Blues and Ballads

Blues and Ballads
Studio album by Brad Mehldau
Released June 3, 2016
Recorded December 10, 2012; May 12, 2014
Genre Jazz
Length 55:24
Label Nonesuch
Producer Brad Mehldau
Brad Mehldau chronology
10 Years Solo Live
(2004–14)		 Blues and Ballads
(2012–14)		 Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau
(2015–16)

Blues and Ballads is a studio album by jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. It is a piano trio recording, with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums. Mehldau received a Grammy nomination at the end of 2016 for Best Improvised Jazz Solo on the album's "I Concentrate on You".[1][2]

Background

The previous release by the trio of Brad Mehldau (piano), Larry Grenadier (bass), and Jeff Ballard (drums) was Where Do You Start, in 2012.[3]

Music and recording

All seven of the tracks are covers.[3] The album was recorded at Avatar Studios, New York City, on December 10, 2012, and May 12, 2014.[4]

Reception

The Financial Times reviewer commented that "Each track is a beautifully crafted, richly detailed miniature with its own tale to tell."[5] Peter Hum of Ottawa Citizen wrote: "for those who think Mehldau’s music can be too formidable for their tastes, Blues and Ballads should be a more straightforward but still deeply satisfying delight, as it will be for his legions of devotees".[6]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Australian[9]
The Buffalo News[10]
Down Beat[11]
Financial Times[5]
The Guardian[12]
PopMatters8/10[13]
The Times[14]

Track listing

  1. "Since I Fell for You" (Buddy Johnson)
  2. "I Concentrate on You" (Cole Porter)
  3. "Little Person" (Jon Brion)
  4. "Cheryl" (Charlie Parker)
  5. "These Foolish Things" (Jack Strachey)
  6. "And I Love Her" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
  7. "My Valentine" (McCartney)

Source:[3]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15] 43
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] 58
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 78
Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 64
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[19] 26
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[20] 68
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 88
US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[22] 2

References

  1. ↑ "59th Annual Grammy Awards – Winners & Nominees". grammy.com. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Nonesuch Artists Earn Six Grammy Award Nominations". (December 6, 2016) Nonesuch Records.
  3. 1 2 3 JazzTimes (March 22, 2016) "Brad Mehldau Trio to Release 'Blues and Ballads' June 3". JazzTimes.
  4. ↑ "Blues and Ballads". bradmehldau.com. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Hobart, Mike (June 3, 2016) "Brad Mehldau Trio: Blues and Ballads – Review". Financial Times.
  6. ↑ Peter, Hum (3 June 2016). "Brad Mehldau Trio CD reviewed". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "Blues and Ballads by Brad Mehldau Trio". Metacritic. metacritic.com. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Collar, Matt. "Brad Mehldau Trio / Brad Mehldau Blues and Ballads". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  9. ↑ McBeath, John (October 1, 2016). "Reviews: Bon Iver; Billy Bragg; Nicolas Jaar; Brad Mehldau; Melbourne Ska Orchestra". The Australian. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  10. ↑ Simon, Jeff (June 1, 2016) "Listening Post: New Piano Trio Music by Brad Mehldau and a Disc of Marian McPartland, the Composer". The Buffalo News.
  11. ↑ de Barros, Paul (July 2016) "Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads". Down Beat. p. 43.
  12. ↑ Gelly, Dave (June 5, 2016) "Brad Mehldau Trio: Blues and Ballads Review – Extraordinarily Inventive". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ LAYMAN, WILL (12 July 2016). "Brad Mehldau Trio: Blues and Ballads". PopMatters. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  14. ↑ Pearson, Chris (May 27, 2016) "Jazz: The Brad Mehldau Trio: Blues and Ballads". The Times.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Brad Mehldau Trio – Blues and Ballads". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Brad Mehldau Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
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