Brad Mehldau is definitely my favourite jazz piano artist! Update: Your great video helped me to understand why I like Brad Mehldau so much. Thank you Jeremy
I've been to Heidelberg! A buddy and I went on a trip across Germany. It was such a cute town and we were there during the world cup, which was really fun!
Fellow fan boy here, I'm seeing him tonight in Amsterdam! I've got a question about your point about odd time on ATTYA. If you were to tap your foot while playing, would you tap the 4 pulses, or would you tap 5 straight quarternotes and feel the clave against it? Also, something about resignation.
I was literally thinking this morning of asking you to do a video on Brad Mehldau and VOILA! I watched an interview of his and he certainly mentioned his influence from guitar playing, as you mentioned. He also mentioned that he doesn't have the chops to play ragtime/stride style bass, so you've definitely got that on him! I especially resonate with points #2 and #3 -- that even though a jazz pianist, he is not afraid to play things outside the standards and comfortable playing triads *gasp*! I am resigned to (likely) not studying about / practicing perpetual motion in this lifetime since... I need more lifetimes to develop chops for it. hehe
Awesome vid! I’m getting his version of Martha my Dear under my fingers right now and the one thing that stands out to me is just the immense risks he takes with his playing - lines that just make no sense in the harmonic context but invariably find their way back and just end up sounding so hip. I really wonder with players like Brad, if it’s worth it (or even possible) to try to analyze the harmonic substitutions and scales he’s implying when he goes ‘outside’, or whether you have to just chalk it up to “that’s the way he heard it!” and try to emulate that sound just by feel. Certainly there’s a balance to be struck there but where do we draw the line? Curious if anyone has thoughts!
I haven't found analysis to be that revealing, personally, but I think you can always find little tips and tricks that might help. Just a for instance, I've noticed he often uses 1-2-3-5 or 1-3-4-5 patterns that might dip outside of the key but hold together as a unit. But, I don't have anything approaching a "master theory" about how Brad creates harmonic substitutions!
I remember when I first heard Mehldau. It was a wow moment. I did not understand it the way you broke it down but it was obvious to my ears his was an original voice. Something that is very hard to pull off. Btw, I think you're an original voice as well from the recordings you've made. The ones with Pino and Harms were particularly impressive.
Resignation indeed. I love Ballads & Blues and Your Mother Should Know albums. Interesting how Brad stretches Golden Slumbers (a very short song originally) in comparison with other Beatles tunes and of course his Blackbird is awesome. Thanks Jesemy!!!!!
Hello Jeremy. Just discovered your channel and it's becoming my favorite already. I consider myself an intermediate jazz pianist, who has gotten through Mark Levine's jazz piano book. Which book of yours do you recommend I get?
Hi Ken! I'm honored! My "Jazz Piano Fundamentals (Book 2)" is generally what I recommend for intermediate pianists. But I made a video to better answer a question just like yours: th-cam.com/video/pDO8-b3QPxE/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for getting into this realm/zeitgeist of "What is Jazz? Listen to Brad Mehldau." (And Keith Jarrett I might add.) With your books and this channel, more Grammy Awards to you!
Wow amazing you mention Phinneas in here. Watch Rick Beato's interview with Brad, they talk a lot about the guitar and making the piano sound like a guitar. When I hear Brad playing so many meters and polyrhytms at the same time, almost like he were five independent hands, it makes me wanna resign (
He's a great artist. In talking about most influential you have to include the labels. Brad is clearly approved by them which is or at least was a critical element in being influential in the time.
I always seem to be drawn to music that takes from jazz, classical and popular harmonies and rhythms interacting. Bluegrass mixed with blues. None of those have cooties. Nina Simone used a lot of triads from classical harmony, too. (In case someone wanted to ask, "Who else, aside from Keith Jarrett?' I figured I'd mention.)
Very interesting! I wouldn't usually think of Nina Simone in the same category as the rest of the music you're describing, but she does fit the bill and she was an incredible artist!
Thanks for the phor ways Brad Mehldau changed jazz piano (pianism, harmony, odd meters, and repertoire)! If "pianism" had been "plagiarism", then there might be a "resignation".
@@JeremySiskind 😂 youre on another level! But man, when he was with Joshua Redman, Blade & Mc Bride....that was serious stuff, nobody reached that level ever after IMHO
Wow, I'd love to hear what he was like in lessons! I was actually really surprised in the Rick Beato video how good he was at breaking down concepts patiently as though for beginning students. In my experience, folks who are operating at such a high level often struggle to break things down, but I thought he was really clear and cogent.
@@JeremySiskind I specifically wanted to figure out the inner-voice things and how he understood improvisational counterpoint. I remember he played Autumn Leaves. He said it starts with a single note, and he then proceeded to add the second, third, fourth, and fifth parts! He said that the fifth voice gave him problems 🤪. He doesn’t think in terms of modes of the melodic minor, or all the usually Berklee-ish theory stuff, but he certainly plays it. He just got it from learning things by ear from his favorite players and transposing. On his early records he could sound very much like Sonny Clark, McCoy Tyner and to a lesser extent, Herbie. But you could always hear the flashes of the things that developed into his own voice. All that to say, it was like sitting next to Brahms, but I didn’t get any concrete, actionable information.
@jonasaras I imagine it's like teaching someone to be yourself. You just synthesize the information piece by piece then you become you. Sounds like the lesson is figure it out I've heard this same lesson from some other great musicians. It's like being granted permission to experiment vs staying on some kind of learning course with excerixe one leading to exercise two to obtain Meldau level one...I feel you though I've been frustrated making sense of lessons sometimes I think teaching is hard.
Sorry - I guess I can envy the talent - but Noooot be a fan!! Hey man - some don't like apple pie. I will listen more - because I am your fanboy. Brad M is a very humble genuine guy (per interviews) I just DONT LIKE IT!!
‘After Bach’ is remarkable. Thank you Jeremy. Great topic.
Nice work..
Brad Mehldau is definitely my favourite jazz piano artist!
Update:
Your great video helped me to understand why I like Brad Mehldau so much.
Thank you Jeremy
He's definitely one of my favorites too! There are so many remarkable levels to his brilliance!
Saw Brad years ago in Heidelberg. Wonderful memory.
I've been to Heidelberg! A buddy and I went on a trip across Germany. It was such a cute town and we were there during the world cup, which was really fun!
Excellent stuff - you nailed it - thanks.
Fellow fan boy here, I'm seeing him tonight in Amsterdam! I've got a question about your point about odd time on ATTYA. If you were to tap your foot while playing, would you tap the 4 pulses, or would you tap 5 straight quarternotes and feel the clave against it?
Also, something about resignation.
I was literally thinking this morning of asking you to do a video on Brad Mehldau and VOILA! I watched an interview of his and he certainly mentioned his influence from guitar playing, as you mentioned. He also mentioned that he doesn't have the chops to play ragtime/stride style bass, so you've definitely got that on him!
I especially resonate with points #2 and #3 -- that even though a jazz pianist, he is not afraid to play things outside the standards and comfortable playing triads *gasp*!
I am resigned to (likely) not studying about / practicing perpetual motion in this lifetime since... I need more lifetimes to develop chops for it. hehe
I am resigned to how good Jeremy’s videos are. 😊
Great video about a great artist who will hopefully never resign from playing.
Yes, indeed! I think Brad has a lot of creativity and great music left in him!
Awesome vid! I’m getting his version of Martha my Dear under my fingers right now and the one thing that stands out to me is just the immense risks he takes with his playing - lines that just make no sense in the harmonic context but invariably find their way back and just end up sounding so hip. I really wonder with players like Brad, if it’s worth it (or even possible) to try to analyze the harmonic substitutions and scales he’s implying when he goes ‘outside’, or whether you have to just chalk it up to “that’s the way he heard it!” and try to emulate that sound just by feel. Certainly there’s a balance to be struck there but where do we draw the line? Curious if anyone has thoughts!
I haven't found analysis to be that revealing, personally, but I think you can always find little tips and tricks that might help. Just a for instance, I've noticed he often uses 1-2-3-5 or 1-3-4-5 patterns that might dip outside of the key but hold together as a unit. But, I don't have anything approaching a "master theory" about how Brad creates harmonic substitutions!
I remember when I first heard Mehldau. It was a wow moment. I did not understand it the way you broke it down but it was obvious to my ears his was an original voice. Something that is very hard to pull off. Btw, I think you're an original voice as well from the recordings you've made. The ones with Pino and Harms were particularly impressive.
Resignation indeed. I love Ballads & Blues and Your Mother Should Know albums. Interesting how Brad stretches Golden Slumbers (a very short song originally) in comparison with other Beatles tunes and of course his Blackbird is awesome. Thanks Jesemy!!!!!
Those are great albums! "Places" is my all-time favorite Mehldau album!
Hello Jeremy. Just discovered your channel and it's becoming my favorite already. I consider myself an intermediate jazz pianist, who has gotten through Mark Levine's jazz piano book. Which book of yours do you recommend I get?
Hi Ken! I'm honored! My "Jazz Piano Fundamentals (Book 2)" is generally what I recommend for intermediate pianists. But I made a video to better answer a question just like yours: th-cam.com/video/pDO8-b3QPxE/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for getting into this realm/zeitgeist of "What is Jazz? Listen to Brad Mehldau." (And Keith Jarrett I might add.) With your books and this channel, more Grammy Awards to you!
agree! thanks
Wow amazing you mention Phinneas in here. Watch Rick Beato's interview with Brad, they talk a lot about the guitar and making the piano sound like a guitar. When I hear Brad playing so many meters and polyrhytms at the same time, almost like he were five independent hands, it makes me wanna resign (
I’m resigned to never being as remotely as good as Brad. But thanks, loved your insights - great as always.
The interview brad did with rick beato on TH-cam is well worth watching as well
He's a great artist. In talking about most influential you have to include the labels. Brad is clearly approved by them which is or at least was a critical element in being influential in the time.
Great video. I will never resign from your channel :-)
Phew! So you won't mind that this is just going to become a channel about cryptocurrency in the future, right?
Joking! 😂😂😂😂
I always seem to be drawn to music that takes from jazz, classical and popular harmonies and rhythms interacting. Bluegrass mixed with blues. None of those have cooties.
Nina Simone used a lot of triads from classical harmony, too. (In case someone wanted to ask, "Who else, aside from Keith Jarrett?' I figured I'd mention.)
Very interesting! I wouldn't usually think of Nina Simone in the same category as the rest of the music you're describing, but she does fit the bill and she was an incredible artist!
Thanks for the phor ways Brad Mehldau changed jazz piano (pianism, harmony, odd meters, and repertoire)! If "pianism" had been "plagiarism", then there might be a "resignation".
Dont worry, were all Brad Mehldau fanboys
But do you have his shirtless poster on your wall like I do??? ( Joking!!!)
@@JeremySiskind 😂 youre on another level! But man, when he was with Joshua Redman, Blade & Mc Bride....that was serious stuff, nobody reached that level ever after IMHO
Fanboy of Brad Meldhau here ❤
You can put me into that club as well. I was able to get a few lessons when he was living in LA. He doesn’t have the teaching skills that you do.
Wow, I'd love to hear what he was like in lessons! I was actually really surprised in the Rick Beato video how good he was at breaking down concepts patiently as though for beginning students. In my experience, folks who are operating at such a high level often struggle to break things down, but I thought he was really clear and cogent.
@@JeremySiskind I specifically wanted to figure out the inner-voice things and how he understood improvisational counterpoint.
I remember he played Autumn Leaves. He said it starts with a single note, and he then proceeded to add the second, third, fourth, and fifth parts! He said that the fifth voice gave him problems 🤪. He doesn’t think in terms of modes of the melodic minor, or all the usually Berklee-ish theory stuff, but he certainly plays it. He just got it from learning things by ear from his favorite players and transposing. On his early records he could sound very much like Sonny Clark, McCoy Tyner and to a lesser extent, Herbie. But you could always hear the flashes of the things that developed into his own voice.
All that to say, it was like sitting next to Brahms, but I didn’t get any concrete, actionable information.
@jonasaras I imagine it's like teaching someone to be yourself. You just synthesize the information piece by piece then you become you. Sounds like the lesson is figure it out I've heard this same lesson from some other great musicians. It's like being granted permission to experiment vs staying on some kind of learning course with excerixe one leading to exercise two to obtain Meldau level one...I feel you though I've been frustrated making sense of lessons sometimes I think teaching is hard.
😅😅 thanks a lot
resign
Sorry - I guess I can envy the talent - but Noooot be a fan!! Hey man - some don't like apple pie. I will listen more - because I am your fanboy. Brad M is a very humble genuine guy (per interviews) I just DONT LIKE IT!!