This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
In classical music circles, largo refers to a slow, steady, stately tempo. In L.A. music circles, however, it refers to the club Largo, where musician Jon Brion holds star-studded jam sessions every Friday night.
I’m not precisely sure which one jazz pianist Brad Mehldau is alluding to on his intriguing new album Largo. It could be the first, judging by the gracefully languid approach and lyrical, thoughtful solos that grace some of these dozen instrumentals. Then again, more likely it’s the latter, since none other than Brion himself produced the CD. And since it features a whole host of guest players and session cats who join Mehldau to loosely jam their way through tunes by The Beatles (a lazily rocking Dear Prudence and a zippy Mother Nature’s Son) and Radiohead (a beautifully sombre Paranoid Android), along with originals like the post-metal sludgefest Sabbath and the post-rock/post-bop workout Free Willy. Still, whichever way he meant it, there’s no getting around the fact that Mehldau is living largo these days.
