Sound Advice: Jazz for the people, and TBD Fest says hello 2015

Jazz but casual: Brad Mehldau’s trio walked out onto the Mondavi Center stage wearing sneakers, cool-casual button-downs and jeans. Well, Mehldau wore brown pants. Drummer Jeff Ballard wore plaid. Bassist Larry Grenadier’s hair was doing this swooping thing.

That is all to say that Brad Mehldau, one of the biggest names in modern jazz, and his trio are unusually accessible. Too often jazz is thought of as elite, a genre that requires study to appreciate. Last Thursday night, there were no suits or ties. There was no pretension. Just two hours of fantastic, engrossing jazz to an impressively mixed audience.

The room was maybe two-thirds full. Perhaps a surprisingly low turnout for someone the New York Times deemed “the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years,” but the wealth of 20- and 30-somethings importantly signaled to Mehldau’s ushering of a new kind of contemporary jazz. He was probably the first post-bop artist to play mainstream pop and rock songs with legitimate, widespread success. His Radiohead covers? Incredible.

Sadly, Mehldau skipped Radiohead in Davis. But he did play a glorious version of “And I Loved Her” by the Beatles. I was also thoroughly moved by “Since I Fell for You,” that old, sad torch song popularized by Lenny Welch in 1963. It was an emotional, deft transformation.

Mehldau opened and closed with original compositions. “Spiral” was a heady starting choice—a three-part tug-of-war that intricately darted between frenetic slaps and light touches. His encore was decidedly simpler, a grooving, still nameless tune. In the middle we were treated to an original waltz, “Seymour Reads the Constitution,” inspired by a dream wherein Philip Seymour Hoffman read Mehldau the U.S. Constitution.

Obviously Mehldau’s piano prowess was gorgeous. Normally I find myself fixated on bassists in jazz trios. But drummer Ballard arguably stole the show. His solos were insane, methodical, tempo-defying epics boasting expert manipulation of unusual time signatures. And I don’t think I’m saying that just because I recently saw Whiplash.

Bay Area soul: Apparently California Honeydrops fans didn’t realize it was a Sunday night. They came out to Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub in full force, buzzing like it was Friday and dancing late into the evening. Someone even brought an LED-lit hula hoop.

True to their influences—New Orleans second-line, Delta blues, Southern soul and Bay Area R&B—the Oakland band told feel-good stories over the course of two swingin’ sets. There was call-and-response of epic proportions, janky washboard, covers of silly soul songs like Marvin Sease’s “Sit Down on It” and a multitude of food words used as sexual innuendos: pumpkin pie, pork and beans.

The silliest of them all was the real-life tale of keyboardist Lorenzo Loera being kicked out of his girlfriend’s house and moving in with his grandma. It’s called “Grandma Song,” and the grandmas at Harlow’s loved it.

But the Honeydrops avoided overwhelming cheesiness. Probably because of the tight musicianship, nonstop energy and unbelievably rich, creamy vocals of frontman Lech Wierzynski.

Jam sessions with all hands on deck—sax, drums, bass, keys, trumpet—were the most rowdy, like on single “Like You Mean It.” And you gotta adore any band who unpretentiously calls its most successful song a “locally-grown, sustainable hit.”

NYE, TBD: In case you haven’t heard, TBD Fest is bringing Sacramento a totally unprecedented New Year’s Eve party.

Organizers Mike Hargis and Clay Nutting describe it as “TBD Fest meets THIS Midtown.” In other words, an indie electronic dance music-fueled block party on 20th Street between J and K Streets. It’ll go down rain or shine, with tents, heaters and pop-up bars serving craft cocktails, wine and beer. And sorry kids, the event’s 21 and up.

More importantly, the TBD Fest team says tickets are going quickly. A-Trak is the big-deal headliner, but Gigamesh and Oliver are heavy-hitters too. Nick Catchdubs, co-founder of Brooklyn’s iconic label Fool’s Gold along with A-Trak, and former Sacramento homegirls Sister Crayon are also on the bill.

Recently added is CHLLNGR, the Denmark-by-way-of-Sacramento producer specializing in stripped-down, R&B-influenced dubstep. And more artists are TBD.

Tickets cost $45 for general, $99 for open bar and $149 for VIP. Groups of five or more can save 20 percent when buying en masse. Learn more at www.tbdnye.com.

—Janelle Bitker