Dr. Pierre van der Westhuizen, Executive and Artistic Director of The Gilmore, recently released the video of a concert by three Grammy®-winning jazz artists: acclaimed pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist extraordinaire Christian McBride, and increasingly renowned drummer Marcus Gilmore. Performed before a sold-out audience at The Gilmore in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on April 13, 2025, the powerhouse trio shared the stage for an 80-minute set stocked with Mehldau originals and cover tunes.
The video is available on Christian McBride's YouTube channel.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride and Marcus Gilmore to bring their new trio to audiences worldwide, to enjoy from the comfort of their homes,” says Dr. Pierre van der Westhuizen, Executive and Artistic Director of The Gilmore. “This exclusive video captures rare live footage of the talented threesome’s Michigan debut.”
Described by The New York Times as “the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years,” Brad Mehldau has done more to extend and refine the piano trio’s possibilities than any artist in the last quarter century. One of the most lyrical voices of contemporary jazz piano, his unique path embodies the essence of jazz exploration, classical romanticism and pop allure. He has worked with artists including Pat Metheny, Renée Fleming, and Joshua Redman, and garnered awards and admiration for his own compositions and re-workings of songs by The Beatles, Cole Porter, Radiohead, Paul Simon, and George Gershwin.
“One of the premier musicians of his generation” (DownBeat), Christian McBride is a nine-time GRAMMY winner who is widely regarded as the foremost jazz bassist in the 21st century and an innovative composer and bandleader. He heads ensembles including Inside Straight and The Christian McBride Big Band. His skills encompass straight-ahead, experimental, and free-leaning jazz; funk, soul, Latin, hip hop, and rhythm and blues. He is Artistic Director of the Newport Jazz Festival, Creative Chair for Jazz with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Jazz Advisor for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), and hosts National Public Radio’s Jazz Night in America.
Drummer Marcus Gilmore – grandson of iconic drummer Roy Haynes – can be heard on the soundtrack for the film “Soul.” He premiered his first orchestral composition with members of the Cape Town Philharmonic in 2020. He has worked with Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Robert Glasper, Vijay Iyer, Derrick Hodge, Jill Scott, Norah Jones, Terrence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove, and Terrace Martin.
Created in 1989 to honor the legacy of businessman and philanthropist Irving S. Gilmore, The Gilmore is the premier institution in the United States dedicated exclusively to commissioning, performing and awarding extraordinary piano artistry. The GILMORE has presented 16 piano festivals, commissioned over 40 new works for piano, and awarded over $3 million as part of its internationally renowned Gilmore Artists Award for classical pianists. The Gilmore will announce the winners of its inaugural Larry J. Bell Jazz Artist Awards in the fall of 2025 and present its annual (previously biennial) Gilmore Piano Festival April 30-May 10 in 2026. Based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, The Gilmore continues to impact the lives of thousands of area children and adults through its year-round community engagement and music education programs including summer camps, music therapy, and much more.
The Mehldau-McBride-Gilmore Trio concert was presented by The Gilmore and sponsored in part by the John Stites Jazz Awards.
