Finding Gabriel

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A highlight is ‘Make It All Go Away’, an evocative nod to rock psychedelia and dominated by two exceptional guest vocalists: Kurt Elling improvises gliding horn-like lines and in-demand singer-songwriter... — Jazzwise, August 2019, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 17th May 2019
Catalogue No: 7559792635
Label: Nonesuch
Length: 55 minutes

Jazzwise

Editor's Choice

August 2019
Grammy Awards

62nd Awards (2019)

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

Mehldau: The Garden

Work length7:18

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (piano), Joel Frahm (tenor saxophone), Gabriel Kahane (voice), Chris Cheek (tenor saxophone), Mark Guiliana (drums), Michael Thomas (alto saxophone), Michael Thomas (flute), Chris Cheek (baritone saxophone), Charles Pillow (soprano saxophone), Becca Stevens (voice), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer), Brad Mehldau (voice), Charles Pillow (alto saxophone), Charles Pillow (bass clarinet)

Mehldau: Born to Trouble

Work length4:01

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (drums), Brad Mehldau (piano), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer), Brad Mehldau (voices)

Mehldau: Striving After Wind

Work length4:38

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (fender rhodes keyboards), Gabriel Kahane (voice), Mark Guiliana (drums), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer), Becca Stevens (voice)

Mehldau: O Ephraim

Work length5:21

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (drums), Brad Mehldau (voices), Brad Mehldau (fender rhodes keyboards), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer), Brad Mehldau (keyboards), Brad Mehldau (percussion), Brad Mehldau (piano)

Mehldau: St. Mark Is Howling in the City of Night

Work length6:20

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (piano), Lois Martin (viola), Mark Guiliana (drums), Noah Hoffeld (cello), Sara Caswell (violin), Gabriel Kahane (voice), Becca Stevens (voice), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer), Brad Mehldau (voice)

Mehldau: The Prophet Is a Fool

Work length6:47

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (piano), Joel Frahm (tenor saxophone), Michael Thomas (flute), Michael Thomas (alto saxophone), Chris Cheek (baritone saxophone), Mark Guiliana (drums), Charles Pillow (soprano saxophone), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer), Brad Mehldau (xylophone), Brad Mehldau (spoken voice vocals)

Mehldau: Make It All Go Away

Work length4:32

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (piano), Kurt Elling (voice), Mark Guiliana (drums), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer), Becca Stevens (voice)

Mehldau: Deep Water

Work length5:13

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (piano), Lois Martin (viola), Mark Guiliana (drums), Noah Hoffeld (cello), Sara Caswell (violin), Gabriel Kahane (voice), Becca Stevens (voice), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer)

Mehldau: Proverb of Ashes

Work length4:17

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Brad Mehldau (keyboards), Kurt Elling (voice), Mark Guiliana (drums), Brad Mehldau (voices), Aaron Nevezie (electronics), Brad Mehldau (piano), "Snorts" Malibu (voice), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer)

Mehldau: Finding Gabriel

Work length7:06

$1.30

$1.70

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Brad Mehldau (drums), Brad Mehldau (voices), Brad Mehldau (organ), Brad Mehldau (synthesizer), Brad Mehldau (hand clap), Brad Mehldau (mellotron), Brad Mehldau (piano), Brad Mehldau (shaker)

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Brad Mehldau's Finding Gabriel will be released on Nonesuch Records on May 17, 2019. The album comprises nine thematically related songs by Mehldau and features performances by him on piano, synthesizers, percussion, and Fender Rhodes, as well as vocals. Guest musicians include Ambrose Akinmusire, Sara Caswell, Kurt Elling, Joel Frahm, Mark Guiliana, Gabriel Kahane, and Becca Stevens, among others.

Mehldau explains, "Finding Gabriel came after reading the Bible closely for the last several years. The prophetic writing of Daniel and Hosea resonated in particular, as well as the wisdom literature of Job and Ecclesiastes, and the devotional words of Psalms. The Bible felt like a corollary and perhaps a guide to the present day—one long nightmare or a signpost leading to potential gnosis, depending on how you read it. The archangel Gabriel appeared to Daniel, telling him, 'At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.' It seemed that the trick was to listen to Gabriel's words through all the noise and find a way to explain the bedlam, not only to oneself, but to a young person with less of a reference as to what is right-side up—perhaps one's own children.

"In this upside down state of affairs, the prophet is a fool: 'The man of the spirit is mad, because of your great iniquity and great hatred,' Hosea says. He meant that the prophet indeed speaks the truth, but no one believes it anymore—it's all fake news, no matter on which side of the fence you are standing. There is a temptation to make it all go away and escape into even more distraction, but this is only temporary refuge and leads one further into a matrix of falsehood. Eventually one comes up for air with more confusion and maybe even despair. With all the supposed connectivity, it seems that we are more separated from each other than ever, submerged in the deep water of unhappy solitude. Where to turn for the truth? Ask, with a humble heart, listen deeply, and the answers will come.

"The music initially sprang out of a new synth I was discovering—the Dave Smith/Tom Oberheim OB-6 featured on several tracks," Mehldau continues. "I built up many of the tracks beginning with synths and Mark Guiliana on drums, in a process similar to our previous collaboration, Taming the Dragon. Layers were added, and the human voice became an important element—not with text, but as a pure expression of harmony and emotion. I worked with singers I've admired and been close to over the past several years—Becca Stevens, Kurt Elling, and Gabriel Kahane—and sang myself as well. Strings and winds were added and the project became more orchestral, with features from stellar musicians: trumpet player Ambrose Akinmusire, tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, and violinist Sara Caswell.

"A new experience for me on three of the tracks was to go the opposite as well—doing everything as a one-man band. Both the collaborations and solo flights were a learning experience and full of discovery. John Davis, who engineered and mixed the record, was an integral player from beginning to end at Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, creatively contributing to the sonic landscape and finally putting all the pieces together."

Although Brad Mehldau is best known as a jazz composer and improviser, he has made several albums that fall outside of the mainstream jazz genre, including his 2001 Largo, produced by Jon Brion. Wide-ranging in texture and big in scale, it features woodwind or brass ensembles are on several tracks, as well as a heavy emphasis on powerful drums. In 2010, Nonesuch released his second collaboration with Brion, Highway Rider, which includes performances by Mehldau's trio—drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier—as well as drummer Matt Chamberlain, saxophonist Joshua Redman, and a chamber orchestra led by Dan Coleman. Mehldau also orchestrated and arranged the album's fifteen pieces for the ensemble.

Mehldau's 2014 collaboration with Mark Guiliana, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon was praised by All About Jazz as "another superlative effort in the career of a pianist who has been consistent in his commitment to excellence and genre-defying creativity—and one that shines a major spotlight on the stylistically unbound and similarly forward-thinking Guiliana." Mehliana featured Mehldau on Fender Rhodes and synthesizers and Guiliana on drums and effects, playing twelve original tunes—six by the duo and six by Mehldau.

The 2004 solo disc Live in Tokyo was Mehldau's label debut. He has released seven albums with his trio: House on Hill, Day Is Done, Brad Mehldau Trio Live, Ode, Where Do You Start, Blues and Ballads, and last year's Grammy-nominated Seymour Reads the Constitution! Also released last year was the solo album After Bach, which comprises the pianist/composer's recordings of four preludes and one fugue from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, each followed by an "After Bach" piece written by Mehldau and inspired by its WTC mate.

Mehldau's additional collaborative records on the label include Love Sublime, Metheny Mehldau, Metheny Mehldau Quartet, Modern Music, Nearness with Joshua Redman, and Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau. His solo records also include Live in Marciac and the eight-LP/four-CD 10 Years Solo Live, which the New York Times says "contains some of the most impressive pianism he has captured on record."

Reviews

August 2019

A highlight is ‘Make It All Go Away’, an evocative nod to rock psychedelia and dominated by two exceptional guest vocalists: Kurt Elling improvises gliding horn-like lines and in-demand singer-songwriter Becca Stevens’ soaring vocal is not unlike Cocteau Twins’ Liz Frazer. A more aggressive ‘voice’ of the mob chants ‘Build That Wall!’ on ‘The Prophet is a Fool’, Mehldau’s most direct resistance to Trump-ism. On the closing title-track Mehldau’s speaking voice asks the Archangel Gabriel for a sign, a way out of the bedlam. Mehldau, who plays all instruments including drums and vocal on the track, instead offers a comforting musical salvation.

August 2019

One of pianist’s defining strengths is that he’s capable of producing profound lines with a light and seemingly effortless touch. The album could have been a graceless offering, but in Mehldau’s capable hands, it works

Finding Gabriel

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