Largo (album)

Largo
Studio album by Brad Mehldau
Released	August 13, 2002
Recorded	April 2-8, 2002, at Studio B, Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood, California
Genre	Jazz
Length	64:09
Label	Warner Bros. 9362 48114-2
Producer	Jon Brion
Brad Mehldau chronology
Progression: The Art of the Trio, Vol. 5 (2001) Largo (2002) Anything Goes (2004)

Largo is an album by American pianist and composer Brad Mehldau released on the Warner Bros. label in 2002.^[1][2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Guardian	[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	[4]

The Guardian's John Fordham gave it a 4-star rating and observed "Mehldau is framed quite differently on Largo – a setting that includes chamber-classical woodwind and brass and a percussion sound deploying hip-hop and drum'n'bass grooves. He also plays electric keyboards at times, and the influence of producer Jon Brion – Mehldau's principal collaborator on the project, though the pianist wrote all the arrangements - was clearly critical".^[3]

AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars, and in its review by Robert L. Doerschuk stated "what intrigues most about Largo in the end is the perspective it offers on Mehldau, whose playing here is, as always, intelligent, perhaps a bit cerebral, and now open as well to sonic exotica".^[1]

JazzTimes reviewer Russel Carlson noted "Even with the added musicians and sounds, Mehldau's piano is, as it should be, the focal point of Largo. His playing remains a little sinister and sad on the CD, but he has also lightened his touch and his melodies and harmonies are refreshingly simpler this time around".^[5]

Track listing

All compositions by Brad Mehldau except as indicated

1. "When It Rains" - 6:36
2. "You're Vibing Me" - 3:28
3. "Dusty Mcnugget" - 5:43
4. "Dropjes" (Jon Brion, Matt Chamberlain, Brad Mehldau, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Darek Oleszkiewicz) - 3:58
5. "Paranoid Android" (Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway, Thom Yorke) - 9:05
6. "Franklin Avenue" - 3:42
7. "Sabbath" - 4:42
8. "Dear Prudence" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 5:22
9. "Free Willy" (Mehldau, Chamberlain, Larry Grenadier, Jorge Rossy) - 5:05
10. "Alvarado" - 4:00
11. "Wave/Mother Nature's Son" (Antônio Carlos Jobim/Lennon, McCartney) - 6:28
12. "I Do" - 7:17

Personnel

• Brad Mehldau - piano, vibes, prepared piano
• Larry Grenadier (tracks 1, 2 & 9), Darek Oleszkiewicz (tracks 2-6, 8, 10 & 11) - bass
• Matt Chamberlain - drums, percussion, tabla (tracks 1-11)
• Jim Keltner - drums, snare drum, vibraphone (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10)
• Victor Indrizzo (tracks 4, 10 & 11), Jorge Rossy (tracks 2 & 9) - drums, percussion
• Jon Brion - guitar synthesizer, guitar treatments, percussion (tracks 4, 5 & 11)
• Justin Meldal-Johnsen - electric bass (tracks 4, 10 & 11)
• Peter Mandell, Rose Corrigan - bassoon (tracks 1 & 12)
• Emile Bernstein, Gary Gray - clarinet (tracks 1 & 12)
• David Shostac, Steve Kujala - flute (tracks 1 & 12)
• Earle Dumler, Jon Clark - oboe (tracks 1 & 12)
• Daniel Kelley, Philip Yao - French horn (tracks 3 & 6)
• William Reichenbach - trombone (tracks 3 & 6)
• George B. Thatcher - bass trombone (tracks 3 & 6)

Credits

• Produced by Jon Brion
• Engineered by Thomas Biller
• Mastering by Doug Sax & Robert Hadley
• Art Direction and Design by Lawrence Azerrad
• Photography by Tina Tyrell

References

1. Doerschuk, Robert L. "Brad Mehldau Largo - Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-01-31.
2. "Discography of Brad Mehldau". Retrieved 2014-01-31.
3. Fordham, John "Brad Mehldau: Largo", The Guardian, September 6, 2002
4. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 989. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
5. Carlson, Russel "Brad Mehldau Largo Review", JazzTimes, September 2002