Brad Mehldau-Introducing Brad Mehldau

This album, Brad Mehldau’s first as a leader, and first for Warner Brothers Records, is a wonderful introduction to the swinging, spacial interpretations Mehldau places on well known standards and several, highly touted originals. As to the latter, Angst and Young Werther show off his fine sense of harmonic styling and creative improvisational style. The rhythm section is formidable, with his future trio accompanyists of Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums supplanted on several tracks by Christian McBride and Brian Blade. Recorded in the spring of 1995 on two separate dates (March 13th and April 3rd), the resulting product is a pleasant mix of post bop creativity that speaks to a bright future for Mehldau. Were I to suggest a starter album for the uninitiated, I would suggest going straight to the live Village Vanguard sessions contained within the Art of the Trio series. Mehldau in the studio is beautiful. Mehldau recorded live is an artistic epiphany for the serious listener.