Brad Mehldau is a jazz icon who has never done things the usual way. While the gifted pianist has traveled more traditional routes with works like his acclaimed Art of the Trio series, and has released plenty of solo piano albums that certainly fall within expected parameters of the jazz genre (Live in Tokyo, Elegiac Cycles, 10 Years Solo Live), the pianist, composer, and song interpreter enjoys going off the beaten path.
Mehldau dived headfirst into classical recordings (After Bach, After Faure, Love Sublime – the latter a collaboration with soprano Renee Fleming), worked with multifaceted drummer Mark Guiliana on the jazz/funk/prog project Mehliana, released one of the very first “pandemic albums” (Suite: April 2020) and even released an exquisite Beatles covers album (Your Mother Should Know). Still, that only scratches the surface of the 55-year-old Mehldau’s decades-long discography. Now, with Ride Into the Sun, he’s taken things a step further by lovingly and skillfully paying tribute to the late singer-songwriter, Elliott Smith.
Those who are familiar with Mehldau’s discography and/or have seen him perform live know that while Mehldau peppers his set lists with standards by the likes of Lerner and Lowe, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Thelonious Monk, he’s also explored works by the likes of Nick Drake, Radiohead, Stone Temple Pilots, Paul Simon, Oasis, Soundgarden, and yes, the Beatles. He’s probably the premier Gen-X jazz artist, which is why many of his songs touch not only on the expected classics, but also more recent titles from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Mehldau understands that a melody is a melody, no matter when and by whom it was composed.
Ride Into the Sun covers many of Smith’s songs, but also includes songs composed by Mehldau, which were inspired by Smith, in addition to a couple of non-Smith covers that Mehldau felt were appropriate to record for this project. The album is a far cry from the trio albums that make up so much of Mehldau’s discography. Dan Coleman conducts a full orchestra on several tracks, and other musicians include Chris Thile, Daniel Rossen, Matt Chamberlain, Felix Moseholm, and John Davis, who plays bass and also recorded and engineered the record.
Sonically, Ride into the Sun evokes some of Mehldau’s bolder, slightly more idiosyncratic albums, such as Largo (2002) and Highway Rider (2010), ambitious works produced by Jon Brion that showcase Mehldau truly stretching out and trying a variety of new things. The record also recalls, to some extent, Mehldau’s 2022 album Jacob’s Ladder, a unique and unexpected tribute to progressive rock. While the genres may be different, Ride Into the Sun feels similar because Mehldau is using non-classical vocal turns and also approaching the musical subject matter in a somewhat non-traditional way.
Things start traditionally enough. Smith’s “Better Be Quiet Now” begins with Mehldau’s piano and is eventually joined by the rhythm section of Davis and Chamberlain, accompanied by the warmth of the orchestra (including a violin solo by Ellen DePasquale). Mehldau describes the tenderness of the song as “smiling through tears”, a phrase he attributes to one of Brahms’ biographers when writing about one of the German composer’s pieces. “Here is a break-up song as tender as it is rueful,” Melhdau explains in the liner notes. “The protagonist is smiling sadly as he says goodbye.”
Mehldau approaches some of the tracks in a manner that would more directly suit Smith’s style, such as on “Tomorrow Tomorrow”, featuring vocals and intricate acoustic guitar work from Rossen, as well as mandolin and backing vocals from Thile. The downbeat indie folk feel of Smith’s music is countered nicely by Mehldau’s jazzy piano work and Thile’s nods to Americana. Thile also shines on “Colorbars”, taking lead vocals and adding a sly edge to the original song with a strong backbeat and more of his signature mandolin. Meanwhile, “Southern Belle” is an expertly crafted jazz/bluegrass hybrid that still mirrors many of the singer-songwriter underpinnings of Smith’s best work.
One of Mehldau’s more interesting compositional tributes takes place when he follows up Smith’s “Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands” – a relatively rock-based instrumental featuring Rossen on both acoustic and electric guitars, a rarity for a Mehldau record – with his own “Somebody Cares, Somebody Understands”, which takes full advantage of lush, sweeping orchestral arrangements that accompany the core piano/bass/drum trio format. The orchestra is dramatic, magnetic, and one of the boldest, most exciting examples of a full orchestral ensemble on a Mehldau recording. It manages to be both a fitting tribute to Smith while sounding very much in Mehldau’s wheelhouse.
Mehldau makes an unusual yet fitting choice in recording two songs that were not written by him or Smith, including an interpretation of Big Star‘s unimpeachable classic “Thirteen” (which Smith has also covered), as well as “Sunday” by Nick Drake, whose songs Mehldau has covered extensively in the past. “I look at (Drake) in some ways as sort of Smith’s visionary godfather,” Mehldau explains in the press notes. The former is a breathtaking solo piano recording, while the latter features the orchestra and core trio in a wistful arrangement that includes a flute solo by Alex Sopp.
There are moments on Ride Into the Sun that sound like what most people would expect when a jazz titan takes on the songbook of a brilliant, complex, complicated singer-songwriter of his own generation. Many twists and turns seem idiosyncratic. Still, the beating heart of Ride Into the Sun is Mehldau’s unflinching musical integrity and what appears to be a constant, career-spanning dedication to honoring the legacy of his musical heroes.
Ride Into the Sun is a unique take on the tribute album concept, brimming with incredible ideas and brilliant musicianship, and may also be one of the finest albums in Brad Mehldau’s illustrious discography.