Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau is paying tribute to Elliott Smith with his new record Ride Into the Sun. And in the track, “Colorbars,” Mehldau teams up with mandolin player Chris Thile. (Also featured on the album are bassist Felix Moseholm, drummer Matt Chamberlain and Daniel Rossen, from Grizzly Bear.)
While no one can replicate Smith’s delicate vocals, Mehldau and his cohorts pay a nice tribute with the “Figure 8” track. But, clearly this song in particular is meaningful to Mehldau, with the record’s title coming from the song.
“(It) is a beautiful point in the lyrics of ‘Colorbars,'” said Mehldau in a press release. “Elliott Smith says in the original song, ‘Everyone wants me to ride into the sun.’ When I listen to music, I have the feeling that I can be in communion with somebody who’s no longer in this earthly realm. Like he is here, you know? And as far as riding into the sun, it’s maybe more of a perpetual riding into the sun with him. It’s something mystical there.”
The album also includes covers of Big Star‘s “Thirteen,” and “Sunday” by Nick Drake. Also featured are four tracks by Mehldau, which he describes as “inspired by, and reflect, Smith’s oeuvre.”
Smith died in 2003, as he was working on his album, From a Basement on the Hill.
