Brad Meldor Trio in Japan 2019 Trio Concert
Bradford Alexander Mehldau (/ˈmɛlˌdaʊ/; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quartet with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade in the mid-1990s, and has led his own trio since the early 1990s. His first long-term trio featured bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy; in 2005 Jeff Ballard replaced Rossy. These bands have released a dozen albums under the pianist's name.
Since the early 2000s Mehldau has experimented with other musical formats in addition to trio and solo piano. Largo, released in 2002, contains electronics and input from rock and classical musicians; later examples include touring and recording with guitarist Pat Metheny, writing and playing song cycles for classical singers Renée Fleming and Anne Sofie von Otter, composing orchestral pieces for 2009's Highway Rider, and playing electronic keyboard instruments in a duo with drummer Mark Guiliana.
Aspects of pop, rock, and classical music, including German Romanticism, have been absorbed into Mehldau's writing and playing. Through his use of some traditional elements of jazz without being restricted by them, simultaneous playing of different melodies in separate hands, and incorporation of pop and rock pieces, Mehldau has influenced musicians in and beyond jazz in their approaches to writing, playing, and choice of repertoire.
Mehldau was born on August 23, 1970, in Jacksonville, Florida.[1] His father, Craig Mehldau, was an ophthalmologist,[3] and his mother, Annette, was a homemaker. His sister, Leigh Anne, became a social worker. There was always a piano in the house during Mehldau's childhood, and he initially listened to pop and rock music on the radio.His family moved to West Hartford, Connecticut, when Mehldau was 10. Up to this point he had played mostly simple pop tunes and exercises from books, but the move brought him a new piano teacher, who introduced him to classical music.This new interest lasted for a few years, but by the age of 14 he was listening more to jazz, including recordings by saxophonist John Coltrane and pianist Oscar Peterson.Keith Jarrett's Bremen/Lausanne helped Mehldau realize the potential of the piano as an instrument.
Mehldau attended William H. Hall High School and played in its concert jazz band.[8] From the age of 15 until he graduated from high school he had a weekly gig at a local club, and performed for weddings and other parties, often with fellow Hall student Joel Frahm.[9] In his junior year at the school Mehldau won Berklee College's Best All Round Musician Award for school students.[10] Mehldau described himself as being, up to this point, "a white, upper-middle-class kid who lived in a pretty homogenized environment".
After graduating, Mehldau moved to New York City in 1988 to study jazz and contemporary music at The New School.He studied under pianists Fred Hersch, Junior Mance and Kenny Werner, and drummer Jimmy Cobb. In 1989 Mehldau was part of saxophonist Christopher Hollyday's band that toured for several months; as a result of playing so often with one group, Mehldau was able to assimilate the music of Wynton Kelly and McCoy Tyner, his two principal influences on piano up to that point, and began to develop his own sound. Before the age of 20 Mehldau also had gigs in Cobb's band, along with fellow student Peter Bernstein on guitar.
TRIO CONCERT DANCE
Performed:
April 2015: Italy
March 2016: The Joyce Theatre, New York
November 2016: Chile Teatro del Lago
December 2017: Cannes Festival de Danse
Trio Concertdance is an innovative performance program conceived by the world-renowned dancers Alessandra Ferri and Herman Cornejo, and the internationally acclaimed pianist Bruce Levingston, known for his singular interpretations of contemporary music. All three artists bring their prodigious talent and ongoing interest in sharing their performing and artistic experience in a new way.
The program features commissioned work by three of the most exciting choreographers on the scene today: Russell Maliphant, resident artist of Sadler's Well Theatre in London; Demis Volpi, resident choreographer of the Stuttgart Ballet; and the beautifully original Fang-Yi Sheu of Taiwan. In addition they will perform work by Alexei Ratmansky and Angelin Prejlocaj. The piece is a journey through the musical world of Ligeti, Bach, Mozart, Scarlatti, and Glass.
Master lighting designer Clifton Taylor joins the artistic team with his vision to the development of the evening.
An evening-length production, Trio Concertdance will be well suited for touring a range of international venues.
Trio ConcertDance is coproduced by AF DANCE LLC, The Joyce Theater's Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New Work, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, Natalia and Veronica Bulgari .
Freed of London is the Official Pointe Shoe Sponsor .
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Herman Cornejo was born in Argentina. He began his ballet studies in Buenos Aires at Teatro Colon's Instituto Superior de Arte and continued his studies at the School of American Ballet in New York. In 1997 he won the Gold Medal at the VIII International Dance Competition in Moscow. Mr. Cornejo has performed with Julio Bocca's Ballet Argentino and has appeared as a Guest Artist with New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Cuban Contemporary Dance Company, Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Barcelona Ballet, Ballett Dortmund and at numerous galas around the world. In 1999, he joined American Ballet Theater and was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2003. Mr. Cornejo has received multiple nominations, awards and distinctions, among them Peace Messenger from UNESCO; Dancer of the Year by The New York Times; a Latin idol by Hispanic magazine; Benois de la Danse Prize in 2014; the Mr. Expressivity prize at the Dance Opera Festival in St Peterrsburg in 2010 and 2013; Argentinian Pride Award by the Argentinian Performance League in 2013 in New York. Mr. Cornejo is internationally considered one of today's best dancers.
Bruce Levingston is one of the leading figures in contemporary music. Many of the world's most important composers have written works for him and his Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center performances of their works have won notable critical acclaim. The New York Times calls him "one of today's most adventurous musicians."
Levingston's recordings have also been extremely successful. Still Sound was named Record-of-the-Month by MusicWeb International which called his playing "sublime."
Levingston has appeared in concerts and music festivals throughout the world and his performances have been broadcast internationally on radio, internet and television. Noted for his creative programming, he has collaborated with some of the most gifted artists of our time. Levingston is founder of Premiere Commission, a foundation that has commissioned and premiered over fifty new works.
Bradford Alexander "Brad" Mehldau ( ; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quartet with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade in the mid-1990s, and has led his own trio since the early 1990s. His first long-term trio featured bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy; in 2005 Jeff Ballard replaced Rossy. These bands have released a dozen albums under the pianist's name.
Since the early 2000s Mehldau has experimented with other musical formats in addition to trio and solo piano. Largo, released in 2002, contains electronics and input from rock and classical musicians; later examples include touring and recording with guitarist Pat Metheny, writing and playing song cycles for classical singers Renée Fleming and Anne Sofie von Otter, composing orchestral pieces for 2009's Highway Rider, and playing electronic keyboard instruments in a duo with drummer Mark Guiliana.
Aspects of pop, rock, and classical music, including German Romanticism, have been absorbed into Mehldau's writing and playing. Through his use of some traditional elements of jazz without being restricted by them, simultaneous playing of different melodies in separate hands, and incorporation of pop and rock pieces, Mehldau has influenced musicians in and beyond jazz in their approaches to writing, playing, and choice of repertoire.
Mehldau was born on August 23, 1970, in Jacksonville, Florida. His father, Craig Mehldau, was an ophthalmologist, and his mother, Annette, was a homemaker. His sister, Leigh Anne, became a social worker. There was always a piano in the house during Mehldau's childhood, and he initially listened to pop and rock music on the radio. His family moved to West Hartford, Connecticut, when Mehldau was 10. Up to this point he had played mostly simple pop tunes and exercises from books, but the move brought him a new piano teacher, who introduced him to classical music. This new interest lasted for a few years, but by the age of 14 he was listening more to jazz, including recordings by saxophonist John Coltrane and pianist Oscar Peterson. Keith Jarrett's Bremen/Lausanne helped Mehldau realize the potential of the piano as an instrument.
Jeff Ballard is an American jazz drummer from Santa Cruz, California. He has played with Ray Charles and Pat Metheny and plays periodically with Chick Corea in many groups such as Origin and the Chick Corea New Trio. He also played with many New York-based jazz musicians such as Reid Anderson, Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Miguel Zenon and Eli Degibri. He has also played with the Joshua Redman Elastic Band.
He is a member of the Brad Mehldau Trio (since 2005) and co-leader of Fly, a collective trio with Mark Turner and Larry Grenadier and leads Jeff Ballard Trio and Jeff Ballard Fairgrounds.
Jeff Ballard was born 17 September 1963 in southern California but grew up and studied in Santa Cruz, California.[1] He began playing drums at the age of 14, attended Cabrillo College where he studied music theory, and toured with many bands, all the time absorbing influences and developing his own approach to drumming. He met Larry Grenadier in 1982, with whom he plays in both Fly and Brad Mehldau Trio. At the age of 24 he went on the road with Ray Charles for eight months every year 1988-1990 playing in Charles' Big Band.[1] He moved to New York in 1990, where he started collaborating with Ben Monder, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner and Ben Allison. Later on in New York he started to play with Avishai Cohen and Chick Corea.Ballard started the band Fly with Larry Grenadier and Mark Turner around the time Ballard was working with Corea.[1] Brad Mehldau invited Ballard to play in his trio in 2005, with whom he has played ever since.[5] He formed the Jeff Ballard Trio with Lionel Loueke and Miguel Zenon, releasing Time’s Tales (Okeh) as the recording debut for Ballard as leader in 2014. His second album as leader is Fairgrounds (Edition Records) released January 2019 with Lionel Loueke, Kevin Hays and Reid Anderson with guest appearances from Mark Turner and Chris Cheek
Discography
As a leader or co-leader
Fairgrounds (Edition Records, 2019)
With Jeff Ballard Trio including Lionel Loueke & Miguel Zenón
Time's Tales (OKeh, 2014)
With Fly including Mark Turner & Larry Grenadier
Fly (Savoy Jazz, 2004)
Sky & Country (ECM, 2009)
Year of the Snake (ECM, 2012)
Musical show