Brad Mehldau Discusses and Plays The Beatles' "Your Mother Should Know" 

It’s like listening to Leonard Bernstein teaching and playing The Beatles. Just when you think you’ve heard every possible analysis, something like this pops up. Thanks for sharing.

So much respect for him and his playing!

I'm so glad he recorded this. I've always thought that "Your Mother Should Know" was a gem, and I have never seen it anything but derided.

There's this mysterious. continuous thread of beauty and intensity to Brad Mehldau's solos .

So happy to hear his appreciation of Supertramp! I love classical, rock and jazz and it’s always fun to hear great musicians who cross genre boundaries.

Can we have more of this please? Have Brat talking and playing few pieces of music from each album. I'd love to watch them like a Netflix series.

7:52 🤯 never heard Brad doing something so Monkian. Amazing 👏

Open mind, imagination, artistry... Such a player, with broad range of inspiration, hence, unique blend of expressional tools, including improvisation as fresh as Corea or Jarrett. (in my humble opinion)

Brad is the absolute man

Absolutely unbelievable! How he treats the Beatles tune for what it is, the same feel and yet adds Brad's special touch to this music. His solo is swinging so hard! I love how he took the time to talk about the swing feel in these songs The Beatles did and Supertramp - so interesting. He says so much when he plays and speaks thru his instrument.

One of our greatest pianists.

Listening to Brad Mehldau speaking and sharing his thoughts is almost as enthralling as listening to him play!

This is what an open mind, a generous sprit and fantastic musicianship looks like...

The more 'correct' term for what Brad refers to as 'frumpy' and 'swingy' is actually British (or English) Music Hall, which was a significant part of Paul McCartney's musical upbringing and development.

“I’m a piano player” That’s something of an understatement! Superb insight. Thank you, Brad

Just wonderful. I heard an interview with him on Fresh Air that was a long version of these conversations. I had never heard of him before. I'm smitten now.

I first heard Brad when started to record with saxophonist Joshua Redman, and recalled thinking "WHO IS THAT?". Then I heard him years later play with his trio at UC Berkeley and I swear he was hearing his ideas a full minute before he played them! He's pretty amazing, and always follows his heart . . . Personally, I'm most excited when he takes pop pieces farther away from the original setting (especially harmonically), like his version of "Blackbird".

I first fell in love with his playing with his version of Blackbird on one of his art of trio albums and so him making a full album of the beatles seems completely in keeping. Another CD definitely on the shopping list.

such a wonderful pianist and musician!

Stunning. Brad has such respect for a tune and the ability to take it somewhere else and still keep its essence. Genius.

I've always loved this song! And now this great artist bring this rendition, plenty of beauties!

I love how he played the bridge. Like a classical piece. Absolutely beautiful.

When I grow up, I want to play like Brad Mehldau.

This was great. I grew up with Beatles. And Then keyboard players like Keith Emerson, Tony Banks, Rick Wakeman, Patrick Moraz etc

7:55 love this!

very, very rare to hear renditions of Beetles songs that do them justice but...Brad's work on this album is fantastic. Captures the songs with a wonderful take on them. Love it!

My friend sent me this link. So glad he did. Now I have another CD to buy. Love this!

My introduction to the artist - will definitely explore his catalog

Wonderful; I could listen to Mehldau all day and night long!

The tease. Now I need a 15 minute meditation of Mehldau playing “take the long way home.”

Amazing version! Beatles 4-ever! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Truly exceptional cover rendition, and the discussion is open and knowledgeable.

Great interpretation. This song was always a favorite of mine, despite so many people hating it. The recording is a bit sappy but the Beatles wrote some amazing tunes for others to re-interpret.

Just Lovely and Delightful! God Bless this great man)

I play classical piano but am so jealous of Meldau's technique!

Really heartfelt and insightful - also brings to mind John's typically ascerbic decription (which I'm sure he didnt mean) - "Paul's Granny music..."

Lovely to hear his thoughts on this and other songs. I was one of hundreds of musicians influenced by the Beatles appearance on their Sullivan show appearance in early 1964. My observation on the term " swing. " If you listen to Bill Haley's seminal song of 1954, " Rock around the Clock, " the drum pattern is borrowed from big band tunes, especially the hi-hat. ( In 4/4, 1st and third beat open, 2nd and 4th closed. ) Also, McCartney composed many songs that Lennon dubbed " granny music. " I think Paul's father exposed his son to many dance hall grooves which he later incorporated into his songwriting. ( Honey Pie, When I'm 64. ) regarding Joel and John, both of them were heavily influenced by the group but developed their own unique writing abilities. I love the improvisation he does at 6:40. Lastly, as a tribute to the melodic style of Paul, John and George being appreciated by musicians, check out Benson's " The Other Side of Abbey Road, " as well as Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, McCoy Tyner and Diana Krall.

As soon as he mentioned Supertramp, I knew he would play “The long way home”

Thanks for validating my musical tastes

This is so brilliant. Makes me so happy. Brad, you’re a master!

Brad keeps reinventing stuff and renewing himself. Now that he’s done a Bach record and a Beatles record I could almost say that he’s reached the summit. Which I am sure he did not.

Great to see him talking about this stuff (and playing of course)

At least since I heard his solo on « River man » (Live), I’m « captured « by Brad’s playing..💁🏻‍♂️😊

important to note beatles/beach boys didn't introduce piano to rock. piano was a foundational rock n roll instrument, both via players like fats domino and little richard, as well as jazz and boogie precursors.

Really thoughtful, intelligent and insightful. Not to mention a superb player. Great segment.

So interesting…. What the element of swing brings to me in music appreciation: it drives music forward; it’s kind of like the heartbeat in a way. It drives the music forward like a galloping horse, like something that falls onwards because of the shorter note being followed by the longer one. It always wants to ‘fall forward’, move onwards. Straight quavers have a different quality to me. You can also drive with syncopated or grouped quavers, but there’s a very different feel to that. To me, that ‘heartbeat’ quality (and in the end all music grouped in lots of threes) is a mysterious one, yet one which always makes me want to move or dance. We all listened to heartbeats when we’re still in the womb. Could there be a connection between that and the happiness and comfort I feel when playing to or listening to swung music? I wonder…. Thanks for this beautiful video, Brad 🙏

I like McCartney's "old timey" Beatles songs, including Maxwell, which seems to be a song lots of people dislike. Looking forward to hearing Brad's take on it and the rest of this record!

thank you for this amazing inside!

That "Frumpy Swinginess" is also a characteristic of mid-late ('80s) George Shearing, Paul's fellow Brit, who doubtless must have also been very familiar with the Music Hall style. At this time in his career, Shearing also became enamored with the genteel stride style of Boston pianist Dave McKenna

Amazing playing from this master. He makes it look very easy, I guess is only because he master the sound and technique

OMG, this brings a tear to my eye.

Fantastic musicality. Thanks! 🎹🏅🍷

Keep on keepin on Maestro 🙏💗🎶

The swing is within Mr. Mehldau. 🖤

I like that improv towards the end, kind of a salute to Monk.

saw him in LA, 2008, with Larry G and Jeff B... they did a free thing towards the end of the set, and i witnessed him dribble a chord on the piano at a speed you can't imagine... the effect was similar to a virtuoso tenor letting out a primal scream... haven't seen this before or since

wonderful! suuuper inspiring!

Wonderful Brad Mehldau !

Man that snippet of Supertramp sounded so good

Just wonderful. Paris says hello ! @nonesuch when will this new recording be released in France ? A few of us got to hear it live but so looking forward to hearing it again…and again…and again.

Would would love to hear Brad Mehldau Trio playing Free Jazz.

Thanks 🎉

Absolutely loving this! Thanks!

Of all the things I loved about this vid --- and there was a lot to love --- I appreciate his decidedly "improper" posture seated at the piano. I do something similar on the drums (partly because I have similarly long forearm proportions, and a skinny hypermobile frame in general), it never occurred to me to experiment with equally unorthodox setups on piano... but I will now, thanks Brad!

Thank you, brad! 🥲❤

Love you Brad.

I love the fact that he can’t help but reharmonize everything he plays!

i love it!! -

Pure Gold!

Ive always considered Dire Straits' "on Every Street" to be a sonic masterpiece, along with Sting's "Soul Cages", Joni's "Hejira", anything by 10CC, Beck's "Hyperspace", and of course, anything Pat Metheny's recorded, "If I Could" to name one.

Tony Banks founder of Genesis was the tape boy at Abbey Road during the the Let it Be recording (I think) The songs you've picked are nostalgic, throwback cliches of the War Years along with When I'm 64 and Octopuse's Garden. Quaint as these are, imo the truly forward looking torch bearers of the innovative Beatles were the prog rockers Genesis, Yes, et.al.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times. Well... Ok. I've only said it like 30-40 times: Brad needs to arrange his version of Young's masterpiece Country Girl. How that hasn't happened already is a mystery to me. Maybe he knows Young's studio version off Deja Vu is already too perfect and he simply doesn't wanna mess with it? That'd be understandable.

Just magical

Bravo, Brad, Bravo!

Golden

Magnifico.👋👋👋👋👋👋

Good to see a nod to Supertramp.

I felt that.

Love ya Brad

Beautiful as always! I really want to buy this album on iTunes but it is not available in my region. Will this be available in Australia?

Sounds fantastic. You should record a version on Tac Piano. So ragtime.

So beautiful

Wow!!!! ❤

I wasn't optimistic going into this, but Brad teases out the genius in a song I never really respected. Would Brad not say that Beethoven's Opus 111 really "swings" in the second movement?

God thank you

You can hear the Beatles influence and specially this swinging vibe in a few songs written by Noel Gallagher, like The Importance Of Being Idle (recorded with Oasis) or The Death Of You And Me.

Lovely!

thanks for sharing brad's insight..who did the lighting on these vid's? did brad sign off on back lighing his ears?

Don’t forget Honey Pie - another frumpy tune from Macca.

Wonderful rendition of a lesser heard classic song … 👏

Your Mother Should Know - echoes of frumpy Earl Hines e.g. Body and Soul piano solo. Would love to hear Brad really explore keyboard centered rock tunes, maybe a series, like KJs standards trio. Bravo, Take the Long Way Home. Hope A Day in the Life is on the new recording. Brad's 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover is hands down some of his best playing.

Fantastic💯🎶🎹🕺🏼

6:24 Brad, can you do an album of Schubert next..?

Lovely.

Lennon referred to this type of material as “Paul’s granny music” but I think he was a bit jealous..

The miles davis of our era. Mehldau is God.

He's the man

If Glenn Gould had lived longer.❤

sure Bach does swing! Anybody listen to the "Brandenburg Concertos", swings like hell!

double plus good