BRAD MEHLDAU - Largo (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

In the most enigmatic project up to this point in his career, Brad Mehldau explores conflicting aesthetics, sometimes in tracks positioned next to each other, and occasionally within the confines of a single performance. A spare simplicity governs much of the album, emphasized by almost puritanical horn arrangements -- long notes, mournful triadic chords. After acknowledging these episodes with childlike figurations on the piano, Mehldau then builds his solos along more dissonant lines, which invariably end up enhancing the mood. But then there are tracks like "Dropjes," whose electronic effects gnash angrily at the piano, or "Free Willy," on which putty attached to the instrument's low strings allows Mehldau to unleash a feral improvisation, with lines that suggest scurrying rodents more than bebop blowing. Producer Jon Brion stimulated much of this adventurism, at times diving directly into the mix with his guitar synth or Chamberlin keyboard. But what intrigues most about Largo in the end is the perspective it offers on Mehldau, whose playing here is, as always, intelligent, perhaps a bit cerebral, and now open as well to sonic exotica. by Robert L. Doerschuk  

Tracklist:

1 When It Rains 6:36

Bassoon – Peter Mandell, Rose Corrigan

Clarinet – Emile Bernstein, Gary Gray

Drums – Matt Chamberlain

Flute – David Shostac, Steve Kujala

Oboe – Earle Dumler, Jon Clark

Piano – Brad Mehldau

Acoustic Bass – Larry Grenadier

2 You're Vibing Me 3:28

Acoustic Bass [Left] – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

Acoustic Bass [Right] – Larry Grenadier

Drums – Jim Keltner, Jorge Rossy

Piano, Vibraphone – Brad Mehldau

Shaker – Matt Chamberlain

3 Dusty Mcnugget 5:43

Acoustic Bass – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

Bass Trombone – George B. Thatcher

Drums – Matt Chamberlain

French Horn – Daniel Kelley, Philip Yao

Piano – Brad Mehldau, Brad Mehldau

Snare [Brush] – Jim Keltner

Trombone – William Reichenbach

4 Dropjes 3:58

Jon Brion / Matt Chamberlain / Brad Mehldau / Justin Meldal-Johnsen / Darek Oleszkiewicz

Acoustic Bass – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

Drums, Percussion – Matt Chamberlain, Victor Indrizzo

Electric Bass – Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Guitar [Treatments] – Jon Brion

Piano – Brad Mehldau

5 Paranoid Android 9:05

Colin Greenwood / Phil Selway / Thom Yorke

Acoustic Bass – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

Bass Trombone – Kenneth Kugler

Drums – Jim Keltner, Matt Chamberlain

French Horn – Jerry Folsom, Joseph Meyer

Percussion [Piano Prepared] – Jon Brion

Piano [With Putty Treatment In Lower Two Octaves] – Brad Mehldau

Trombone – William Reichenbach

6 Franklin Avenue 3:42

Acoustic Bass – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

Bass Trombone – George B. Thatcher

Drums – Matt Chamberlain

French Horn – Daniel Kelley, Philip Yao

Piano – Brad Mehldau

Trombone – William Reichenbach

Vibraphone – Jim Keltner

7 Sabbath 4:42

Piano [Distorto Piano Through Leslie With Whammy Pedal] – Brad Mehldau

8 Dear Prudence 5:22

John Lennon / Paul McCartney

Acoustic Bass – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

Drums – Jim Keltner

Piano – Brad Mehldau

Shaker, Percussion – Matt Chamberlain

9 Free Willy 5:05

Matt Chamberlain / Larry Grenadier / Brad Mehldau / Jorge Rossy

Bass [Treated] – Larry Grenadier

Drums, Percussion – Jorge Rossy, Matt Chamberlain

Piano [With Putty Treatment In Lower Two Octaves] – Brad Mehldau

10 Alvarado 4:00

Acoustic Bass – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

 Drums, Percussion – Victor Indrizzo

Electric Bass – Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Percussion [Piano Prepared] – Jim Keltner

Piano – Brad Mehldau 

Tabla – Matt Chamberlain

11 Medley 6:28

Antônio Carlos Jobim / John Lennon / Paul McCartney

Acoustic Bass – Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz

Drums – Matt Chamberlain, Victor Indrizzo

Electric Bass – Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Guitar [Synthesizer] – Jon Brion

Vibraphone – Brad Mehldau

12 I Do 7:17 

Bassoon – Peter Mandell, Rose Corrigan

Clarinet – Emile Bernstein, Gary Gray 

Flute – David Shostac, Steve Kujala

Oboe – Earle Dumler, Jon Clark

Piano – Brad Mehldau

Credits:

Written-By, Arranged By [Woodwind And Brass Arrangements] – Brad Mehldau