46 Facts About Brad Mehldau

Bradford Alexander Mehldau is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.

Brad Mehldau was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's quartet in the mid-1990s, and has led his own trio since the early 1990s.

Since the early 2000s, Brad Mehldau has experimented with other musical formats in addition to trio and solo piano.

Brad Mehldau was born on August 23,1970, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Brad Mehldau's family moved to West Hartford, Connecticut, when Mehldau was 10.

Brad Mehldau described himself as being, up to this point, "a white, upper-middle-class kid who lived in a pretty homogenized environment".

Brad Mehldau studied under pianists Fred Hersch, Junior Mance and Kenny Werner, and drummer Jimmy Cobb.

In 1989, Brad Mehldau was a member of saxophonist Christopher Hollyday's band that toured for several months; as a result of playing so often with one group, Brad 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.

Brad Mehldau's first recording was for Hollyday's The Natural Moment in 1991; his first tour of Europe was with the saxophonist during the same year.

Brad Mehldau led his own trio from at least 1992, when he played at New York's Village Gate.

Brad Mehldau played as sideman with other musicians around this time.

Brad Mehldau formed his first long-term trio in 1994, with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy.

Brad Mehldau later stated: "Once I stopped using heroin, it was like a rush of creativity that had been held in check came out".

In 1996, Brad Mehldau made the first of several recordings with saxophonist Lee Konitz and bassist Charlie Haden.

Brad Mehldau became established on the international jazz festival scene in the mid- to late 1990s, having played at events such as the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1997, and the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1998.

That summer, Brad Mehldau spent a few months in Germany, developing his interest in its language, literature, and music.

Also in 1999, Brad Mehldau was pianist for two albums by saxophonist Charles Lloyd.

In 2001 Brad Mehldau expanded from playing on film soundtracks, which had included The Million Dollar Hotel and Space Cowboys, to scoring, with the French film Ma femme est une actrice.

Brad Mehldau first played with saxophonist Wayne Shorter that year, and recorded the Grammy Award-winning Alegria with him a couple of years later.

The results of two further days of recording in 2002 were split over two trio albums: Anything Goes, released in 2004, contained performances of compositions by others; the Brad Mehldau originals were released two years later on House on Hill.

That autumn, Brad Mehldau formed a quartet, with Mark Turner on saxophones, Grenadier on bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums.

In February 2005 Brad Mehldau performed in Hong Kong for the first time, with his new trio.

In 2006 Brad Mehldau played on saxophonist Michael Brecker's final album, Pilgrimage.

In March 2007 Mehldau first performed his piano concerto "The Brady Bunch Variations for Piano and Orchestra", with the Orchestre national d'Ile-de-France at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

In 2009 Brad Mehldau began a two-year period as curator of London's Wigmore Hall jazz series, which included a performance with von Otter in the second year.

In 2009 Brad Mehldau recorded Highway Rider, an album that combined his usual trio with guest musicians and a 28-piece orchestra.

Brad Mehldau's trio returned to the studio for the first time in several years in 2008 and again in 2011, resulting in Ode, an album of the pianist's originals, and Where Do You Start, an album of covers.

Brad Mehldau played and recorded piano duets with Kevin Hays.

In 2013 Brad Mehldau began touring with drummer Mark Guiliana as a synthesizer-oriented duo that was given the portmanteau name "Mehliana".

Jacob's Ladder, an album that explored the progressive rock musical influences of Brad Mehldau's youth, was recorded in 2020 and 2021 and released in 2022.

Brad Mehldau cites pianists Larry Goldings and Hays, as well as guitarist Bernstein as direct influences on his own playing, in addition to Jesse Davis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Sanchez, Mark Turner, and the other members of his own trio.

Brad Mehldau has stated that Hersch was his biggest influence as a player of solo piano.

Brad Mehldau has expressed an interest in, and knowledge of, philosophy and literature.

Brad Mehldau often plays a separate melody with each hand, and one of the central features of his music is the playing of improvised counterpoint.

Brad Mehldau developed this ability over a period of around a year, with the help of Rossy.

Brad Mehldau is able to reach tenth and eleventh intervals on the piano.

Brad Mehldau himself indicated that some of his compositions address a specific need, such as integrating a particular rhythm into his trio, while others emerge from something he has played while improvising.

Brad Mehldau is married to Dutch jazz vocalist Fleurine, with whom he has recorded and toured.

Brad Mehldau stated early in 2006 that family responsibilities meant that he was making shorter tours.

Brad Mehldau's combining of right- and left-hand playing, moving away from the more typical right-hand dominated playing, influenced pianists.

In 2013 Chinen stated that "Brad Mehldau is the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years".

Pianist Ethan Iverson, a contemporary of Brad Mehldau's, stated that Brad Mehldau was the principal influence on his peers, beginning in the late 1990s.

Brad Mehldau won DownBeats Readers Poll piano award in 1999,2000,2002,2004,2007,2011, and 2012.

Brad Mehldau was the 2006 winner of the Miles Davis Prize, awarded by the Montreal International Jazz Festival for "jazz artists who have made significant artistic and innovative contributions to the genre".

Brad Mehldau was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo on "Blame It on My Youth" from The Art of the Trio Volume One in 1998, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group for Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard in 2000, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group for Brad Mehldau Trio Live in 2009, Best Improvised Jazz Solo for the title track of Ode in 2013, and Best Improvised Jazz Solo for "Sleeping Giant" from Mehliana: Taming the Dragon in 2015.

Brad Mehldau received two further nominations at the end of 2016: for Best Improvised Jazz Solo on "I Concentrate on You" from Blues and Ballads; and for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for the duo album Nearness, with Redman.