It's alright with me

Yes! Brad Mehldau, the intensely charismatic frontman for Atlanta, Georgia rock quartet The Bukowskis, is putting out a solo album next month. Mehldau’s powerhouse rasp and dynamo stage presence have been compared to Rob Thomas, Bono, Michael Stipe, and Gord Downie.

I just made that up by looking at the photo. But you believed me, didn’t you?

Brad Mehldau is a jazz pianist and composer. I first heard him on Jazz FM; the radio was playing in the background while I read a book, and when he began playing “It’s Alright With Me” my jaw dropped. I had to put the book down.

I sat there for a good 10 minutes (his interpretation on Live at the Village Vanguard runs about 12 minutes, actually) with my mouth open, swearing occasionally with disbelief. Within a month I had a ticket to his solo gig at the Glenn Gould studio and four CDs: Anything Goes, Live at the Village Vanguard, Back at the Vanguard, and Live in Tokyo. I've since added Day is Done, and House on Hill is on my to-buy list.

Many jazz pianists play chords with their left hand, and noodle with their right. Mehldau noodles with both. I love how he takes a standard (anything from Porter to Radiohead to Thelonious Monk) and runs with it, and just when you think he’s gone too far he manages to bring it back round again. His playing is cerebral yet romantic: the precision of a Bach fugue with a sensitive touch. He's Art Tatum without the whimsy, although he still retains his humour.

And I like the expressive way he hunches over the piano. It reminds me of the way I used to play during my misspent youth. He's a pianist's pianist. (There's a naughty joke in there somewhere.)

What blows my mind the most, though, is the tattoo. It’s a big tattoo. On his arm. That thing must’ve taken weeks to heal. Playing piano must have hurt like billio. It just seems a risky and masochistic thing to do for a guy whose upper body is his livelihood.

Anyhow, he rolls into town with Pat Metheny on April 9 and you bet your britches I've got tickets already. I'm not that crazy about Metheny, but any excuse to see Brad Mehldau play again will do.

Brad Mehldau website
Radiohead's "Exit Music" on YouTube

Part 1 and Part 2 of an interview with Mehldau and Metheny on YouTube. What a couple of scruffy-looking dudes. And check out that dragon tattoo.