Seymour Reads the Constitution!

Last updated
Seymour Reads the Constitution!
Seymour Reads the Constitution! cover.jpg
Studio album by
Brad Mehldau
ReleasedMay 19, 2018
Studio Power Station, New York City
Genre Jazz
Length1:04:16
Label Nonesuch
Producer Brad Mehldau
Brad Mehldau chronology
After Bach
(2017)		Seymour Reads the Constitution!
(2018)		 Finding Gabriel
(2019)

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.

Contents

Background

The trio of Brad Mehldau (piano), Larry Grenadier (bass), and Jeff Ballard (drums) had recorded together since 2005; [1] their previous album was Blues and Ballads , which was released in 2016. [2] Since then, Mehldau albums had included duets with Chris Thile, and solo piano recordings of Bach pieces. [3] The title track of the new recording came from a dream that Mehldau had, in which actor Philip Seymour Hoffman read the United States Constitution to him. [4] The pianist recounted that Hoffman "read in a measured but slightly melancholic voice, resigned and stoic all at once. Behind his voice was the melody of what became 'Seymour Reads the Constitution'. When I woke up I grabbed the initial melody before it faded away and wrote the song." [4] Hoffman died less than two weeks later. [4]

Music and recording

The album was recorded at Avatar Studios, New York City. [2] It was produced by Mehldau. [2]

"Spiral" contains "a repeated motif with downward-moving harmonies and builds into a drum-feature peak". [1] "Mehldau re-harmonises and toys with the baroque opening line of 'Ten Tune' while Ballard is at full stretch; the piece plays out with the pianist unaccompanied, spinning variations with such purpose that they appear pre-composed." [1]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [5]
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Arts Desk Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]
DownBeat Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Financial Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Jazz Forum Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [8]
Jazzwise Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
PopMatters 9/10 [10]
RTÉ.ie Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Tom Hull B+ [12]

Seymour Reads the Constitution! was released by Nonesuch Records on May 19, 2018. [2] The AllMusic reviewer wrote that "much of the album has a balmy, laid-back quality as if it were recorded during a sunny afternoon at home." [3] The Financial Times reviewer commented that "there's no mistaking that Mehldau's piano is the lead voice. Particularly when, as on this album, the American displays the iron logic that made his recent solo album After Bach such a standout." [1] DownBeat suggested that the performance of "Spiral" "is strong enough that it might set a new bar for what counts as The Art of the Trio [the title of a series of Mehldau albums, beginning with The Art of the Trio Volume One ]." [7]

The album received two Grammy nominations at the end of 2018. [13] It was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, and the track "De-Dah" was nominated for Best Improvised Jazz Solo. [13]

Track listing

  1. "Spiral" (Brad Mehldau) – 8:33
  2. "Seymour Reads the Constitution" (Mehldau) – 8:03
  3. "Almost Like Being in Love" (Frederick Loewe) – 5:41
  4. "De-Dah" (Elmo Hope) – 8:42
  5. "Friends" (Brian Wilson) – 8:15
  6. "Ten Tune" (Mehldau) – 10:07
  7. "Great Day" (Paul McCartney) – 5:54
  8. "Beatrice" (Sam Rivers) – 8:54

Personnel

Chart performance

Chart (2018)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [14] 137
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [15] 198
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [16] 87

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Grenadier</span> American jazz double bassist

Larry Grenadier is an American jazz double bassist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Mehldau</span> American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger

Bradford Alexander Mehldau is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Ballard (musician)</span> American jazz drummer

Jeff Ballard is an American jazz drummer. He has played with Ray Charles and Pat Metheny and played periodically with Chick Corea in many groups such as Origin and the Chick Corea New Trio. He also played with many New York–based jazz musicians such as Reid Anderson, Brad Mehldau, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Miguel Zenon and Eli Degibri. He has also played with the Joshua Redman Elastic Band.

<i>Metheny/Mehldau</i> 2006 studio album by Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau

Metheny Mehldau is a jazz album released in 2006 by Nonesuch Records. Most of the album is a duet between guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau. On two songs, they are accompanied by drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier.

<i>Metheny/Mehldau Quartet</i> 2007 studio album by Pat Metheny, Brad Mehldau, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier

Metheny Mehldau Quartet is a jazz album by guitarist Pat Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau, released in 2007 by Nonesuch Records. It features bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard.

<i>Blues and Ballads</i> 2016 studio album by Brad Mehldau

Blues and Ballads is a studio album by jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. It is a piano trio recording, with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums. Mehldau received a Grammy nomination at the end of 2016 for Best Improvised Jazz Solo on the album's "I Concentrate on You".

<i>Highway Rider</i> 2010 studio album by Brad Mehldau

Highway Rider is an album by Brad Mehldau, released in 2010 by Nonesuch Records.

<i>Ode</i> (Brad Mehldau album) 2012 studio album by Brad Mehldau

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.

<i>Day Is Done</i> (album) 2005 studio album by Brad Mehldau Trio

Day Is Done is an album by the Brad Mehldau Trio released on the Nonesuch label in 2005. The album was Mehldau's first to feature Jeff Ballard, who replaced the Mehldau Trio's original drummer Jorge Rossy.

<i>House on Hill</i> 2006 studio album by Brad Mehldau Trio

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).

<i>Brad Mehldau Trio Live</i> 2008 live album by Brad Mehldau Trio

Brad Mehldau Trio Live is a live album by American pianist and composer Brad Mehldau's Trio released on the Nonesuch label in 2008.

<i>Where Do You Start</i> 2012 studio album by Brad Mehldau Trio

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.

<i>10 Years Solo Live</i> 2015 live album by Brad Mehldau

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.

<i>Nearness</i> (album) 2016 live album by Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau

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.

<i>Walking Shadows</i> 2013 studio album by Joshua Redman

Walking Shadows is a studio album by jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman. It was released in 2013 by Nonesuch Records.

<i>After Bach</i> 2018 recording by Brad Mehldau

After Bach is a solo album by pianist Brad Mehldau. It consists of five compositions from Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier interspersed with pieces by Mehldau that were inspired by them. The performances were recorded in 2017 and released by Nonesuch Records the following year.

<i>Finding Gabriel</i> 2019 studio album by Brad Mehldau

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.

<i>Suite: April 2020</i> 2020 studio album by Brad Mehldau

Suite: April 2020 is a solo piano album by Brad Mehldau. It was recorded in 2020 and released later that year by Nonesuch Records.

<i>LongGone</i> 2022 studio album by Redman, Mehldau, McBride and Blade

LongGone 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. 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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hobart, Mike (May 18, 2018). "Brad Mehldau Trio: Seymour Reads the Constitution! – 'Compositional Rigour'". Financial Times. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Seymour Reads the Constitution! By Brad Mehldau Trio". nonesuch.com. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Collar, Matt. "Brad Mehldau / Brad Mehldau Trio: Seymour Reads the Constitution!". AllMusic . Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Mehldau, Brad (May 19, 2018). "Seymour Reads the Constitution". bradmehldau.com. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  5. ↑ McClenaghan, Dan (May 24, 2018). "Brad Mehldau Trio: Seymour Reads The Constitution! album review @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz . Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Wright, Matthew (13 May 2018). "CD: Brad Mehldau Trio - Seymour Reads the Constitution". The Arts Desk . Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  7. 1 2 Hale, James (July 2018). "Brad Mehldau Trio: Seymour Reads the Constitution!". DownBeat. p. 51.
  8. ↑ Iwicki, Piotr (24 August 2020). "Seymour Reads The Constitution! | Jazz Forum". Jazz Forum . Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  9. ↑ Ballard, Jeff (July 2018). "Reviews". Jazzwise . Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  10. ↑ Ingalls, Chris (May 21, 2018). "'Seymour Reads the Constitution!' Is Brad Mehldau's 2018 Victory Lap". PopMatters . Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  11. ↑ Kehoe, Paddy (9 July 2018). "Brad Mehldau Trio - Seymour Reads the Constitution". RTE. RTÉ.ie . Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  12. ↑ "Tom Hull: Grade List: Brad Mehldau". Tom Hull . Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  13. 1 2 "Daversa, Salvant, Mehldau Nominated for Grammy Awards". DownBeat. December 7, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Brad Mehldau – Seymour Reads the Constitution!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Brad Mehldau – Seymour Reads the Constitution!" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Brad Mehldau – Seymour Reads the Constitution!". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.