I had no idea what to expect from Mehliana‘s show – mainly because they have not yet released any recordings together (their first will be released in January)! The only thing I expected was jazz, and I got that and more.

Brad Mehldau, a fantastic pianist, and Mark Guiliana, an amazing drummer, comprise the new duo Mehliana.

I had never seen Mark perform, but I saw Brad perform once with the wonderful mandolin player, Chris Thile. Brad’s style is accessible and engaging, so I was excited to see what he would do in a duo with a drummer.

The evening started with a straightforward jazz number.  They followed with songs that meshed jazz with progressive rock or funk or electronica – and probably other styles that blended so well with jazz that I couldn’t discern them!

During the set, one of the songs they played was “My Favorite Things” which I loved!  Their take of that well-known song was truly lovely – I hope it is on their CD. I think most of their material was original, however. Their encore was a jazz-funk number that had every head bopping to the beat, and more that a few bodies moving.

Much as I love The Sinclair, I’m not sure it was the best venue for this show. I would have preferred seeing them at Berklee Performance Center which has extremely fine acoustics.

I’m glad I saw this show. I hope they will perform together for a long time!