It was in London back in 2011 that mandolinist/singer Chris Thile (Nickle Creek, Punch Brothers) and pianist Brad Mehldau first performed together as part of Mehldau’s residency at Wigmore Hall. The connection between the two artists was something to behold as The Guardian reported: “Mehldau struck up his signature rocking chord vamp over which lightly struck motifs swell to sensuous extended melodies. Thile kept cajoling him with percussive snaps, flying runs, and chords strummed fast enough to sound as seamless as a purring strings section, inducing Mehldau … to bat back the playful provocation with stinging rejoinders.”
Such chemistry was worthy of further revisits and in 2013 they undertook their first tour as a duo followed by a further reunion in 2015 with a two-night at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom where Alex Charloff captured them on film performing ‘Scarlet Town’, written by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch:
It was following their two-night residency that the duo headed into the studio to record their self-titled album which features a mix of covers and original songs that Nonesuch releases on January 27, 2017, on two CDs / LPs. Cover’s include Bob Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, Joni Mitchell’s Marcie, Elliott Smith’s Independence Day as well as a composition by late 16th /early 17th century Irish harpist and composer Ruaidri Dáll Ó Catháin. See the full tracklisting below:
Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau Tracklisting
The Old Shade Tree – Brad Mehldau & Chris Thile
Tallahassee Junction – Brad Mehldau
Scarlet Town – David Rawlings & Gillian Welch
I Cover the Waterfront – Johnny Green & Edward Heyman
Independence Day – Elliott Smith
Noise Machine – Chris Thile
The Watcher – Brad Mehldau
Daughter of Eve – Chris Thile
Fast As You Can * – Fiona Apple
Marcie – Joni Mitchell
Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright – Bob Dylan
Tabhair dom do Lámh – Ruaidri Dáll Ó Catháin
* Vinyl LP only
Pre-orders are available now at iTunes and at nonesuch.com, where the album track ‘Scarlet Town’ may be downloaded immediately.