| Jacob's Ladder | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 18, 2022 | |||
| Recorded | April 2020 – January 2021 | |||
| Studio | The Bunker Studios, Brooklyn; Power Sound Studios, Amsterdam; various others | |||
| Length | 70:09 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Producer | Brad Mehldau, John Davis | |||
| Brad Mehldau chronology | ||||
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Jacob's Ladder is an album by Brad Mehldau. It was recorded in 2020 and 2021 and released by Nonesuch Records in 2022.
The album was recorded between April 2020 and January 2021, mainly at The Bunker Studios, Brooklyn, and Power Sound Studios in Amsterdam, but with contributions from Mark Guiliana, Becca Stevens, Safia McKinney-Askeur, and Timothy Hill recorded elsewhere. [1] It was produced by Mehldau and John Davis. [1]
"The book of Genesis story about Jacob's dream of a ladder leading up to heaven during a flight from his brother Esau provides the inspirational thrust for the album." [2] There are two three-part suites: "Cogs in Cogs", based on Gentle Giant's piece from their The Power and the Glory album; and "Jacob's Ladder". [2] For "Maybe As His Skies Are Wide", Mehldau transposed a line from Rush's 1981 track "Tom Sawyer" to a child's vocal pitch. [3]
Mehldau explained, "The musical conduit on the record is prog. Prog – progressive rock – was the music of my childhood before I discovered jazz. It was my gateway to the fusion of Miles Davis, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra and other groups, which in turn was the gateway to more jazz. The prog from Rush, Gentle Giant, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer… These bands and others have continued to influence newer groups that bring prog impulses into the arena of hard rock and screaming math metal, like Periphery, whose music is included here” and inspired the screaming vocals on album track ‘Herr und Knecht’." [4]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100 [5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [7] |
| DownBeat | [2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| Jazzwise | [8] |
| Mojo | [5] |
| PopMatters | 6/10 [9] |
| Tom Hull | B [10] |
Jacob's Ladder was released digitally and on CD by Nonesuch Records on March 18, 2022, followed by vinyl on June 17 that year. [1]
Reviewers commented on the presence of prog-rock and Christian Scripture influences in the album. [3] [11] The JazzTimes reviewer wrote: "Prog’s conceptualism pairs well with the multiple directions Mehldau pursues in this incredible work of modern spiritual reflection". [11] For John Fordham, the "panoramic soundscape, storyteller's control of dynamics, and canny use of guest players [...] show how far Mehldau has come as a sophisticated manipulator of complex materials". [3] Ivan Hewett writing for The Daily Telegraph commented, "As always with Mehldau ambition often tips over into pretentiousness, but one forgives him because there’s a real musical sensibility at work. When complication drops away towards the close, signalling a return to primal innocence, we catch a glimpse of that sensibility in some beautifully simple piano improvisations. If only we could have had more of those." [7] John Garratt of PopMatters added, "If one were to disregard the heavy-handed preaching, they would find a prog jazz album that is, if not necessarily uneven in quality, uneven in temperament. It makes for an eclectic mix but could potentially wreak havoc on an unsuspecting listener just looking for another jubilant crossover release. Best to know where you stand first." [9]
Source: [1]
Source: [1]
Bradford Alexander Mehldau is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.
Mark Guiliana is a Grammy-nominated American drummer, composer and leader of the band Beat Music. He has played with Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau, David Bowie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Gretchen Parlato, Jason Lindner, Lionel Loueke, Dhafer Youssef, Tigran Hamasyan, Matisyahu, St. Vincent, the European piano trio Phronesis and his own groups, Heernt and the Mark Giuliana Jazz Quartet.
Ode is a contemporary jazz album by American pianist Brad Mehldau. It features Mehldau's regular trio partners, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard. The album was released on March 20, 2012 by Nonesuch Records.
House on Hill is an album by American pianist and composer Brad Mehldau released on the Nonesuch label in 2006. The album was mainly recorded at the sessions which produced Anything Goes (2004) and is the first album entirely composed by Mehldau since Places (2000).
Live in Marciac is a live album by American pianist and composer Brad Mehldau released on the Nonesuch label in 2011. The album consists of 2 CDs and a DVD featuring Mehldau's performance at Jazz in Marciac in France in 2006.
Where Do You Start is an album by the Brad Mehldau Trio released on the Nonesuch label in 2012.
Brad Mehldau is an American jazz pianist. He first recorded in 1991, for saxophonist Christopher Hollyday's The Natural Moment. He has recorded more than forty albums as leader or co-leader, many more as a sideman, and for several soundtracks.
Mehliana: Taming the Dragon is an album by Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana released on the Nonesuch label in 2014. Mehldau's solo on "Sleeping Giant" was nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo in the 2015 Grammy Awards.
10 Years Solo Live is a recording by jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. It contains solo piano tracks from 19 concerts in Europe during the period 2004–2014.
Nearness is an album by jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman and pianist Brad Mehldau. It contains six duets recorded in concerts in Europe during 2011. The record was released on September 9, 2016 by Nonesuch. It was Grammy-nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album at the end of 2016. The record also produced two singles.
Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau is an album by Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau. It was released by Nonesuch Records on January 27, 2017.
Walking Shadows is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman. It was released in 2013 by Nonesuch Records.
Joel Frahm is an American jazz saxophonist.
Seymour Reads the Constitution! is an album by pianist Brad Mehldau. The trio recording, with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums, was released by Nonesuch Records in 2018. The pianist reported that the melody and name of the title track came from a dream, during which actor Philip Seymour Hoffman read to him. The album received two Grammy nominations at the end of 2018.
Finding Gabriel is an album by Brad Mehldau. It was recorded over an 18-month period in 2017–18 and was released by Nonesuch Records in 2019. It won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
RoundAgain is a studio album by Joshua Redman's quartet, consisting of himself on saxophone, Brad Mehldau on piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. The album was released on July 10, 2020 by Nonesuch Records label.
Suite: April 2020 is a solo piano album by Brad Mehldau. It was recorded in 2020 and released later that year by Nonesuch Records.
Variations on a Melancholy Theme is an album by American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. It was recorded in 2013 and released only on June 11, 2021, by Nonesuch.
LongGone is an album by Joshua Redman's quartet, consisting of himself on saxophone, Brad Mehldau on piano, Christian McBride on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. This is the quartet's third release after MoodSwing in 1994 and RoundAgain in 2020. The album features six tracks written by Redman: five originals and one ("Rejoice") taken from MoodSwing.
Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles is a solo piano album by Brad Mehldau. It was recorded in September 2020 and released by Nonesuch Records on 10 February 2023.
