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Brad Mehldau Trio

November 11
Zellerbach Hall

Courtesy of artist

Among the most distinctive voices of his generation, Grammy-winning jazz pianist Brad Mehldau traffics in extremes. His music weaves together a host of seeming contradictions—a passion for in-the-moment discovery balanced by a penchant for narrative and structure; a sensibility prone to heady abstraction and dense counterpoint but also drawn to the tunefulness, simplicity, and directness of a delicious pop song. With 12 trio recordings to his name over more than 25 years, Mehldau has entered the canon of great jazz piano trio leaders, and here is joined by longtime bandmates, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard, for an evening of probing original compositions and expertly reimagined jazz standards. “A marvel of contemporary jazz. The ever-empathic Mehldau trio…never stops fizzing with life” (Jazzwise).