Punctuated by a surging synth-led funk-rock theme far more suited to the mosh pit than the concert hall, the narrator on the opening title track of Taming the Dragon recalls a trippy dream as a passenger in a car driven by a Dennis Hopper-like character. Read the personnel details again: yes this is a review of Brad Mehldau's new duo recording and the noir-ish voiceover on the track belongs to the acclaimed acoustic pianist himself as he recounts a dream and its symbolic meaning of staying aware of, but not stifling, those demons within. The edgy rock ’n’ roll side of the Mehldau persona reveals itself on this astonishing new CD as he lifts the lid on his pre-jazz childhood days as a prog-rock fan. But this is no nostalgia ride. His partner in crime is New Jersey born, ex-Avishai Cohen sideman and drummer Mark Guiliana and his incredible ‘real time’ beat science has to be heard to be believed, filtering sounds from contemporary hip hop, dub and electronica as well as rock and jazz. Ultra-hip studio engineer and mixer Gregg Koller who also worked on Highway Rider (2010) and with producer and composer Jon Brion, (who was Mehldau's key collaborator on his previous ‘bolt out of the blue’ recording Largo from 2002) is the sonic dreamweaver. A younger post-prog generation might just as well hear the retro futuristic ambience of French bands Air (especially on the recording's equally excellent more softly pulsating moments) or Daft Punk in Mehldau's Blade Runner-like vintage synth washes and Moog bass squelches. But in among them, the song-like themes and inspired improvisations on Fender Rhodes are still trademark Mehldau. Taming the Dragon is already one of the best albums of 2014.