On Brad Mehldau's new album, he alternates keyboard works by J.S. Bach with his own jazz-inflected explorations. Michael Wilson/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Brad Mehldau (left) and Chris Thile (right) have released a new self-titled duo album. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

A still from Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau's live "The Old Shade Tree" video. YouTube hide caption

Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau's forthcoming, self-titled album is on World Cafe's radar for 2017. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

The Fred Hersch Trio performs at Blue Note Beijing on Oct. 28, 2016. Zhang Dongdong hide caption

Brad Mehldau's latest covers project, Where Do You Start, came out Tuesday. Michael Wilson /Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Wayne Shorter's 2003 album Alegria finds the saxophonist and composer matching his quartet with orchestral textures. Thomas Dorn/Verve Records hide caption

The Brad Mehldau Trio. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Horace Silver on the cover of his record Song for My Father. Courtesy of Blue Note hide caption

Ringo Starr's gold-plated snare drum will be on display at New York's Metropolitan Museum until December. Express Newspapers/Hulton Archive hide caption

Pianist Kris Davis has a delicate yet searching touch on Paradoxical Frog, a trio record with Tyshawn Sorey and Ingrid Laubrock. EyeShotJazz hide caption