Jazz

Following a year's absence and a groundswell of audience encouragement, Jazz returns to the Penn Presents roster in two big ways: a new, 2-set per night, cabaret jazz format in the Center's intimate Harold Prince theatre; and a more traditional, main stage concert format in the Center's recently renovated Zellerbach Theatre. Either way, you will be treated to some of the best music on the jazz scene today—and be invited to share your thoughts regarding future years' jazz programming!

Brad Mehldau Trio
Sunday, April 27 at 7:30pm
$40 • $35 • $30 • $25

Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has recorded and performed extensively since the early 1990s. He is first and foremost an improviser, who cherishes the surprise and wonder that can occur from a spontaneous musical idea. But he also has a deep fascination for the formal architecture of music, which informs everything he plays.

The two sides of Mehldau's personality—the improviser and the formalist—play off each other, and the effect is often something like controlled chaos. Mehldau has performed around the world with his trio and as a solo pianist. His performances convey a wide range of expression, and he favors juxtaposing extremes -- the intellectual rigor and density of one tune is followed by a stripped down, emotional directness in the next.