There has been quite a lot of fuss made about the music of American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. Being acclaimed as the most exciting and compelling jazz pianist since Herbie Hancock is quite a lot to live up to.

There has been quite a lot of fuss made about the music of American jazz pianist Brad Mehldau. Being acclaimed as the most exciting and compelling jazz pianist since Herbie Hancock is quite a lot to live up to.

And having anyone of this calibre playing anywhere in Norfolk must be considered, and savoured.

Where better then, than the wide open space of the Forum's vast foyer all tricked out with night-black curtains especially for the occasion?

Part of Mehldau's appeal lies in the fact that his initial classical training imbues his own compositions. He takes his music to a place that lies between jazz and classical, where labels mean little.

The trio opened with a typically elegant waltz of Mehldau's; Larry Grenadier's bass springy and articulate; the rhythmical accents of Jorge Rossy's drumming moving the music along. They never swing hard, but have a ticking momentum that is all their own. In this airy setting, Mehldau's lightness of touch sends the music springing around the space.

Cascades of notes rush like a musical waterfall from his piano; there are romantic flourishes here but never any over-decoration.

Over an exhilarating couple of hours, Mehldau included a dreamlike reading of Cry Me a River that concluded in a solo nocturne; a bolero of great beauty and then a reading of introspective, navel-gazing British rock band Radiohead's Everything In Its Right Place, which says it all.

It would be nice to think that this isn't the last time we see someone with such a stellar reputation and ability in Norfolk. When they do come, what better place than The Forum?