Two years after Largo , pianist Brad Mehldau returns to more familiar territory with Anything Goes , his first studio trio recording in four years. Familiar it may be—as he reconvenes his empathetic relationship with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy—but safe it is not.
On a programme surprisingly devoid of original material, Mehldau still manages to take a number of worn chestnuts and reinvigorate them by liberally reworking their structures. "Get Happy" is played in 7/4, and while the melody is discernable, that's the only thing that is recognizable. Mehldau and the trio use it as a starting point for individual and collective improvisations that set the tone for the rest of the album. Mehldau has never sounded better and for the first time there is the sense that, while his technical skills are clearly evident, he seems more relaxed, focusing with complete intent on the music and very little on his virtuoso abilities.
Group interplay has always been key for this group; Grenadier and Rossy have always been far more than mere accompanists, but as the group visits Radiohead territory once again for "Everything In Its Right Place," there is a sense of growth in their ability to communicate. While the tune is little more than a vamp, they manage to create subtle rhythmic shifts, implied pulses and dynamic variations that keep it completely engrossing for nearly seven minutes.
The general philosophy seems to be the more familiar the tune, the more generous the reinvention. "Anything Goes" is reworked into a 5/4 signature, with the harmonic re-imagining so great that the you have to work to find the structure of the original song. And it is Grenadier who introduces the theme of "Smile" over a 6/8 piano motif and percussion so light that Rossy almost seems to be breathing on his kit. On the other hand, "Dreamsville" and the light bossa of "Tres Palabras" are played fairly straight, as Grenadier and Rossy come the closest to being a traditional rhythm section. Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" is also played fairly straight up, at least at first. Mehldau manages to capture the essence of the tune while, at the same time, eschewing the more overtly gospel changes of the verse, then using the bridge as a jumping-off point for more extended group improvisation.
Together for over eight years, Mehldau and his trio stand as one of the longest-lasting groups in jazz today, and they just keep getting better; they have long left the ranks of the imitative, and developed a personal vernacular. But with Anything Goes , they take things to a new level of interplay and invention; and while it is hard to top the trio's outstanding live recordings, this record definitely stands as their best studio effort. - John Kellman
Ironically, Anything Goes would have been a more fitting title for pianist Brad Mehldau's previous effort, the idiosyncratic and experimental Largo. Completely eschewing the electronic flourishes and horn sections that characterized the 2002 Jon Brion-produced album as Mehldau's most adventurous release up to that point, Anything Goes is actually a return to a more traditional approach. Featuring his longtime sidemen bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy, Mehldau has crafted a thoughtful and pretty standards-based album. Classics including the title track and "Get Happy" are artfully deconstructed in a style that calls to mind a deft blending of Mehldau's most obvious touchstones, Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans. Similarly, "The Nearness of You" and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" are masterpieces of impressionism that veritably weep with the plangent yearning of Miles Davis' trumpet. However, by the time Mehldau turns Radiohead's "Everything in Its Right Place" into the missing track off Sketches of Spain and solidifies Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years" as the most poignant ballad ever written, Anything Goes moves from the expected to the inspired and that alone makes this worth a listen. - Matt Collar
Tracks
01. Get Happy (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler)
02. Dreamsville (Henry Mancini/Jay Livingston/Raymond B. Evans)
03. Anything Goes (Cole Porter)
04. Tres Palabras (Osvaldo Farres)
05. Skippy (Thelonious Monk)
06. Nearness Of You (Hoagy Carmichael/Ned Washington)
07. Still Crazy After All These Years (Paul Simon)
08. Everything In Its Right Place (Radiohead)
09. Smile (Charlie Chaplin/Geoffrey Clarmont Parsons/James John Turner Phillips)
10. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe)
LARRY GRENADIER bass
JORGE ROSSI drums
BRAD MEHLDAU piano
Recorded October 8-9, 2002 at Avatar Recording Studios, NYC
Warner Bros. Records – 9362-48608-2 (Germany)