This is the third time pianist Brad Mehldau has returned to the Village Vanguard in the course of his Art of the Trio cycle, here for a two-disc set. Bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy again divide their accompanist duties with equal flair, and Mehldau, always an extremely centered pianist, gives evidence of artistic growth that presumably flows from his decision to concentrate on solo playing during 1999 and early 2000.
Mehldau is gradually living down the hyperbole that surrounded his early recordings, and he has exceeded expectations to become a significant musician. You only have to listen to his extended fantasia on "Long Ago and Far Away" to realize this, as he patiently reveals new ways of looking at a familiar composition without slippage in either logic or inspiration.