Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau - Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau (Nonesuch Records 2017)

Historical article recovered from a Wayback capture dated 2018-02-24.

Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau come from different worlds but the same species. Thile is a progressive-bluegrass pacesetter, Mehldau is the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years.The mandolin and piano pairing makes for a beautifully eclectic experience on this hour-long set, spread over two CDs .These Nonesuch Records label mates are two of the most acclaimed current generation musicians in America. Both have separately played in Australia in 2016 – Chris with Punch Brothers in August, and Brad in a duo concert with Joshua Redman as recently as October. At the end of 2015, they played a two-night stand at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom before going into the studio to record this mix of covers and original songs. The meeting of the two masters of their respective realms is a spine-tingling triumph – a honky, gutsy, jaunty, darkly witty new musical fusion that is suitably strange yet strangely familiar. The eleven songs dig down into the roots of American music, touching the common ancestry of jazz and country. Alongside some excellent originals including the co-written The Old Shade Tree and the classically inspired Noise Machine are the edgy readings of songs by Bob Dylan, Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright and the lilting wistful evocative reworking of Joni Mitchell’s Marcie. This is a musical partnership that will definitely endure

Barry O’Sullivan