A direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine of 2020,
Brad Mehldau's intensely personal
Suite: April 2020 finds the pianist crafting deeply ruminative solo performances. Recorded while
Mehldau and his family were self-isolating in the Netherlands, the album works as a musical snapshot of the times, reflecting his feelings about living through the global health crisis, as well as his solidarity for those who marched in the United States to protest the killing by police of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other black Americans. In some ways, the record brings to mind his 2018 album
After Bach, in which he offered his own inventively improvised responses to works by classical composers. Primarily, these are impressionistic, somewhat abstract tone poems with tracks like "Stepping Outside," "Keeping Distance," and "Remembering Before All This," balancing
Mehldau's skills as both a harmonically sophisticated jazz musician and adept classical pianist. There's a tangible conceptual nature to these songs, as on "Keeping the Distance," where he utilizes contrasting right- and left-hand dynamics to portray the idea of social distancing. Similarly, on "Stepping Outside" he uses distinctive harmonies and starkly atonal chord clusters to evoke the strange dissonance of being both outdoors and out of our comfort zones -- socially, politically, and otherwise. Elsewhere, he conjures the dancerly style of pianist
Dave Brubeck on the sprightly "In the Kitchen" and draws upon the poetically cerebral ECM work of artists like
Keith Jarrett and
Paul Bley with the languid "Waiting." There are also several heartfelt covers, including a lyrical take on
Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down" and a moving rendition of
Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind."
Mehldau ends the album in classic style with a poignant take on the standard "Look for the Silver Lining," a choice that speaks to his artistic wit and thoughtful positivity in the face of difficult times. ~ Matt Collar
![The Epic [LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/5054429002300_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "The Epic [LP]")
