Brad Mehldau Discusses and Plays The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus" 

Wow, reducing the song to a single instrument, really highlights the beauty of the composition.

The fading coda (original recording) is outlined by diatonic counter lines of low and high strings. Mr. Mehldau, plays that coda faithfully while painting each measure (little sonic pictures if you will) as the gap opens further. I may be stating the obvious, but, his work and performances both impress and inspire us, music lovers. Thanks for the beautiful work so far.

My favourite Beatles song. I think that this song displays Lennon’s genius to the full.

I love when Brad explains his musical ideas, it's like peering into the brain of a genius

Brilliant use of the left hand really makes it engaging.

Just bought Your Mother Should Know based on this talk and performance,

This is the only song I've encountered that uses the major chords associated with every white note on the piano: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G without using a single minor chord. It's a fascinating composition. Beautifully arranged and played to emphasize its strangeness.

I'm usually not a big fan of Beatles instrumental versions, but this was amazing.

such a milestone to put this music on piano with such integrity, i had no idea it was possible , incredibly soulful and inspiring

I'm trying to get my head around where he says he wasn't really ready for a lot of the Beatles' music when he was young, it was more when he was in his 20s. I can remember being around 4 years old, it would have been 67 or 68, laying in the garden on my back in the summer, looking up at the blue sky with a few white clouds, listening to Strawberry Fields on the radio and feeling it was the greatest thing I'd every heard - it 'blew me away'. Wouldn't have missed that for the world. But at least Brad came to appreciate it later.

This is incredibly beautiful. Lennon would have been honored and proud to hear this rendition of his classic song

Brad Mehldau is simply brilliant!

It’s not easy ro be instantly recognisable on the piano. Brad is. Very strong identity and total idiosyncrasy ❤ Love his Beatles. Remember hearing him live in Trondheim early 2000 (or late 90’es) I belive. He opened with «Marth my dear» (Macca) solo, and just wow from then on!

LOVE it! Especially the ending!

something magnificent about Brads interpretation of these Beetle songs...not a simple task...just love it!

What a beautiful rendition of a masterpiece.

Brad is amazing, I’ve seen him live 3 times and he’s been fantastic every time.

So pleased to see another short video sharing his creative process. These are such gems for the fans. Please keep them coming!

Magic rendition... just beautiful ...now for rest of album...thank you

MMT is my favorite Beatles work. I remember hearing Strawberry Fields as a pre-teen doing homework in the basement...Lennon and chaps were pushing the pop envelope. This version of Walrus captures it's strange beauty. Thanks!!

Every single chord in the song is a major chord, though George Martin’s wonderful score incorporates the use of the minor third in the bluesy figures played by the French horn and strings. Gives it this incredible woozy lilt.

Nicely done! John would love this.

Into the world of the unsaid❤

AMAZING… Thank You!,

Lennon was expanding music while expanding his consciousness. harmonically, composition wise and arrangement/production wise, “I am the Walrus” is as adventurous as the Beatles ever got. And then the words and delivery/flow were just brilliant to go with that musical journey. An artistic tour de forcé on all levels, with even a dash of a Shakespeare sample at the fade out

Thank you. I've been very fortunate to have experienced your words, recordings, and live performances for years.

And that’s just one example of the genius of The Beatles. This is a true masterpiece of Rock Music.

Maestro Mehldau manages to make "I am the walrus" sound like a funky Ragtime/Debussy vignette. It is absolutely astonishing!

Le meilleurs pianiste de jazz actuel. A voir en concert absolument 😊

Thank you Brad! I have been waiting a while for you to treat us to a full album of your Beatles interpretations!

Amazing to watch and hear. Just wow!

Brad is A GOAT.

Thanks!!!!

AMAAAAZING! I've finally Realized the Maior Jazz Style Genius about this Song. THANKS MAESTRO MEHLDAU!

Super impressive. Made me look at the Beatles in another way. Thank you for that.

He stresses the original melody in a beautiful way and brings in different instrument line from the original song in a seamless harmonically and experimental way. Bravo!!!!

Wow!!! I didn’t know if you until this moment but you just blew my mind. A perfect distillation of the competing tension of the harmonic dissonance that permeates this song. And like you I found this song almost impossible to listen to as a child. Though I grew to love it as I got older. Thank you. A new life long fan

The master! Looking forward to this album!

This is amazing, and how you took the time to do this it blows my mind. I have every word to this song memorized, yet when the song transitions into “Sitting in an English Garden,” how the mood changes! It’s so beautiful! Thank you so much! Subscribing right now, and sharing. ❤

Amazing how is able to place this awesome song into the Brad Mehldau language. I got the feeling in the beginning that this song was really waiting for.him all along to take it over.

I also wasn’t ready for this song when I was a child. Thank you Brad.

Just amazing. I can't wait to hear this record. Thanks for this

Wow Brad, beautiful, beautiful!!!

I am touched, thusly....

Hi Dear brad you truly make me happy

Wow! Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow … what an effort and accomplishment to worship the music of The Beatles in such a perfect way!

It is immediately noticeable which things Lennon composed using the guitar, and which ones - at the piano). Here John just randomly mixed triads while sitting at the piano (in this song, the text was more important to him). It turned out strange, but interesting, because John was a genius. And Brad embellished the song, bringing subtle pianism and complicating Lennon's chords!)

What an amazing arrangement and performance!!!! I now NEED this album.

what a beautiful composition!

What an incredible good new version of this special Beatles song!!!

Thanks Brad for reminding me why I love this song, after a long time away from hearing it

Fascinating and beautiful.

Brilliant, he makes something hugely complex (to me at least) sound flowing and beautiful

*******Now THAT is a Journey!! Loved the rendition and that vehicle of 88 pistons taking us there!!******* What a Skillful Trip!

Absolutely magnificent. Having grown up with The Beatles and bought every record the day it was published, they educated my taste over the years. Even as a mad Beatles fan I struggled with this song at first. I wonder how kids “get” this music from a cold start. Could your performance be fully appreciated from someone who had never heard the song before? And how could anybody get to where you are with the song. Brilliant performance.

Just blew my mind !

that was astounding……..the melody is never lost for a second …….phew…..when the next tour? We’ll see you there !!!

Thank you maestro 🙏

Excellent, great work. I was 17 when "I Am the Walrus" was released ( 1967 ), was beggining to learn guitar, and already was deeply impressed by it. Though, of course, I could not correctly evaluate it in its deep "strangeness" in terms of musical structure but, anyway, I could deeply feel it ! Thanks for your wonderful interpretation and words ! P. S.: I'm a non professional solo electric guitar player and composer. The Beatles were my first real introduction to music.

Masterful and also interesting and articulate storytelling.

So good !! So B. M. Elegance !!

Whart a great piano arrangment and rendition !

Great!

Spectacular! Thank you.

Brad, I'm really struck by what a JAZZ feel this now has. Partly that's the way you're playing it, of course, but it's also inherent, I think, in the composition itself. Man, the Beatles . . . popjazzrockfusion!!

Gorgeous 💖

Holy $hit. Brad continues to amaze me.

Amazing as always!! Thank you Brad!!

What a journey!

Beautiful

That was great.

would so love to see him and pat m tour with beatles. I can imagine pat taking the melodies and the whole thing launching off to space. not to take anything away from this brilliant interpretation.

Loved it! ❤

Wonderful interpretation and amalgamation of psychedelic rock, jazz, and impressionistic classical music.

Bass: "Obbligato, shmobbligato, you're nothong without me. Step aside!"

Wonderful.

Phenomenal!

Increíble Brad!!!

Música dificílima 👏👏👏👏

It's a great rendition of this amazing song, but I wish he talked more about the track itself and about his process of how he harmonized it for piano only

Wow.

What a genius!😃

So great. Pulling the ghost from the machine, as I hear it. I also love your version of Dear Prudence, it's always a delight when it pops upon on the playlist. I will check out the album! Thanks Brad - are you planning any UK gigs this year?

Genial 🎶🎵🎶🎵👏👏👏👏

3:46 4:27 and 5:59 he does a little phrase that’s only done once on the album version. Nitpicking I know, but I think I prefer this version.

Fantastic. Thank you 🎶👌👏

John would like it..

There are a lot of little blues figures in this performance that change the feel from the Beetles version. They make it less strange, despite Meldhau's professed appreciation of the strangeness.

Funny how, absent all the lyrics and orchestration, it is really a remarkable bit of avant-garde composition!

Impressive!

Holy shit.. I mean this is holy

Brad place the vocal in the register as sung

Quite interesting. Where did you get all those notes in the left hand?

“I Am the Walrus” is the Beatles’ greatest achievement - a pop song which sound completely otherworldly, has more in common with Stockhausen and the avant-garde at the time and represents a true development of the recording studio as an instrument. Frank Zappa consistently described it as his favourite record - so clearly it ticks all the boxes for harmonic complexity and studio innovation. I think it fits very well in the English tradition of composing, and the way Brad first plays the intro makes it sound clearly like a jazzy Britten composition. What is unusual about the song is how it rises through the keys in unexpected ways, it’s very modern-sounding in this respect. Edit: Brad’s interpretation is great, but musicians should leave this alone - if you’re not going to include the string arrangement + radio static + “everbody ha-ha”, then you’re leaving too much out IMHO.

"strange" = Unique IMO

Genius meets genius.

I was wondering how he would handle that outro. Wow

On the Beatles pre Rubber Soul and after is that was the point where they decided to stop touring and playing live. They couldn't hear themselves play live due to the crazy audiences. Doing purely studio tracks that couldn't be reproduced, mostly, live they could fulfill the musical direction they were taking as a group.

I only like the best strangeness!

I hate to be a party pooper but Lennon/McCartney more than likely came up with very raw chord and progressions for "their" songs. Mr Martin more than likely had a massive input on tweaking those original chords as well as the progressions. I think people give too much credit to The Beatles and fail to realize or perhaps are in denial that Martin was way more than just a producer.