Following their collaboration on the groundbreaking Largo album, Highway Rider reunites Mehldau with Los Angeles-based producer Jon Brion (Dido, Kanye West, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright) in an even more ambitious setting, with a broader instrumental palette. This two-disc, 15-track song cycle was written, orchestrated, and arranged by Mehldau and features his long-time rhythm section of drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier, along with old friends drummer Matt Chamberlain and saxophonist Joshua Redman as well as a chamber orchestra conducted by Dan Coleman. Highway Rider reflects Mehldau's recent experience writing long-form pieces, including the Carnegie Hall-commissioned Love Songs for mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter.
Highway Rider is often breathtaking in its sweep, contrasting the intimacy of Mehldau's contemplative solo work with large-scale, purely orchestral pieces like "Now You Must Climb Alone" and "Always Departing". There's gravitas in this work, but also subtle humour and playfulness, especially on the flamenco-accented "The Falcon Will Fly Again", which features a clapping circle and children's voices. Mehldau and Brion have a unique chemistry as artist and producer. The rigor of Mehldau's writing is matched by its musical and emotional immediacy; the atmosphere of these sessions, held in February and May of 2009 at Ocean Way studio in Los Angeles, is as exhilarating for the listener as for all the musicians evolved. As Mehldau puts it, "It's so exciting to write something and have it in your head and then hear if for the first time being played by these magnificent players. It's really an emotional experience. I'm still reeling from it."
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