Pianist Brad Mehldau reinterprets 10 tunes from the Beatles songbook on his new live solo album.
Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles features nine songs by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and one by George Harrison.
Although other songs by The Beatles have been staples of Mehldau’s solo and trio shows for years, he had not previously recorded any of the tunes on Your Mother Should Know.
The recording concludes with a David Bowie classic that draws a connection between The Beatles and the pop songwriters who followed.
Your Mother Should Know was recorded in September of 2020 at Philharmonie de Paris.
Watch a live performance video of the title track, recorded at New York’s legendary Village Vanguard:
“There is an undisputed universality to The Beatles,” Mehldau says. “Their music cuts across cultural and generational lines, as new listeners continue to discover it. There is an immediacy and integrity to their songs that draws everyone in.”
He continues: “When I was getting started at the instrument, The Beatles were not on my radar yet, but a lot of the enduring piano-pop music I heard on the radio grew out of them. That music became part of my personality, and when I discovered The Beatles later, it all tied together. Their music, and its wide influence on other artists, continues to inform what I do.”
The album is part of a prolific and acclaimed period for the pianist and composer. Mehldau’s latest works include 2020’s solo effort Suite: April 2020; 2021’s Variations on a Melancholy Theme, commissioned by and recorded with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; and 2022’s Jacob’s Ladder, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. He has also recently released a pair of recordings with the original Joshua Redman Quartet; 2020’s RoundAgain and 2022’s LongGone, both of which were nominated for Grammys.
Here’s the track listing:
- I Am the Walrus
- Your Mother Should Know
- I Saw Her Standing There
- For No One
- Baby’s in Black
- She Said, She Said
- Here, There and Everywhere
- If I Needed Someone
- Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
- Golden Slumbers
- Life on Mars?
Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles is out Feb. 10, 2023, via Nonesuch.
