The greatest way to keep a musician alive long after their death is to continue to perform their songs, and Brad Mehldau is living proof.
The iconic jazz pianist has been hard at work recording a new album, Ride Into The Sun, a tribute to the late Elliott Smith. In advance of the record's release on August 29, Mehldau, 54, made his late night television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He performed a stunning rendition of Smith's "Colorbars," accompanied by Chris Thile of Punch Brothers, who sang lead vocals and played mandolin.
The performance was intimate— surprisingly so given the massive reach of the late night television stage— and Mehldau put a refreshing spin on the song. "Colorbars" is a song from Smith's album, Figure 8, which was released in 2000, just three years before his untimely death. Fans of Smith likely noticed the backdrop to Mehldau's performance: the Figure 8 album cover.
Fans were moved by the evocative performance, which offered a unique take on a song that's become a classic over the last two decades. No one expected a jazz rendition of "Colorbars," but seeing it performed on one of the most popular late night programs was an even greater surprise.
"I feel like I've gone back in time, I'm actually seeing a jazz musician on mainstream TV and it's Brad Mehldau. What an unbelievable treat for everyone to witness one of the most important voices ever for the piano," commented one fan.
"This is kind of surreal to watch...I know this is Brad crossing over (as he has done for a long time) but on a Late Night Show, its worlds colliding for me!" added another.
Ride Into The Sun isn't the beginning of Mehldau's journey with Elliott Smith, but a continuation. In 2000, in the midst of Smith's Figure 8 era, Mehldau joined Smith for a live performance on The Jon Brion Show.
“Elliott Smith says in the original song, ‘Everyone wants me to ride into the sun.’ When I listen to music, I have a feeling that I can be in communion with somebody who is no longer in this earthly realm, like he is here," Mehldau said in a 2025 interview. "And as far as ‘riding into the sun,’ it's maybe more of a perpetual riding into the sun with him. I don't know ... There's something mystical there.”
As for Mehldau's collaboration with Chris Thile, there's a history there, too. The pair first played music together in 2011 during Mehldau's residency at Wigmore Hall in London. Two years later, they toured as a duo, but it wasn't until 2017 that they released a studio album together. Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau is a 10-song LP that blends original songs with covers from the likes of Elliott Smith, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, among others.
Though Mehldau and Thile have not released a second record together, they remain close collaborators. Thile sang and played mandolin on Ride Into The Sun, which includes four original compositions of Mehldau's in addition to the ten Smith covers and interpretations of Big Star's "Thirteen" and Nick Drake's "Sunday."
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