Brad Mehldau: Highway Rider

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Scott Yoo, Conductor
featuring Joshua Redman, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, Matt Chamberlain

“Highway Rider is his most ambitious and accomplished album in a career that has pushed the boundaries of jazz in many directions without compromising its integrity. It’s restless, exploratory music comfortable in its self-assurance, whether running with melodic hooks, flirting with dissonance, or coaxing sly swing from the orchestra.” —City Pages

Pianist Brad Mehldau joins forces with the SPCO for the live premiere of a new milestone in symphonic jazz recordings, Highway Rider. In a 15-year career marked by its amazing scope, Mehldau has earned acclaim for his complex yet sparkling improvisations, and for a style that ranges from the unabashedly cerebral to the moodily romantic. This latest work encompasses a host of influences ranging from jazz giants to German Romantics to dissonant modernists, but transcends them as something wholly original. Its performance at the Walker with the SPCO is a journey into fresh musical territory on a grand scale. Conducted by Scott Yoo, the concert features star saxophonist Joshua Redman, Larry Grenadier, Jeff Ballard, and Matt Chamberlain.

Copresented with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra