Paranoid Android
6. Franklin Avenue

Disc 2

7. Sabbath
8. Dear Prudence
9. Free Willy
10. Alvarado
11. Wave/Mother Nature's Son
12. I Do

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Brad Mehldau   Primary Artist,Piano,Percussion,Vibraphone,Synthesizer Piano
Steve Kujala   Guest Artist,Flute
Jon Brion   Guest Artist,Guitar,Keyboards,Chamberlin,Percussion,Synthesizer,Prepared Piano,Guitar (Synthesizer)
Jim Keltner   Guest Artist,Drums,Percussion,Vibraphone,Drums (Snare),Prepared Piano
Earl Dumler   Oboe
Darek Oleszkiewicz   Bass (Acoustic)
Justin Meldal-Johnsen   Guitar (Bass),Bass (Electric)
Emilie A. Bernstein   Clarinet
William Frank "Bill" Reichenbach Jr.   Trombone
Victor Indrizzo   Drums,Percussion
Jonathan Clark   Oboe
Joseph Meyer   French Horn
Jorge Rossy   Drums,Percussion
Matt Chamberlain   Drums,Shaker,Percussion
George Thatcher   Trombone (Bass)
Daniel Kelley   French Horn
Rose Corrigan   Bassoon
Larry Grenadier   Bass,Double Bass,Bass (Acoustic)
Gary Gray   Clarinet
David Shostac   Flute
Phillip Yao   French Horn
Joe Meyer   French Horn
Jerry Folsom   French Horn
Emily Bernstein   Clarinet
Peter Mandell   Bassoon
Earle Dumler   Oboe
Jon Clark   Oboe
Kenneth Kugler   Trombone,Trombone (Bass)

Technical Credits

Jon Brion   Producer,Mixing,Composer,Musician,Mixing Engineer
Paul McCartney   Composer
Darek Oleszkiewicz   Composer
Justin Meldal-Johnsen   Composer
Colin Greenwood   Composer
Ed O'Brien   Composer
Greg Calbi   Remastering Engineer
Doug Sax   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Victor Indrizzo   Composer
John Lennon   Composer
Jorge Rossy   Composer
Matt Chamberlain   Composer
Phil Selway   Composer
Thom Yorke   Composer
Thomas Biller   Engineer,Recording
Steve Genewick   Assistant Engineer
Antonio Carlos Jobim   Composer
Larry Grenadier   Composer,Bass Effect Treatment
Jonny Greenwood   Composer
Robert Hadley   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Steve Fallone   Remastering Engineer
Tom Miller   Engineer
Brad Mehldau   Arranger,Composer,Piano Effects,Brass Arrangement,Woodwind Arrangement
Lawrence Azerrad   Design,Art Direction
Steve Mixdorf   Mixing Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Thomas Pasatieri   Orchestration
Edward O'Brien   Composer