COMPOSERS: Mehldau,Metheny
LABELS: Nonesuch
ALBUM TITLE: Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau
WORKS: Metheny Mehldau
PERFORMER: Pat Metheny (guitar), Brad Mehldau (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 7559 799 642
The prospect of combining two chordal instruments is viewed by most jazz musicians as a recipe for a train crash. That view doesn’t take account of Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau – two players who both possess technical ability and heightened sensitivity in equal measure and who have followed one another’s work closely.
What’s interesting here is that neither has been forced to bend to the other’s will. Metheny retains his lyrical, folk-tinged sound, while Mehldau keeps his classically informed poise and precision. And they come together comfortably throughout the ten self-penned numbers.
There’s no sense of competitive chorus swapping, nor reserve: simply two musicians with great ears and hands, performing generously and confidently. I can’t wait for the live shows that must surely follow. Garry Booth