Young man puts his twist on jazz.Byline: Fred Crafts The Register-Guard Give rising New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of piano star Brad Mehldau Brad Mehldau (born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist. Life Mehldau was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1970, grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut and graduated from Hall High School in 1988. a good tune and get the heck out of his way. "I choose a song because, first and foremost, I respond emotionally to it as a listener first, in whatever version I'm hearing it," Mehldau says. `But, of course, there's lots of songs like that. "It also has to resonate with me as an improviser. There has to be some material that I can dig into Verb 1. dig into - examine physically with or as if with a probe; "probe an anthill" poke into, probe penetrate, perforate - pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance; "The bullet penetrated her chest" and shape for my trio or for a solo performance. So not everything works. Often something more simple works best. I seem to favor simple forms often because you can do more with them." Mehldau is unafraid to dip into dip into Verb 1. to draw upon: he dipped into his savings 2. to read passages at random from (a book or journal) Verb 1. the pop-rock world for his material. Three times he has essayed Radiohead tunes: "Exit Music (For a Film)" on the CD "The Art of the Trio, Vol. 4: Back at the Vanguard," "Paranoid Android An open platform for cellphones from the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). Based on Linux, Android includes a library of Java classes for building mobile applications. Android and GPhone " on "Largo" and "Everything in Its Right Place" on "Anything Goes." "I've had success with the Beatles and several others, but that's just me," he says. "In jazz, it really rests on the creativity of the musician interpreting and improvising on the material. `It's often the case in a great jazz performance where the listener really forgets about the tune itself after a while. It's like a garment that gets tossed off." Finds time for film soundtracks A busy performer, Mehldau, 33, has released a series of albums since 1990. Besides working extensively with his trio, he has also served as a sideman side·man n. A member of a jazz band who is not the leader or a featured soloist. with Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is a prominent American Neo-bop jazz saxophonist who records for Nonesuch Records. Redman, who is both African American and Jewish American, was born in Berkeley, California, to the late jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman and his wife, Renee , Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (born August 6, 1937) is a jazz double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Haden is also known for his signature lyrical bass lines and is one of the most respected jazz bassists and jazz composers today. , Lee Konitz Lee Konitz (b. October 13, 1927) is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois. He has been noted to be one of the few alto saxophonists of his era to remain uninfluenced by Charlie Parker. , Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist, commonly regarded as one of the more important American jazz sax players and composers since the 1960s. , John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26 1951 in Dayton, Ohio)[1] is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who played and eventually collaborated with Miles Davis, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham, Medeski Martin & Wood, Dennis Chambers, George Duke and other important artists. and Charles Lloyd Charles Lloyd (March 15 1938-) is an American jazz musician. Though he primarily plays tenor saxophone and flute, he has also occasionally recorded on alto saxophone and more exotic reed instruments. , among others. As a composer, he has written soundtracks for Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut," Wim Wender's "Million Dollar Hotel" and the French film "My Wife Is an Actress." Currently, he is composing a work for voice and piano, commissioned by Carnegie Hall to be performed in the spring of 2005, with soprano Renee Fleming. On his latest release, "Anything Goes," Mehldau is all over the music map. With his partners, Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums - they will appear with him at the Shedd in Eugene on Tuesday as part of the Oregon Festival of American Music's Now Hear This series - he isn't afraid to go after Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" or Lerner and Loewe's "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face." Along the way, he encounters the vampish "Get Happy," Hoagy Carmichael's smooth "Nearness of You" and Henry Mancini's long-overlooked "Dreamsville." "Most tunes I play, I've known for a number of years," he says. "A lot of tunes, like `Dreamsville' and other Mancini tunes, more `jazz' tunes, I heard when I started working with singers in high school, and then more when I came to New York. ` `Dreamsville's' got a great Mancini feel. His harmony reminds me sometimes of Billy Strayhorn or Duke (Ellington), but a little more simple and sweet, more for a pop song." Although "Anything Goes" is long on covers of established tunes, Mehldau says that at the same session he recorded a number of original compositions that likely will be released in the future. "As a listener, it's maybe a little harder to get motivated to listen to a record full of originals," he says. "I like both. I like the process of finding an intersection between my own musical personality and a tune that already exists. `It's exciting and rewarding. I also like composing; it's more taxing, but rewarding in a different way." A brilliant improviser with dexterity to burn, Mehldau, no matter where his heart wanders, keeps the melody in mind. "I developed my own style from the culmination of all the music that I love the most," he says. `That happens over a period of time. Hopefully, the style stays malleable and open for change. "I've found that developing your own voice as a musician is like what the poet (Rainer Maria) Rilke calls 'gestation and birthing': you take something into yourself for a while, and it sits inside of you, developing, while you're quite unaware of that process. `Then that something is born in a creative act, and it's sort of a surprise or a revelation, like a birth." Fred Crafts can be reached at 338-2575 or fcrafts@guardnet.com. CONCERT PREVIEW Brad Mehldau Trio What: Pianist and his trio play selections from their CD "Anything Goes" When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday When: The Shedd, 285 E. Broadway How much: $12.50 to $28.50 through the Oregon Festival of American Music Oregon Festival of American Music is an eclectic, thematically-based two-week summer music festival that has been held annually in Eugene, Oregon since 1992. Produced by The John G. box office, 687-6526 CAPTION(S): Brad Mehldau, who brings his trio to the Shedd on Tuesday, is not afraid to mix things up, putting a jazz spin on songs by Radiohead and the Beatles. |
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