Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau kicked off a nine-city US duo tour with a sold-out performance at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom last night. "Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau come from different worlds but the same species, and whatever feels unlikely about their pairing is eclipsed by what feels perfectly natural," writes the New York Times' Nate Chinen. "At every turn, whatever the song, both musicians played with alert intelligence and deep sensitivity, only rarely entering competitive airspace," which then brought "an exhilarating rush." The tour continues with stops in Durham, College Park, Great Barrington, Boston, Knoxville, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Austin.
As noted yesterday in the Nonesuch Journal, Nonesuch Records labelmates mandolinist/singer Chris Thile and pianist Brad Mehldau kicked off a nine-city duo tour of the United States with a sold-out performance at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom last night. The set featured an eclectic set list of songs by Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, Charlie Parker, Randy Newman, Bob Dylan, and more. While these two musicians may seem like an unexpected pair on the surface, the New York Times music critic Nate Chinen finds common ground between them and much to recommend in their performance.
"Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau come from different worlds but the same species, and whatever feels unlikely about their pairing is eclipsed by what feels perfectly natural," Chinen writes in his review of last night's concert. "Mr. Thile, the mandolinist and singer with Punch Brothers, is a progressive-bluegrass pacesetter; Mr. Mehldau is the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years. Both are team players who can still give the impression of aesthetic self-containment. Both love Bach and the Beatles, and both have developed fan bases bigger and broader (and younger) than their genre silos can accommodate."
The show brought "a balance of enthusiastic risk and intuitive accord" from the performers. "At every turn, whatever the song, both musicians played with alert intelligence and deep sensitivity, only rarely entering competitive airspace," says Chinen. "The closest thing to a cutting session came on a version of 'St. Anne’s Reel' that had Mr. Thile and Mr. Mehldau both chattering brightly at once, in an exhilarating rush."
Their performance of Parker's “Dexterity," Chinen concludes, "was the show’s best manifestation of one language meeting another—from bluegrass to bebop—but it was the inspired fluidity of the shift, more than any hint of contrast, that made it special."
Read the complete concert review at nytimes.com.
Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau's US duo tour continues with a performance at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, North Carolina, Thursday night, followed by stops in College Park, Great Barrington, Boston, Knoxville, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Austin. For additional details and ticket links, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
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