Brad Mehldau: Ride into the Sun

“the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years”
— The New York Times

World renowned pianist Brad Mehldau expands the language between genres with an homage to the late indie folk artist Elliott Smith, whose music inspired a generation of songwriters.

This virtuosic live performance of Mehldau’s 2025 album Ride into the Sun features singer/mandolinist Chris Thile (Nickel Creek), guitarist Blake Mills, drummer Matt Chamberlain (Fiona Apple, Tori Amos), and bassist John Davis. This lauded band is backed by the 17-piece USC Thornton Chamber Virtuosi on Mehldau’s rich cinematic arrangements.

Mehldau’s GRAMMY®-nominated album Ride into the Sun was called a “magnificent new record” in a four-star review by Record Collector and a “deeply satisfying tribute to a great lost talent” (Mojo). The album’s ten Elliott Smith songs are complemented by four Mehldau compositions inspired by him and interpretations of Big Star’s “Thirteen,” which Smith also covered, and “Sunday” by Nick Drake, whom Mehldau sees “in some ways as sort of Smith’s visionary godfather.” Composer and jazz pianist Mehldau, whom The New York Times named “the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years,” will be joined by his longtime collaborator, GRAMMY® Award-winning and MacArthur Fellow mandolinist Chris Thile, and a talented set of musicians in an evening that celebrates Elliott Smith’s indelible mark on music.

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