Brad Mehldau

No history of contemporary jazz would be complete without a mention for American pianist/composer Brad Mehldau who rose to prominence in the early 1990s alongside highflying contemporaries saxophonist Joshua Redman, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade. Few performers flit between genres with such ease and his landmark release, 2002’s Largo, drew heavily from classical music and rock as well as jazz.
In recent years he’s toured extensively as part of Mehliana, a duo with drummer Mark Guiliana that takes electronica and drum and bass as its starting point. But on the 17th he’ll be ditching the synthesisers and falling back on his classical training, performing preludes and fugues from Bach’s ‘The Well-Tempered Clavier’. Also on the programme that night are original compositions ‘Improvisations on Bach’ and ‘Three Pieces After Bach’, a new commission which receives its UK premiere, while on the 18th he’ll be playing an out and out jazz set, showcasing his improving prowess.