Suite: April 2020
Brad Mehldau Piano Solo
Brad Mehldau | Suite: April 2020 (Nonesuch, 2020)미디어나 재즈 팬들이 선정한 올해의 Best도 아니고 내가 한 해 동안 가장 자주 듣고 애정한 Favorite도 아니다. 그래도 2020년에 ‘관한’ 음악이라면 브래드 멜다우의 피아노 솔로 [Suite: April 2020]가 먼저 떠오른다. 어쩌면 사료(史料) 같은 음악. 브래드는 COVID-19 시대의 보편적인 슬픔과 근심, 그리고 든든한 위로까지 음악에 담았다. I. waking up 부터 XII. lullaby 까지 12곡의 자작곡이 지금 이 시대의 스냅 사진이라면 스탠더드 3곡은 안부편지 같다. 특히 마지막 곡 'Look for the Silver Lining'은 익숙한 쳇 베이커 버전과 달리 슬로우 템포로 연주했다. 그 리듬과 온기가 참 편안하다. 12월 31일 세밑은 이 곡과 함께 마무리했다.
Note from Brad:
Suite: April 2020 is a musical snapshot of life the last month in the world in which we’ve all found ourselves. I’ve tried to portray on the piano some experiences and feelings that are both new and common to many of us. In ‘Keeping Distance,’ for example, I traced the experience of two people social distancing, represented by the left and right hand—how they are unnaturally drawn apart, yet remain linked in some unexplainable, and perhaps illuminating way. As difficult as COVID-19 has been for many of us, there have been moments of revelation along the way. ‘Stopping, Listening: Hearing’ highlights that moment as well.
I’ve pointed to some of the strong feelings that have arisen the past month or more: ‘Remembering Before All This’ expresses a bittersweet gut-pain that has hit me several times out of the blue, when I think back on how things were even just a few months ago, and how long ago and far away that seems now; ‘Uncertainty’ hits on the feeling that can follow right after that—a hollow fear of an unknown future.
There’s also been a welcome opportunity to connect more deeply with my family than we ever have, because of the abundant time and close proximity. The last three pieces hit on that connection—the harmony we find with each other, making meals together or just horsing around. ‘Lullaby’ is for everyone who might find it hard to sleep now.
Neil Young’s words in ‘Don’t Let It Bring You Down’ have always been counsel for me, now more than ever, when he instructs: ‘Don’t let it bring you down/It’s only castles burning/Find someone who’s turning/And you will come around.’ Billy Joel’s ‘New York State of Mind,’ a song I’ve loved since I was nine years old, is a love letter to a city that I’ve called my home for years, and that I’m far away from now. I know lots of people there and miss them terribly, and I know how much that great city hurts right now. I also know that it too will come around.
Thanks everyone, Brad
