Brad Mehldau: Martha My Dear

Paul McCartney doesn't get much credit as a pianist, but he builds very smart musical structures at the keyboard. Check out "Martha My Dear" from The White Album and admire Paul's fine harmonic motion and interesting left-hand action. But when it comes to left-hand action, Mehldau is the best since Smokin' Joe Fraizer threw that vicious southpaw hook back in the white-album-ish days of yore. Mehldau's sinister phalanges run amok in the bass clef, and his right is no slouch, by the way. Mehldau's counterpoint is invigorating, and this whole track shows not only his musicianship, but his conceptual brilliance.