Photo: Björn Milcke / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Brad Mehldau is, without question, one of the most intellectually compelling pianists jazz has produced in the last thirty years, and I say that as someone who's sat with his records through all kinds of moods. Growing up in Jacksonville, studying at Berklee and later The New School, he came up in the early 1990s alongside Joshua Redman's quartet and quickly made clear he wasn't just another hard-bop revivalist. His trio work — especially the Art of the Trio series — has this rare quality where you can feel him thinking in real time, turning a Radiohead or Nick Drake song inside out until it becomes something entirely his own. He's got a left hand that anchors you and a right hand that wanders somewhere genuinely surprising, and that combination never gets old.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Brad Mehldau
- Name (Japanese)
- ブラッド・メルドー
- Reading
- ぶらっど・めるどー
- Born
- August 23, 1970 (age 55)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Dog
- Origin
- Jacksonville, Florida, United States
- Occupation
- jazz pianist / composer / music arranger / recording artist / jazz musician
2. Background
- High school
- Hall High School
- University
- Berklee College of Music
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Brad Mehldau born?
Born August 23, 1970 (age 55).
Where is Brad Mehldau from?
Brad Mehldau is from Jacksonville, Florida, United States.
What does Brad Mehldau do?
Brad Mehldau works as jazz pianist, composer, music arranger, recording artist, jazz musician.
Jazz pianist — see all → · Composer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.