Highway Rider

Highway Rider
Studio album by Brad Mehldau
Released	16 March 2010[1]
Recorded	February 16–28 and May 12–19, 2009
Studio	Ocean Way (Hollywood, California)[2]
Genre	Jazz
Length	104:00
Label	Nonesuch Records
Producer	Jon Brion
Brad Mehldau chronology
Long Ago and Far Away (2007) Highway Rider (2009) Love Songs (2010)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
DownBeat	[4]
Sputnikmusic	4/5[5]
Tom Hull	B+[6]

Highway Rider is an album by Brad Mehldau, released in 2010 by Nonesuch Records.

Background

It was Mehldau's second collaboration with producer Jon Brion (after Largo),[7] and it features saxophonist Joshua Redman, drummer Matt Chamberlain, and a chamber orchestra led by Dan Coleman, as well as Mehldau's regular trio partners, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brad Mehldau

Disc one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"John Boy"	3:15
2.	"Don't Be Sad"	8:40
3.	"At the Tollbooth"	1:07
4.	"Highway Rider"	7:45
5.	"The Falcon Will Fly Again"	8:21
6.	"Now You Must Climb Alone"	4:05
7.	"Walking the Peak"	8:00

Disc two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"We'll Cross the River Together"	12:28
2.	"Capriccio"	5:20
3.	"Sky Turning Grey [for Elliott Smith]"	6:24
4.	"Into the City"	7:36
5.	"Old West"	8:28
6.	"Come with Me"	6:19
7.	"Always Departing"	6:20
8.	"Always Returning"	9:52

Personnel

Band

• Brad Mehldau – Piano (Disc 1: 1–5, 7; Disc 2: 1–6, 8), Pump Organ (Disc 1: 2; Disc 2: 3), Yamaha CS-80 Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer (Disc 1: 4), Orchestral Bells (Disc 1: 7; Disc 2: 1, 8), Handclaps (Disc 2: 2)
• Jeff Ballard – Percussion (Disc 1: 1, 5; Disc 2: 2), snare brush (Disc 1: 2), Drums (Disc 1: 7; Disc 2: 1, 4, 6, 8); Handclaps (Disc 2: 2)
• Joshua Redman – Soprano Saxophone (Disc 1: 1, 5; Disc 2: 2, 8), Tenor Saxophone (Disc 1: 2, 7; Disc 2: 1, 3, 5), Handclaps (Disc 2: 2)
• Larry Grenadier – Bass (Disc 1: 2, 4, 7; Disc 2: 1, 3, 4, 6, 8), Handclaps (Disc 2: 2)
• Matt Chamberlain – drums (Disc 1: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8; Disc 2: 2, 3), Handclaps (Disc 2: 2)
• Orchestra, Dan Coleman, Conductor (Disc 1: 1, 2, 6, 7; Disc 2: 1, 7, 8)
• The Fleurettes – Vocals (Disc 1: 5)

Production

• Jon Brion – producer, mixing
• Gregg Koller – engineer, mixing
• Eric Caudieux – engineer
• Alan Yoshida – mastering
• Robert Hurwitz – executive producer
• Richard Misrach – cover photograph
• Lawrence Azerrad – graphic design

References

1. Nonesuch (2010-03-16). "Brad Mehldau: Highway Rider". Retrieved 2010-03-16.
2. Brad Mehldau (2010-11-11). "Brad Mehldau official site". Archived from the original on 2010-11-05. Retrieved 2010-11-11.
3. Jurek, Thom. Highway Rider at AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
4. Panken, Ted (June 2010) "Brad Mehldau: Highway Rider". Down Beat. p. 54.
5. "Brad Mehldau: Highway Rider". Sputnikmusic. sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
6. "Tom Hull: Grade List: Brad Mehldau". Tom Hull. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
7. Mehldau, Brad (2023). Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part One. Equinox. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-80050-313-7.

Further reading

• Mats Arvidson: An Imaginary Musical Road Movie: Transmedial Semiotic Structures in Brad Mehldau's Concept Album Highway Rider THE FACULTIES OF HUMANITIES AND THEOLOGY LUND UNIVERSITY