Mandolinist Chris Thile and pianist Brad Mehldau redefine the jazz duo.

Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau was recorded at the famed Avatar Studios in New York City over a frantic three-day period that straddled late 2015 and early 2016. The two accomplished musicians – multi-instrumental mandolinist Chris Thile, the newly-appointed host of NPR’s beloved A Prairie Home Companion, and intrepid pianist Brad Mehldau, a go-to collaborator of jazz guitar virtuoso Pat Metheny – churned out originals and covers.

Thile and Mehldau are set to make their Monterey Jazz Festival debut as a duo. Mehldau performed the festival in 2000; it’s Thile’s first MJF appearance. Attendees lucky enough to experience this duet, dubbed “Progressive Bluegrass Pacesetter Meets Influential Jazz Master,” should try to ignore the genres suggested in the program title.

Other than being Nonesuch labelmates, Thile and Mehldau had little in common before their debut performance in 2011, during Mehldau’s Wigmore Hall residency in London. The two felt a deep connection. Over the next four years, any time their demanding schedules allowed for it, they’d forgo break time for gigs together; a quick nine-city tour in 2013 and a pair of sold-out concerts at Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom have been the extent of their live performance history, which provides more of a reason not to miss their MJF performance.

In a festival that combines big-stage experiences with more intimate stages, expect Thile’s and Mehldau’s show to lean toward the latter, and make you feel like you’re in a living room surrounded by friends.

CHRIS THILE and BRAD MEHLDAU perform 7pm Sunday, Sept. 17 on the Arena Stage.