''Places'' is an album by American pianist and composer
Brad Mehldau
Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quar ...
released on the
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
label in 2000.
Reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
awarded the album 4½ stars and in its review by Richard S. Ginell, stated "the album is about the constancy of his personality and musical language, taking all of your personal mental baggage with you wherever you travel. This is an important album, one that anyone interested in piano jazz ought to check out".
[ On ]All About Jazz
''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...
, David Adler noted "Each piece is named for a particular place (hence the title), which Mehldau attempts to represent in musical terms. In short, Places is a concept album, and a particularly effective one. For the most part, Mehldau holds his prodigious chops in check, preferring instead to conjure moods and memories with subtle nuances". JazzTimes
''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store.
Coverage
After a decade of growth ...
reviewer, Bill Shoemaker commented "In addition to being a technically dazzling pianist, Mehldau has an arch sense of nuance; by changing the touch of a single note or introducing a single beat's rest in a long serpentine line, Mehldau can turn a smile or a frown upside down".[Shoemaker, B.]
Brad Mehldau ''Places'' Review
JazzTimes, December 2000
Track listing
''All compositions by Brad Mehldau''
# "Los Angeles" - 5:21
# "29 Palms" - 5:09
# "Madrid" - 6:07
# "Amsterdam" - 3:38
# "Los Angeles II" - 5:18
# "West Hartford" - 5:39
# "Airport Sadness" - 4:48
# "Perugia" - 3:52
# "A Walk in the Park" - 5:59
# "Paris" - 6:30
# "Schloss Elmau" - 6:32
# "Am Zauberberg" - 7:07
# "Los Angeles (Reprise)" - 3:28
Personnel
*Brad Mehldau
Bradford Alexander Mehldau (; born August 23, 1970) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Mehldau studied music at The New School, and toured and recorded while still a student. He was a member of saxophonist Joshua Redman's Quar ...
- piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
*Larry Grenadier
Larry Grenadier (born February 6, 1966 in San Francisco) is an American jazz double bassist.
Early life
Grenadier's father, Albert, was a trumpet player, and his two brothers, Phil and Steve, play trumpet and guitar, respectively. Grenadier be ...
- bass (tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, 11 and 13)
*Jorge Rossy
Jorge "Jordi" Rossy (born August 21, 1964) is a jazz drummer, pianist and vibraphonist.
Early life
Rossy was born in Barcelona. He started playing drums at age 11.
Later life and career
Between 1980 and 1989, Rossy toured and recorded extensiv ...
- drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
(tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, 11 and 13)
Credits
*Produced by Brad Mehldau
*Engineered by Bernie Kirsch
*Mastering by Andrew Garver
*Art direction and design by Lawrence Azerrad
*Photography by Michael Lewis
References
{{Authority control
Warner Records albums
Brad Mehldau albums
2000 albums
Solo piano jazz albums