The rock, folk and pop tunes Mehldau picks all have some musical facets improvisers can dig into — the trio isn’t slumming. Mehldau loves Nick Drake’s whispered melodies like “Time Has Told Me,” which starts on a simple two-chord vamp before wandering out of key. Even “Hey Joe,” one of the first tunes that children of the ’60s learned on guitar, traces a jazzy circle-of-fifths chord progression. At one point, the bass and Mehldau’s left hand shout out to the Jimi Hendrix version.

- Kevin Whitehead reviews Brad Mehldau:(Unlikely) Songs By Other People