Jacob's Ladder

by Brad Mehldau

Overview

Brad Mehldau pushes far beyond the acoustic jazz he is known for on 2022's prog rock-inspired Jacob's Ladder. Even with his past forays into classical and exploratory jazz, the pianist's choice to dip into the kinetic '70s and '80s rock of bands like Rush (he reworks several of their songs here) is an unexpected and eyebrow-raising move. That said, Mehldau has explored pop/rock songs in the past, famously applying his deeply introspective and harmonically nuanced style to tracks by Radiohead, Nirvana, and other iconic bands. While Jacob's Ladder continues this iconoclastic trajectory, it is much more than an intriguing covers album, as Mehldau weaves together several finely curated cover songs with his own ambitious compositions, including two classical-influenced three-part suites. There's also a deeply philosophical bent to the record that's centered around Mehldau's feelings about God and spirituality. Along the way, he showcases a handful of equally boundary-pushing performers including vocalist Becca Stevens, saxophonist Joel Frahm, and singer/mandolinist Chris Thile, the latter of whom joins Mehldau for a particularly faithful rendition of Rush's "Tom Sawyer." Though piano remains Mehldau's primary instrument of choice here, he also plays a variety of analog synths, including Moogs, Korgs, and other sundry electric instruments. Of his original songs on the album, "Herr und Knecht" is perhaps the most prog-sounding, built around a heavy bass-and-drum groove in an odd time signature that Mehldau accents with fuzzy, laser-tone synths. More atmospheric is "Vou correndo te encontrar/Racecar," a melodic, Brazilian-inflected reworking of Periphery's "Racecar" that magically straddles the line between the languid '70s work of Caetano Veloso and the shimmering style of Yes. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	06/17/2022
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597913590

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Brad Mehldau   Primary Artist,Emulator,Sampling,Harmonium,Keyboards,Mellotron,Xylophone,Percussion,Tambourine,Bass Pedals,Spoken Word,Synthesizer,Glockenspiel,Juno,Bells,Drums,Organ,Crumar,Shaker,Vocals,Sleigh Bells,Wind Machine,Fender Rhodes,Piano (Grand),Tenor (Vocal),Orchestra Bells,Organ (Hammond),Piano (Upright),Vocals (Rhythm),Korg Synthesizer,Moog Synthesizer,Piano (Electric),Prophet Synthesizer,Vocals (Background),Analogue Synthesizer,Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Cecile McLorin Salvant   Vocals
Fleurine Elizabeth Verloop   Spoken Word
Luca Van Den Bossche   Treble,Vocals,Treble (Vocal),Vocals (Background),Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Paul Pouwer   Drums (Bass)
Pedro Martins   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals
Timothy Hill   Bass,Bass (Vocal),Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Chris Thile   Vocals,Mandolin,Featured Artist
Mark Guiliana   Drums,Drums (Electric),Electronic Drums
Safia McKinney-Askeur   Vocals,Soprano,Alto (Vocals),Soprano (Vocal),Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part,Alto
Fleurine   Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
John Davis   Sampling
Joris Roelofs   Clarinet (Bass)
Mick "Tinkerbell" Smith   Vocals,Voices
Tobias Bader   Vocals
Motomi Igarashi   Bass,Lironi
Becca Stevens   Alto,Vocals,Soprano,Alto (Vocals),Soprano (Vocal),Vocals (Background),Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Lavinia Meijer   Harp
Damien Mehldau   Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Joel Frahm   Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)

Technical Credits

Periphery   Composer,Lyricist
Alex DeTurk   Mastering
Michael McKiernan   Technician,Piano Technician,Guitar Technician
Danilo Cosucci   Technician,Piano Technician
Thomas Murphy   Composer
Luca Van Den Bossche   Composer
Paul Pouwer   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Brad Mehldau   Composer,Producer,Artwork
Pedro Martins   Composer,Lyricist
Timothy Hill   Composer
Alex Lifeson   Composer
Jon Davis   Mixing
Dave Cook   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Pye Dubois   Composer
Derek Shulman   Composer
Mark Guiliana   Drum Engineering
Neil Peart   Composer
Ray Shulman   Composer
Public Domain   Composer
Safia McKinney-Askeur   Composer
John Davis   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Drum Programming
Lawrence Azerrad   Graphic Design
Jake Bowen   Composer
Mike Trim   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Tobias Bader   Screams
Sofie Knijff   Photography
Misha Mansoor   Composer
Becca Stevens   Composer
Alex Bois   Composer
Matt Halpern   Composer
Spencer Sotelo   Composer
Casey Sabol   Composer
Jasper Trim   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Damien Mehldau   Composer
Oliver Stack   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Steve Howe   Composer
Kerry Minnear   Composer
Chris Squire   Composer
Geddy Lee   Composer
Jon Anderson   Composer