Following the epic, turbo-charged one man showcase on the retrospective 10 Years Solo Live and the exhilarating contemporary prog electronica fireworks of his duo Mehliana's Taming the Dragon, Brad Mehldau returns to the more intimate format of the acoustic piano trio on which he initially built his inimitable reputation. Blues and Ballads picks up essentially where Where Do You Start? in 2012 left off, with an entire covers collection featuring the usual suspects from The Beatles’ ‘And I Love Her’ (also featured on 10 Years Solo Live) and Paul McCartney's ‘My Valentine’ from 2012, through to an exquisitely expressive take on Buddy Johnson's widely-covered sleepy blues standard ‘Since I Fell for You’. More highlights include his rendition of the hip Largo producer Jon Brion's sweet miniature ‘Little Person’ taken from his score to the film Synecdoche, New York and the sideways swing of the Charlie Parker blues ‘Cheryl’. Mehldau's unique craftsmanship is undisputed but he also brings a real emotional depth to Blues and Ballads.