Following their collaboration on the groundbreaking Largo album, Highway Rider reunites Mehldau with Los Angeles-based producer Jon Brion (Dido, Kanye West, Fiona Apple, Rufus Wainwright) in an even more ambitious setting, with a broader instrumental palette. This two-disc, 15-track song cycle was written, orchestrated, and arranged by Mehldau and features his long-time rhythm section of drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier, along with old friends drummer Matt Chamberlain and saxophonist Joshua Redman as well as a chamber orchestra conducted by Dan Coleman. Highway Rider reflects Mehldau's recent experience writing long-form pieces, including the Carnegie Hall-commissioned Love Songs for mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter.