Win or lose, Brad Mehldau, the gifted, young Grammy-nominated jazz pianist from West Hartford, will be more than satisfied just to be in the audience tonight at the televised Grammy Award ceremonies at New York City's Radio City Music Hall.
"I wasn't even expecting to be nominated for a Grammy, so the whole thing should be fun whatever the outcome," Mehldau says by phone from his apartment in Los Angeles.
"You go there all dressed up. It's a big night . . . a party. It's real flattering. But I try to leave it at that and not get caught up in it. I almost try to ignore it and just keep on doing what I'm doing," the 27-year-old pianist says.
What Mehldau has been "doing" over the past several years has been to establish himself as one of the foremost jazz pianists of his generation.
Since 1995, he's cut two acclaimed recordings on Warner Bros. as the leader of his own trio (his "The Art of the Trio, Volume One," contains his rendition of Oscar Levant's wry ballad "Blame It on My Youth," nominated for best jazz instrumental). A third in this extraordinary trio series will be released by Warner Bros. March 10.
And the budding young master sounds much at home with two legendary old masters, saxophonist Lee Konitz and bassist Charlie Haden, on a splendid new release on Blue Note Records called "Alone Together."
Among his more offbeat assignments, Melhdau last year accompanied k.d. lang and Joe Williams on their contributions to the soundtrack for Clint Eastwood's film adaptation of the best-selling book, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." As a perk of sorts, Mehldau got to rub shoulders with Tinseltown bigwigs at the movie's Hollywood premiere. And even better, while working as a soundtrack sideman, he got to schmooze with Eastwood, the silver-screen tough guy, jazz buff, onetime cocktail pianist and god-awful singer.
"Clint is cool. He really loves jazz. He was very complimentary to me. He's a pretty humble guy . . . a soft guy with rough edges," Mehldau says.
Just back from a tour of Australia, Mehldau will soon be reunited with his old boss, saxophonist Joshua Redman, the hottest of the Young Jazz Lions. Besides touring with the Redman Quartet, Mehldau will lead his own trio on dates throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. There will even be a stop in Connecticut when the pianist performs with his trio at the Litchfield Jazz Festival on the weekend of Aug. 7-9.
"I always try to get Connecticut gigs so I can visit with my folks and my sister in West Hartford," Mehldau says.
Mehldau's tightly knit, loving family back home consists of his father, Dr. Craig Mehldau, a West Hartford ophthalmologist; his mother, Annette, a homemaker; and his sister, Leigh Anne, a social worker.
The globe-trotting pianist also gets to spend time at home with his folks during an upcoming engagement at the New York jazz mecca, the Village Vanguard, March 10 through 15. His run at the Vanguard -- where he recorded "The Art of the Trio, Volume Two, Live at the Village Vanguard" -- celebrates the release of the third in the trio series.
Mehldau returns East again next fall to participate in Wynton Marsalis's "Jazz at Lincoln Center" series Sept. 24 and 25, one of the Big Apple's major jazz extravaganzas. He'll perform solo piano in the "Piano Masters" program in the classy, candlelit "Jazz at the Penthouse" series.
Hometown Boy
Mehldau retains a warm spot in his heart for West Hartford and for his days at Hall High School, where he became committed to jazz.
"The older I get, the more I realize how much West Hartford is part of me. And that's a good thing. It's not something I rebel against," he says. "I have fond memories of my experience at Hall. I probably didn't enjoy it too much when I was in it, but it's always like that. You look back on things and realize how good they really were."
The jazz program at Hall, he says, included elements one might better expect to find on a high school football team. Its rigorous demands and esprit de corps created a catalytic edge spurring everybody to work extra hard and be the best they could be, he says.
A classically trained pianist, Mehldau plays in a style rooted in romantic expressionism. His solos are graced with melodic invention and thick, textured voicings you can almost touch.
Lyrical expressiveness is a key stylistic hallmark. This rare quality links him with such older jazz poet laureates as Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Chet Baker and Tom Harrell. Along with keen musical intelligence and classically honed chops, his music is powered by hedonistic, swinging energies. Even at their most deeply reflective, his solos are beautifully seductive and accessible.
"I thought I'd heard every kind of voicing there is. And then somebody like Brad comes along," says Marian McPartland, the legendary Grand Dame of jazz piano.
"He just has a new way of doing standards. He has a lovely touch and is a very musical mix of sound and feeling," McPartland says by phone from her home on Long Island.
McPartland met Mehldau last year when he appeared as a guest on "Piano Jazz," her acclaimed jazz program on National Public Radio.
Grammy Nominee
Along with a Grammy nomination, "The Art of the Trio, Volume One" earned an outstanding 4 1/2 star rating from the influential Down Beat Magazine.
As a Grammy nominee, he is granted only one guest ticket. This posed a painful dilemma for Mehldau, who wanted to take the three most loyal fans he loves best: his father, mother and sister.
"He decided to resolve the problem by taking a girlfriend, rather than just one of us," his mother said.
"So the three of us will be home, glued to the TV set. I've been told the jazz and classical awards are made earlier off-camera. But we'll be hoping to catch a glimpse of Brad in the audience. Just to be nominated is quite an honor, and we're all elated for him.
"But whether he wins or not, we think he's a winner anyway," she says.