Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau to perform at WFU
The Grammy-nominated Brad Mehldau Trio will perform at Wake Forest University on Jan. 23.
The Secrest Artists Series concert will begin at 8 p.m. in Brendle Recital Hall.
“Elegiac Cycle,” the jazz pianist’s exploration of the solo piano released in 1999, inspired Time magazine to write, “Mehldau achieves an almost spiritual resonance, chords echoing like amens.”
Mehldau performed on the soundtracks for the films “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and “Unfaithful.”
Like many of his contemporaries, Mehldau began his career with classical training, long before he was exposed to jazz. In 1988, he moved to New York City where he worked with a variety of musicians and made several recordings as a sideman. He toured with the Joshua Redman Quartet before releasing his 1995 debut album, “Introducing Brad Mehldau,” to critical acclaim.
Mehldau’s “Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard” was nominated for a 1999 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental recording. He was also a Grammy nominee for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo in 1997.
The two other members of the trio are Larry Grenadier on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums. Grenadier is a Stanford University graduate. When not touring and recording with the Brad Mehldau Trio, he tours and records with the Pat Metheny Trio. Mehldau and Grenadier are featured in the soundtrack of the film, “Mona Lisa Smiles.”
Rossy, a native of Barcelona, Spain, attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he played in bands with Joshua Redman and Danilo Perez. He has been a second place winner in the Thelonious Monk International Competition for drums. Rossy joined the Brad Mehldau Trio in 1996, but has also released several albums of his own.
The program will be announced from the stage.
A pre-concert talk will be presented at 7:10 p.m. in Scales Fine Arts Center, Room 208, by Patrick Tucker, director of Wake Forest’s jazz ensemble. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for senior citizens and non-Wake Forest students. Tickets for all Secrest Artists Series events are available without charge to Wake Forest students, faculty and staff. Group discounts are available.
Tickets may be purchased through the Secrest Artists Series office at 336-758-5757 or beginning Jan. 20 from the Wake Forest box office at 336-758-5295.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Happening at Wake
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Cheryl Walker
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