Brad Mehldau & Ian Bostridge Present: The Folly of Desire
Brad Mehldau presents The Folly of Desire, a song cycle inquiring the limits of sexual freedom in a post-#MeToo political age, together with tenor Ian Bostridge, one of the greatest song interpreters of our times. Setting poetry by Blake, Yeats, Shakespeare, Brecht, Goethe, Auden and Cummings, Mehldau’s music shifts seamlessly between a jazz idiom and Classical art song, and the work explores a theme as timeless as it is topical. The stylistic diversity of this project is underlined by adding a selection of jazz standards, as well as a Schubert lied.
Click the button below for more information, buy/stream the album, and get a free sheet music download for “the boys i mean are not refined”:
Formation
Building a Personal Canon, Part I
By Brad Mehldau
The book creates a vibrantly-written portrait of the jazz world in New York in the late 1980s and early 1990s, showing how a generation of musicians met and sparked off one another to take the music in new directions, drawing on a wealth of influences but also keeping sight of tradition, including those rooted in both the jazz and classical worlds. The atmosphere of the clubs, the creative scene in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and Brad’s early experiences of touring are brilliantly brought to life. The formation of the “Mood Swing” quartet with Joshua Redman is described, as is the growth of Brad’s own groups, leading to his acclaimed Art of the Trio series of recordings with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy. The trio’s later life with Jeff Ballard joining in place of Rossy; Brad’s solo ventures; and his explorations of other areas of music, are also covered.
This is incredible writing. It’s loose, specific and sharp as a knife. Brad writes words like he plays piano – with delicate strength and a gift for accessing memories and turning them into thick emotions. I feel lucky to be around while Brad is here with us. He seems to have access to wells of memories and emotions that few people do. I love his writing as much as I love his music. It’s hard to go backwards and access memories like Brad does here. They are dark, funny, inspiring and moving. Its details are what makes it special – the kind of things that only happen when you open yourself.
Paul Thomas Anderson
Brad Mehldau is our jazz generation’s Conjurer-In-Chief. His music is nothing short of magic — an impossible wonder of ecstatic and empathic creative communion, to which I myself have borne witness, time and time again. Now, in this probing and provocative memoir, Brad finally shares with us some of the secrets (or at least the stories) behind the casting of his innumerable spells. A worthy read for anyone intrigued by the genesis of genius.
Joshua Redman
An eloquent, sometimes jarring, often riveting, mix of erudition and self-revelation.
Mojo
For translation and film/television rights inquiries, please contact The Kepner Agency.
Largo Vinyl Reissue
My 2002 album ‘Largo,’ which turned 20 last year, gets its first-ever vinyl release. You can buy the double-LP vinyl edition now by clicking the button below.
The album, produced by Jon Brion, features both original and borrowed tunes, including Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” and The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence.” I play piano, synths, and vibes, and am joined by Larry Grenadier, Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz, and Justin Meldal-Johnson on bass; Matt Chamberlain, Jorge Rossy, and Jim Keltner on drums; Victor Indrizzo on drums and percussion; and Jon Brion on guitar, guitar synth, and piano percussion.
