Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau 2LP

Nonesuch Records labelmates mandolinist/singer Chris Thile and pianist Brad Mehldau, longtime admirers of each other's work, first toured as a duo in 2013. At the end of 2015, they played a two-night stand at New York City's Bowery Ballroom before going into the studio to record 2017's Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau, a mix of covers and original songs.

The artists "come from different worlds but the same species," says the New York Times. "Mr. Thile is a progressive-bluegrass pacesetter; Mr. Mehldau is the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years. Both are team players." The Guardian exclaims: "Two very different musicians hit a remarkable rapport on this double album."

The vinyl edition includes a bonus performance of Fiona Apple's "Fast as You Can."

Thile and Mehldau deliver a set of deeply engaging, organically realized songs that perfectly balance their respective jazz and bluegrass skills. Given that they seemingly come from polar ends of the musical spectrum, the collaboration may feel like an odd choice at first. However, after hearing this debut, one might be hard-pressed to imagine a more compatible duo to emerge from their generation than these two distinctive mavericks.

In exploring the world of Americana, Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau is sometimes cozy, sometimes haunting and sometimes, unexpectedly, both.