Brad Mehldau fans should be used to his shapeshifting ways by now.
Rightfully acclaimed for his jazz trio recordings, it is the balance of his catalog that delivers a rounded portrait of the musician, from Largo and The Highway Rider to Mehliana: Taming the Dragon, and more.
But Finding Gabriel marks his most idiosyncratically expansive release yet.
Its thematically linked compositions were inspired by a close reading of Old Testament sources -- Daniel, Hosea, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Job -- while considering our current sociopolitical era.
He also experimented with the Oberheim OB-6 analog synth while composing, an instrument whose possibilities were new to him.
It's used alongside acoustic and electric pianos, organ, xylophone, mores synths, and voice.
His celebrated cast of guests includes trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, violinist Sara Caswell, saxophonist Joel Frahm, drummer Mark Guiliana, vocalists Becca Stevens, Kurt Elling, and Gabriel Kahane, and small string and horns sections.
In addition to ensemble pieces, three tunes are performed by Mehldau as a one-man band.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The GardenBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 07:18 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Born to TroubleBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Striving After WindBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | O EphraimBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 05:21 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | St. Mark Is Howling in the City of NightBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 06:20 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | The Prophet Is a FoolBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 06:47 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Make It All Go AwayBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Deep WaterBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 05:13 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Proverb of AshesBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Finding GabrielBrad Mehldau | Brad Mehldau | Play | 07:06 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 55 mins | 127 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ambrose Akinmusire | Soloist, Trumpet |
| 2 | Todd Carder | Assistant Engineer |
| 3 | Sara Caswell | Violin |
| 4 | Chris Cheek | Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor) |
| 5 | John Davis | Engineer, Mixing |
| 6 | Alex DeTurk | Mastering |
| 7 | Dima Drjuchin | Artwork, Design |
| 8 | Kurt Elling | Soloist, Voices |
| 9 | Joel Frahm | Sax (Tenor) |
| 10 | Mark Guiliana | Drums, Electronic Drums, Voices |
| 11 | Noah Hoffeld | Cello |
| 12 | Gabriel Kahane | Voices |
| 13 | Snorts Malibu | Voices |
| 14 | Lois Martin | Viola |
| 15 | Brad Mehldau | Composer, Drums, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, Handclapping, Liner Notes, Mellotron, Piano, Piano (Upright), Primary Artist, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizer, Voices, Xylophone |
| 16 | Charles Pillow | Clarinet (Bass), Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano) |
| 17 | Becca Stevens | Voices |
| 18 | Nolan Thies | Engineer, Photography |
| 19 | Michael Thomas | Flute, Sax (Alto) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |