Suite: April 2020 by Brad Mehldau

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 musically portray on the piano some experiences and feelings that are both new and common to many of us. In “keeping distance”, for instance, 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 council 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 8 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.

A direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine of 2020, Brad Mehldau's intensely personal Suite: April 2020 finds the pianist crafting deeply ruminative solo performances.