StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: A Brad Mehldau sampler

With pianist Brad Mehldau bringing his trio back to Jazz at the Bistro
this Wednesday and Thursday, it seems an opportune time to offer some video footage of him, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard in action.

One of the more heavily hyped jazz players of his generation, the 40-year-old Mehldau currently is enjoying a new round of critical acclaim for his two most recent recordings, 2010's trio-plus-orchestra outing Highway Rider, and the just released solo piano set Live at Marciac. Though he's been involved in various musical projects since his last St. Louis appearance in 2008, Mehldau has continued to return to the trio format, and more specifically his longtime collaborators Grenadier and Ballard, on a regular basis.

Up above, you can hear them perform Thelonious Monk's "We See," pushing the tempo to give the piece a different feel from Monk's version. Down below, there's a clip of Radiohead's "Knives Out," which has become something of a staple of Mehldau's repertoire since the trio recorded it on the 2005 CD Day Is Done. Below that, they tackle the standard "All The Things You Are," with an extended solo intro by Mehldau, in a performance shown in two parts. Finally, you can get a taste of Mehldau's solo playing with a version of the Massive Attack song "Teardrop" recorded last year at the Jazz á Vienne festival.