I am very excited because toward the end of the month Brad Mehldau's trio will be releasing a new record "Anything Goes" that contains many songs he performed the last time I saw them play. It has Radiohead's "Everything In It's Right Place"...which was just amazing when done by this trio...Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years"...a beautiful ballad...and the gorgeous "Tres Palabras" a song I first heard on Charlie Haden's "Nocturne" record. Which by the way, is a wonderful record as well.
Jazz is what I most prefer to listen to these days and where it seems to me the most amazing music continues to be made. It's done virtually in the dark too...without all the hype and "nipple exposing madness" (not that I have anything at all against exposing nipples) of what's left of the pop/rock genre. I'm not sure exposed nipples would sell more jazz records.
Anyway, we are living in a moment where two brilliant piano trios are roaming the planet performing and releasing records that really will be considered (or should be anyway...ok they will be) some of the greatest music of our time. If you pass up a chance to hear this stuff because it doesn't fit in with your personal tastes, that's fine I guess, but you really are missing something special. All the words we could cobble together to describe music would fall short of being able to convey what this stuff is about. You just have to hear it. The two trios are Brad Mehldau's trio (Larry Grenadier-bass, Jorge Rossy-drums) and Keith Jarrett's trio ( Gary Peacock-bass, Jack DeJohnette-drums).
It's all about muscians listening to eachother, reacting, playing off one another and seeing where the music takes them...and of course in the end where it takes you.
So, I know not everyone's into jazz here but this really is great stuff. I've heard one song so far off the new Mehldau record, "Get Happy", which you can find on the net. I would suggest any of the Mehldau records if you're looking to pick one up..."Progression-Volume 5" in the Art of the Trio series is probably my favorite at the moment and I actually wore out my original copy...didn't think that was possible with a cd but it is.
If you want to check out Jarrett try these:
"Whisper Not"
"Inside Out"
"Up For It"
These are three amazing records that show that Jarrett and his trio, although they've all been around a long time, are at the top of their game.
