Blues and ballads

Description

New release from the Brad Mehldau trio, which hadn't published anything since 2012 with "Where Do You Start": The repertoire of this album is entirely dedicated to other composers, but obviously with a particular emphasis on blues and ballads. The album opens with a magnificent version, nearly 10 minutes long, of Buddy Johnson's blues "Since I Fell For You," which was created by his sister, Ella Johnson, in 1945. There have been multiple sung versions, from Dinah Washington to Nina Simone, but it has also led to some very inspired instrumental versions like those by Lee Morgan or Gene Ammons with Dexter Gordon. "Blues and Ballads" concludes in the same way with two long ballads, "And I Love Her," by Lennon and McCartney (of which we had a solo piano version in "10 Years Solo Live") and My Valentine by Paul McCartney. In between, Cole Porter, Charlie Parker, These Foolish Things, or Jon Brion, who produced the singular "Largo" by Brad Mehldau. The album was recorded at Avatar Studio in New York by James Farber in two stages: on December 10, 2012, for the four longest tracks, and on May 12, 2014, for the other three.