An eight-LP box set of solo piano — you may well be reminded of the vinyl outpourings of Keith Jarrett’s heyday, in style and ambition. Here again is the dense counterpoint, that rolling left hand and a recital room seriousness far removed from the late-night jazz joint. Mehldau’s music shares Jarrett-esque moments of dazzling spontaneous invention; and, yes, a few of Jarrett’s longueurs too.
However, there are important differences as well in these 300 minutes of music culled from live recordings over ten years (which will also be available on four CDs next month). Most obviously, Mehldau is inspired by newer music than classic show tunes — he refashions Jeff Buckley’s Dream Brother, Radiohead’s Knives Out (twice) and material as seemingly unpromising as Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and Pink Floyd’s Hey You. His playing has less blues and more classical rigour than Jarrett — very rarely does he come out swinging. Twice he plays Brahms intermezzos faithfully.
At his best, Mehldau is outstanding — his tender yet wonderfully imaginative take on Paul McCartney’s Blackbird; the chiming chords of Bittersweet Symphony that build with an orchestral intensity. Sometimes his methods overwhelm the material. His Chopin-meets-Brian Wilson exploration of God Only Knows sounds thoroughly overwrought, the fragile little tune buffeted by grandiloquent chords over 16 long minutes. Far better are the 12 minutes he spends conjuring a whirling dance around Get Happy.
The best jazz pianist on the road today? Mehldau’s conservatoire virtuosity is just too precious for some — but this set puts a strong case. (Nonesuch)