Elan Mehler Trio - Being There, Here [CD]

'Being There, Here' captures the pianist/composer Elan Mehler and his trio playing in Therme Vals, Switzerland, the very spa hotel where the pianist was first "discovered" by Gilles Peterson, who released his first three albums. The peaceful ambience of the surroundings was very different to that found in a jazz club and Mehler's largely introspective repertoire mirrors this fact. <p>Included in the set are three classic Ellington songs, distinctive versions of Sy Oliver's "Yes, Indeed" and Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing" and - signalling an indication to explore all genres - Elan's take on "I Dream a Highway", a slice of atmospheric Americana from the pen of alternative country stars Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. The album also includes one original composition by Elan, "Waltz Ferwerda".</p> <p>Elan Mehler grew up in the Boston area and started playing piano and composing at the age of 6. In 2006 he met BBC Radio presenter and record producer Gilles Peterson at a solo piano gig in Switzerland and was subsequently signed to his fledgling Brownswood Recordings. Called "disorienting and fascinating" by MOJO magazine and a "refreshingly slow answer to our trashy nanosecond pop culture" by Time Out, the pianist went on to release three albums on Brownswood Recordings.</p> <p>"Mehler's touch is as nuanced as Bill Evans' and his phrasing draws on both jazz and classical music without directly importing licks from either. The subdued certainties of his playing bring a crowded room to total silence." - John Fordham, The Guardian</p> <p>Personnel: Elan Mehler (piano), Tod Hedrick (bass), Max Goldman (drums)</p>