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William Wedmedyk
D. Marino
Jazz History
April 14, 2013
Where Do Yo !tart"
#he most re$ent %rad Mehlda #rio release, Where Do You Start?, e&hi'its the ni(e
artisti$ dire$tion o) Mehlda. *ot only is the per)orman$e a testament to the +rops
otstandin+ $ommni$ation, $reati,ity, and ,irtosity, 't the al'm $onsists entirely o)
$o,ers o) past pop tnes, per)ormed -ith the ,er'atim attitde that many .azz prists sho-
-hile per)ormin+ standards. /ts this mentality that +i,es a re)reshin+ and ori+inal statement to
the .azz $ommnity. /t a))irms the pla$e o) poplar msi$ in the .azz realm, and diminishes the
a+e0old (estion o) -hether or not pop msi$ holds any ,ale. #he al'm almost, to me,
ar+es that ,ale is simply -here -e $hose to pt or heart, not or minds.
#he +rop 'e+ins -ith Got Me Wrong, a son+ -ritten 'y Ali$e /n 1hains. #hey
per)orm it -ith little to no reharmonization, and let the ori+inal per)orman$e +ide their
$reati,e inpt. #he tne 'e+ins -ith open )i)ths in the le)t hand, -hi$h eli$its the o',ios
sond o) po-er $hords on +itar. A hi+h ener+y, and 'les2ro$k in)len$ed per)orman$e,
$opled -ith the $omple&ity o) the trio3s $ommni$ation and +ro-th drin+ the son+ makes
)or a -onder)l start to the al'm. #o )ollo- is a 'eati)l, lamentin+ 'allad 'y !).an !te,ens
$alled Holland. #his is one o) my )a,orite tra$ks 'e$ase it sho-$ases the one thin+ / look )or
in all msi$4 e&pression, emotion, and depth. /t3s a simple pop tne, sre, 't they don3t
'elittle their per)orman$e 'e$ase o) that. #hey +ro- )rom this $alm, nostal+i$, happy0sad
pianissimo 'e+innin+, and )or the entire son+ they $ontinally $res$endo into a -onder)lly
emotional $lima&, -hi$h en+a+es the listener ntil the end o) the son+. / don3t kno- that /
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hear this le,el o) e&pression ot o) a ma.ority o) .azz / listen to, and not only do / en,y this,
't / yearn )or more5
#o )ollo- is one o) t-o standards on the al'm, %ro-nie !peaks. 6n$e a+ain, the
#rio s$$ess)lly takes somethin+, and -ithot reharmonization, or arran+in+, they mana+e to
$reate a )a'los per)orman$e. #he am'i+ity o) the +enre o) the drmmer, some-here
'et-een )sion, se$ond line, and strai+ht ahead s-in+, it ne,er $eases to amaze me the
msi$al intelli+en$e o) Je)) %allard. 6h and to add to the )n, -e +et 'lessed 'y the )irst 'ass
solo on the al'm in this son+. Mehlda takes a solo and sho-s s a -ay o) seein+ standards
that / rarely see ot o) many players. #he le,el o) s'tle nan$e in his harmonies and lines
pshes my msi$al 'ondaries e,ery time. 7inally, a short 't s-eet drm solo to end the
tne.
*e&t p is an 8l,is 1ostello tne $alled %a'y 9lays Arond. All / $an say a'ot this is
:-o-.; /ts 'allads like these that a))irm my lo,e )or this trio. <eally=too many )eels=
Aire+in is the other standard on this al'm. >ike the other, there is no arran+ement. /
think this per)orman$e, i) im not mistaken, is e&a$tly -hat the Da,is ?intet did -ith it @as )ar
as into +oesA. /t 'e+ins -ith a 'ass solo in -hi$h Brenadier relies hea,ily on more intri+in+
phrasin+ o) (arter notes to a$$ommodate )or the speed o) the tne. Mehlda takes the ne&t
solo and sho- $ases his ni(e approa$h to phrasin+ and melodi$ de,elopment. #he o,er 'ar
line (ality o) his lines en$ora+es the listener to stay en+a+ed and dis$o,er -hat is to $ome
ne&t, or -here the resoltion -ill lie.
/n $ontrast to this 'rnin+ tne, ne&t they play the Hendri& $lassi$ Hey Joe, and
Samba e Amor. Altho+h one is ro$k, and the other is 'ossa no,a, these t-o tnes take on
similar moods. A slo- ro$k +roo,e permeates 'oth, and 'rin+s s into a tran(il .am -here
-e are taken on a -onder)l .orney o) moti,i$ de,elopment. #o )inish the al'm, Time Has
Told Me, a *i$k Drake son+, and A(elas 1oisas #odas, a sam'a 'y #ininho Horta. #he
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Drake tne, like many o) his $ompositions, ha,e a melan$holy $alm to them. 1onsiderin+ the
amont o) Drake son+s Mehlda has $o,ered, i think its sa)e to assme he has a lo,e a))air
-ith his -ritin+. 7or +ood reason too, Drake sed npredi$ta'le phrases to his melodies, and
non traditional means o) ,oi$in+3s $hords. /ts this s'tlety that sets him apart as a son+ -riter,
and ltimately $ontri'ted to his post mortem s$$ess. %y $ontrast, #he Horta tne is a )n
and ener+eti$ sam'a. /t is a $ele'ratory -ay to end an al'm, and an appropriate endin+ at
that. Altho+h /3,e heard a mltitde o) $riti$isms to-ards him )or 'ein+ :too pop0y;, / ha,e
immense respe$t )or %rad Mehlda )or releasin+ this al'm, and )or all o) the -ork he has
$ontri'ted. /t3s a -holly honest e&pression o) himsel), and his internal sense o) art, and e,en
speaks to a lar+er philosophi$al ideal that -e shold all stri,e )or. Aside )rom the pop tne
itsel), his playin+ speaks to a lar+er intelle$tal ideal, so -hy i+nore that"