House On Hill
Nonesuch Records

by: John Ferrara

House On Hill Personnel:  Brad Mehldau: piano, Larry Grenadier: bass, Jorge Rossy: drums Tracks:1. August Ending 2. House On Hill 3. Realtine 4. Boomer 5. Backyard 6. Fear and Trembling 7. Embers 8. Happy Tune  9. Waiting For Eden

Brad Mehldau

House On Hill

There is an elite list in the world of jazz piano -- Bill Evans, Art Tatum, George Shearing, Oscar Peterson, Fats Waller, Keith Jarrett, Wynton Kelly, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and of course more. It is a relatively short list compared to the pianists who have come and gone throughout the years -- most of them are not on the elite list. I add Brad Mehldau to that special list. Favorable hyperbole is not wasted on this great musician.

For those critics who have mindlessly tried to compare Brad’s trio to the Bill Evans’ Trio, they do not seem to possess any true appreciation or recognition of what Mr. Mehldau’s style comprises and what it does not. To echo Brad’s response to those critics, the only thing that the Bill Evans Trio and Brad’s trio have in common is that they both consist of piano, bass and drums. This of course is not a slight to Bill Evans -- he was and still is one of my main influences -- but rather a repudiation of the comparison game that critics seem to like to play: if you don’t understand it or recognize a style, just randomly compare it to someone else for convenience.

To date, I have been a working jazz pianist for well over forty years, and I have never stopped the learning process – there is hardly a day go by that I don’t practice or try something new in my playing. To me, the most important criteria in evaluating a pianist or musician is whether I can learn something from their performance. Such is the case with Brad Mehldau – such was the case with Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and others from that elite list; they all contributed to my style. Brad and I come from different eras, and he is over twenty years my junior, but I have already been influenced by his mastery. His left hand sounds like it could be his right hand – there is absolute independence between them as well. Bill Evans used the left hand internally and contrapuntally, but not to the extent that Mr. Mehldau has developed the technique. My jaw dropped down to my knees the first time I heard him, and I am still astonished by his phenomenal mastery of the piano keyboard, and so musical as well -- his compositions are beautiful works.

All of the selections are Brad’s compositions. The first track,“August Ending”, has the right hand playing a constant eighth note pattern (A to Bb above middle C) and the left hand belatedly entering with a contrapuntal melodic fragment built upon the guide tone resolution of b7 to 3. A third part in the right hand is overdubbed to impart a fugue feel. The progression starts with G-7 C7 and eventually F-7 Bb7 which on the surface is common enough but with the three parts, the rhythmic grouping of 2 and 6, and the bass and drums providing an understated backdrop, it generates a haunting quality. Mr. Mehldau builds nicely with a powerful improvisation. This piece illustrates the pianist’s compositional philosophy of keeping the structure contrapuntal, albeit not overtly, but yielding a harmonic pattern in the completed result. His main hero in this regard is, not surprisingly, Brahms, and in the liner notes, Brad analyses a clarinet quintet by the composer to illustrate the melodic independence of the parts which bring forth the harmonic progression in a horizontal manner rather than simply utilizing a vertical structure to achieve chordal sound. Regarding the liner notes, they could serve as the basis of a syllabus for a jazz composition course – they provide a detailed distillation of Mr. Mehldau’s creative concepts.

The title track, “House on Hill” has a jazz rock feel which starts with a nod to A Lydian and delicately moves to D mixolydian and other tonalities with musical subtlety; Brad displays improvisational probing with incisive and lyrical lines with the undercurrent of a contrapuntal left hand. “Realtine” contrasts in 6/8 with an Ab minor tonality. The beauty of the trio interplay shines through nicely here with the underpinning of Larry Grenadier and Jorge Rossy; Larry takes a first rate bass solo here.

“Boomer”, a foray into 7/4 for the trio, has the pianist displaying his magnificent independence between left and right hands as well as a harmonically rich composition in A major that shows his partiality to the Brahms influence of changing harmonies via single internal lines; an excerpt of the piece is included in the liner notes. Of special note also is Mr. Rossy’s forceful yet restrained drum work which melds with the bass and piano in seamless and selfless accompaniment.

“Backyard” is a poignant melodic piece that moves through tonalities effortlessly. “Fear and Trembling” has Brad playing some flawless double time runs in the right hand with the understated rhythm section providing a delicate cushion. “Embers” springs from an F# minor /D minor pattern and germinates into full flower with budding tonal changes; here again the 6/8 time signature provides a nice vehicle for the trio – listen for Mr. Grenadier’s incisive solo.

An ostinato pattern by the pianist’s left hand and the bassist provide the foundation for “Happy Tune”, a composition based in B major that is rendered in the 7/4 time signature which has become a familiar rhythmic pattern for the trio since its inception – rarely does one hear a group perform odd time signatures so effortlessly.

The closing track “Waiting for Eden” has an elegant melodic theme which slightly borders on a tone row sound. The trio swings underneath the probing melody and brilliant improvisation of Mr. Mehldau.

There is an abundance of great music on this CD. One could listen to it many times and still not completely penetrate the layers of compositional and improvisational inventiveness. Brad Mehldau is a pianist who will always challenge the listener with his musical conception. My hat is humbly off to him.

John Ferrara

November 2006