Pianist
Brad Mehldau
comes from the world of jazz, but he was classically trained, and he has released several albums that draw on classical music.
After Bach II
, released in 2024 and a sequel of sorts to 2018's
After Bach
, might be the best of them. As before,
Mehldau
interpolates compositions of his own among classical originals, competently played. However, the structure of this album is a bit more complex than those of
and the 2024 release
Après Fauré
.
begins with an alternation, but the second half of the album, with the exception of a return to the
Bach
touchstone in the
Prelude No. 7 in E flat major of BWV 852
from the
Well-Tempered Clavier
, is all
. One senses a deeper attempt to come to terms with the age-old and difficult problem of integrating jazz and classical music.
contributes some new variations to the theme of
's
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
. Taking on this imposing task might be called swinging for the fences, and
hits the ball out of the park. Only one variation is entitled "Jazz," but the variations before it build up to the jazz presence in subtle ways. To these ears, these are unlike anything done elsewhere, and they provide new avenues that one hopes
will explore in further releases. The rather vexed classical-jazz relationship is in need of a shot of new blood, and
may well be the one to provide it.
Nonesuch
's engineering work at the acoustically superior Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, is another draw here. ~ James Manheim