Mehldau, along with Larry Grenadier on bass and Jeff Ballard on drums, leads perhaps the finest piano trio in jazz today. Along with his collaborations with Wayne Shorter, Pat Metheny, and Joshua Redman, the trio regularly releases quality covers of music we often play on this radio station’s primetime scheduling. “Where Do You Start,” the trio’s second release this year (succeeding March’s “Ode”), includes two such covers, Nick Drake’s “Time Has Told Me” and Sufjan Stevens’ “Holland.” The album includes other standards like Sonny Rollins’ “Airegin,” as well as an original from Mehldau. This contrasts beautifully with “Ode,” which features the same beautiful musicianship but all original songs.

• Released September 18
• Features “Hey Joe,” “Holland,” and “Time Has Told Me”
• Mehldau has been recording since 1993
• The current trio lineup has released 5 albums since 2005
• Mehldau has also contributed songs to the films “The Lake House” and “Eyes Wide Shut”