House on Hill
Brad Mehldau's "Art of the Trio" trio, which was together from 1994-2004, underwent a change when drummer Jorge Rossy was replaced by Jeff Ballard. As evidenced by the new group's excellentDay is Done(2005), which may be Mehldau's best record, that has hardly been a detriment. But the pianist remains devoted to the original lineup, which was last heard covering standards, pop tunes, and Radiohead onAnything Goes(2004) and here, on a program mostly drawn from the same sessions, interprets Mehldau originals.  Interestingly, he is less frisky with his own material than the standards. "The very condition that allows for expressivity implies its own limitation," he writes in his lengthy, professorial liner notes, which spare no references to Bach and Brahms.  But at its best, the upbeat material still has a kind of lyrical swagger--Mehldau creates his own lively contrapuntal effects in playing his right hand off his left--and the ballads attain a pristine beauty. As ever, the trio maintains its intensity in searching for both emotional answers and musical solutions.--Lloyd Sachs