Brad Mehldau's new 8-LP box set 10 Years Solo Live "contains some of the most impressive pianism Mr. Mehldau has captured on record," exclaims the New York Times' Nate Chinen. It "also confirms that his pristine technique and prismatic elaboration are distinctive traits unto themselves," closing with a performance that is "an astonishment even by his lofty standards." Jazzwise, in a five-star review, calls it "a monumental achievement, and one of the most rewarding solo piano collections of the 21st century so far." The BBC Music Magazine five-star review says it's "a powerful picture of a renaissance artist at the height of his powers."
Brad Mehldau's 10 Years Solo Live, a newly released eight-LP box set culled from 19 live recordings made over a decade of the pianist's European solo concerts, "contains some of the most impressive pianism Mr. Mehldau has captured on record," exclaims the New York Times music critic Nate Chinen in his review of the new set.
Chinen goes on to say that "10 Years Solo Live also confirms that his pristine technique and prismatic elaboration are distinctive traits unto themselves. The set's closing track is 'God Only Knows,' the Beach Boys aria, and Mr. Mehldau gives it the full rhapsodic treatment: shimmery, inquisitive and grave. From the first pale tremolo to the last seismic rumble, the performance is unmistakably Mr. Mehldau's handiwork, and an astonishment even by his lofty standards."
Read the complete review at nytimes.com.
Jazzwise gives the box set a perfect five stars. "Every so often a set of discs comes along that defines an artist or their place in jazz. Unusually, Brad Mehldau has managed this feat twice, with his exceptional Art of the Trio box from 2011," says reviewer Alyn Shipton, "and now with this decade-long survey of his solo work."
Shipton later concludes that "this is a set to be lived with, to be listened to as one's own moods fluctuate, and whatever the circumstances, whatever the time, whatever the season, there is music here to bring you up short and make you think, feel, and experience life differently. In short, a monumental achievement, and one of the most rewarding solo piano collections of the 21st century so far."
BBC Music Magazine gives the set another perfect five stars for both performance and recording. It's "an account of a decade's worth of extraordinary solo live performance," says reviewer Garry Booth, offering "a powerful picture of a renaissance artist at the height of his powers."
To get the vinyl box set, head to your local record shop, Amazon, or the Nonesuch Store, where orders include a download of the complete set at checkout. 10 Years Solo Live will be released digitally and in a four-CD set on November 13.
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