Brad Mehldau Trio
I’ve served pints and waited tables at St. Andrews Hall. I’ve spent countless hours wandering round flea markets and vintage fairs, but in nearly 30 years of living in Norwich I have never watched a live concert there. As I waited for the show to start and really took in my surroundings, you’d be hard pressed to find a more impressive backdrop to see one of the world’s greatest jazz musicians.
Without ever becoming a household name Mehldau has quietly gone about amassing a huge catalogue of critically acclaimed albums, as well as appearances on countless other artist’s releases whilst introducing elements of classical, rock and pop into his playing. Strolling onstage alongside double bass player Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard, the trio played a mid-tempo scene setter before launching into an enormous piece which lasted for 10 minutes, an hour, who could tell, so labyrinthine was it. This is exactly what I love about jazz – incredible musicians showcasing their skills, with a dexterity that can only come from years of playing. Even more remarkable, as Brad explained, this was a new ‘song’ which hasn’t even got a title yet. Watching him play was a joy, he has an understated style, but elicited exceptional sounds from his piano, sometimes playing different melodies with each hand, other times gently hitting single notes as his band members took centre stage. The double bass is an incredibly hard instrument to master, but Larry held it all together and when he took the lead he showed just how musical that instrument can be in the hands of a master. Jeff’s drumming had some audience members barely able to stay in their seats – keeping time with his hi-hat while he used his sticks, brushes, mallets and hands to propel the music along, without ever losing that continuous beat.
One of the highlights was their take on the Beatles' And I Love Her. Much like Coltrane’s version of My Favorite Things, we start off with the familiar melody line before they begin to stretch the music out, rather like a piece of elastic being slowly taken to its further reach, before being gently pulled back in to the starting point. The 90 minute set flew by; ideally I’d have gone home around 11, grabbed some sleep, had breakfast and returned to the venue this morning to find the trio still playing, still exploring.
I love how the Norfolk & Norwich Festival allows us to watch these wonderful acts, but a healthy crowd at St. Andrews Hall proved once again that there is a huge appetite for jazz in Norwich, whatever the time of year.
