Live At Birdland

Konitz / Mehldau / Haden / Motian
Ecm Records (Jazz)
Jazz | May 2011

Reviews

Fo
Reviewed 2011-05-28
KONITZ/MEHLDAU/HADEN/MOTIAN: Live at Birdland
ECM, 2011

MODERN JAZZ – Four masters at work, recorded live. This was a one-off, weeklong gig with no preparation or preconceived notions, so the music is pretty spontaneous despite the all-standards repertoire. Lee Konitz’s high, wavering sax tone and Brad Mehldau’s chiaroscuro piano chords give a surreal cast to the ballads and a sort of goofy playfulness to the livelier numbers. Meanwhile Charlie Haden and Paul Motian lay back, constantly finding subtle ways to bend time & space.

Fo’s Picks: 2, 3, 4, 6

1. 12:05 – slow, moody: sax aches, piano is pensive, bass goes down deep
2. 10:16 – quiet midtempo stroll: piano twists melody, solo bass really sings
3. 11:39 – casual: cerebral sax/piano interplay, quiet bass, cool drum break
4. 10:17 – lovely, languid ballad, sweet solos all around
5. 11:49 – sort of clunky at first, settles into offbeat glide, questioning solos
6. 15:19 – sax/drum duet tiptoes through bop melody, quartet keeps it sneaky; long piano solo gets elaborately twisty, bass has abstract moments

[ Fo ] 05/28/11

Recent airplay

Lover Man
Mix TapeDec 22, 2019
Lover Man
Mix Tape: DosedJun 05, 2015
Oleo
RebopJul 02, 2011
I Fall In Love Too Easily
RebopJun 21, 2011
Oleo
RebopJun 14, 2011
Solar
No Cover, No MinimumJun 10, 2011

Charting

2011-05-30 — 2011-08-01 Jazz
Week EndingAirplays
Jul 3 1
Jun 26 1
Jun 19 1
Jun 12 2
Jun 5 2

Track listing

1. Lover Man
2. Lullaby Of Birdland
3. Solar
4. I Fall In Love Too Easily
5. You Stepped Out Of A Dream
6. Oleo