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Ride into the Sun

Ride into the Sun is a studio album by American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. It was recorded on January 24–28, 2025 and released on August 29, 2025. The album includes ten compositions by singer-songwriter Elliott Smith and four of Mehldau's own, which he says are "inspired by, and reflect, Smith's oeuvre". The title of the album was inspired by the lyrics to Smith's "Colorbars": "Everyone wants me to ride into the sun. But I ain't gonna go down, Laying low again, high on the sound."

Reception

Frank Housh of All About Jazz wrote, "Ride into the Sun<nowiki/>'s 16 tracks are bursting with great music, love and respect. The album—like Smith's music, like life itself—is beautiful and sad." Jon Turney, writing for UK Jazz News, said, "If you know and like Smith's songs, I'm fairly sure you'll like this. If you care for Mehldau's work, and are curious about what inspires him, you’ll likely enjoy it too but perhaps, as I did, only intermittently."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Elliott Smith except where noted.

Personnel

  • Brad Mehldau – piano, producer <small>(all tracks)</small>
  • Daniel Rossen – acoustic guitar <small>(3, 10, 12, 14, 16)</small>, lead vocals <small>(3, 12)</small>, backing vocals <small>(10)</small>, resonator guitar <small>(12)</small>
  • Chris Thile – mandolin <small>(3, 14)</small>, lead vocals <small>(14)</small>, backing vocals <small>(3)</small>
  • Felix Moseholm – acoustic bass <small>(3, 6, 12, 14)</small>
  • John Davis – acoustic bass <small>(1, 11)</small>, electric bass <small>(2, 10, 15, 16)</small>, engineering, mixing
  • Matt Chamberlain – drums <small>(1–3, 6, 10–16)</small>, percussion <small>(2, 13)</small>, screams <small>(2)</small>

Orchestra: <small>(1–3, 7</small><small>, 8, 10, 11, 15, 16)</small>

  • Dan Coleman – producer <small>(all tracks)</small>, conductor <small>(1, 2, 7, 8, 11, 15, 16)</small>
  • Jill Dell'Abate – contractor
  • Jackie Thompson – copyist
  • Jessica Han, Alex Sopp <small>(flute solo on 15)</small> – flute
  • Agnes Marchione – clarinet
  • Adrian Morejon – bassoon
  • Eric Reed – horn
  • Christina Courtin, Ellen DePasquale <small>(violin solo on 1)</small>, Laura Frautschi, Joanna Maurer, Derek Ratzenboeck, Austin Wulliman – violin
  • Mario Gotoh, Dov Scheindlin, Nadia Sirota – viola
  • Michael Haas, Sophie Shao <small>(cello solo on 16)</small>, Caitlin Sullivan – cello
  • David Grossman – bass (orchestral)

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

References

External links