Pat Metheny And Brad Mehldau Share The Stage At McCallum Theatre

In music, it's all about synergy, and nowhere is that more evident than when Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau take the stage together. The combination of Metheny's searing guitar skills and Mehldau's piano prowess will mesh to create an unforgettable evening of contemporary jazz at the McCallum Theatre on March 22 at 8pm. For this concert, Metheny and Mehldau will share the stage with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard.

"Given how much Metheny has in common with pianist Brad Mehldau, their recent collaboration may seem like musical marriage made in heaven," reported Doug Collette on AllAboutJazz.com. "Young musicians each with a reverence for tradition but also a willingness to challenge convention, they are both prodigious instrumentalists and only slightly less impressive as composers. While some jazz lovers might have predicted theirs as an inevitable pairing, seeing such teamwork happen and hearing something substantial arise from it can be two different things. Fortunately for all involved"¦ Metheny/Mehldau is a remarkable piece of chemistry on every level."

Metheny was born and raised in Missouri. He briefly attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, dropping out after his first semester. But what is remarkable, the University immediately offered him a teaching position. Lucky for the music world, he passed on that opportunity to become a professional musician. In over three decades, his body of work is second to none, garnering him 17 Grammy Awards with and as part of The Pat Metheny Group, ten consecutive Grammys.

Mehldau, dubbed "the brooding Gen X prince of piano" was exposed to Methany's music at age 13 when a friend played him, "Are You Going With Me" from the Pat Metheny Group's 1982 live double-album, "Travels." Years later, Metheny heard Mehldau's piano backing saxophonist Joshua Redman - right then he knew the two would ultimately share the stage.

Mehldau was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1970 and moved to New York at age 18 to study jazz at The New School, studying under Fred Hersch, Junior Mance and Kenny Werner, and also playing with Jackie McLean and Jimmy Cobb. One of Brad's trademarks is the way he can transform rock songs by groups like Radiohead or The Beatles in such a way that they sound as if they were jazz standards in the first place.

Desert Lexus, Masters Financial Group, Metropol, Time Warner Cable Media Sales and KJJZ 102.3-FM sponsor Fitz's Jazz Café at the McCallum's presentation of Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau.

Together, Metheny and Mehldau will deliver a unique genre-bending blend of jazz, rock, pop, and fusion, Tickets for Pat Metheny and Brad Mehldau on Thursday, March 22 at 8pm are on sale now. Ticket prices are $85/70/60/50. -- www.mccallumtheatre.com

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Posted March 4th, 2007 by ruzik_tuzik