Brad Mehldau

Though Mehldau is perhaps best known as the leader of his celebrated trio with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard, as well as recent large-scale works like his Highway Rider that received a bravura SFJAZZ performance in October 2016, the solo performance is a rare chance to experience the pianist’s creativity unrestricted and unadorned. It’s clear how much emphasis and focus Mehldau himself has placed on his career as a soloist in recent years — releasing a four-CD Nonesuch set 10 Years Solo Live in 2015, After Bach in 2018, and his latest solo venture, Suite: April 2020, devoted to his experiences during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in his adopted home of Amsterdam. His newest album, 2022’s Jacob’s Ladder, is an all-star session inspired by the progressive rock music of his youth.