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Keith Jarrett: The Old Country: More from the Deer Head Inn
by Jack Kenny
Keith Jarrett remarked as he listened to a tape of the session: “I think that you can hear on this tape, what jazz is all about." What did he mean? Was he reacting to criticisms of his long-form improvisations? Was it because he was in a small venue that prioritized jazz? Of course, you can hear “what jazz is all about." Major musicians accompanied him: bassist Gary Peacock, Paul Motian, a master drummer he had not played with ...
Continue ReadingKeith Jarrett: The Old Country: More from the Deer Head Inn
by Mike Jurkovic
Ahhh... the Standards Trio returns to the Poconos, or more specifically, the century and a half old Deer Head Inn, the site of the great At the Deer Head Inn (ECM,1994), and rouses all spirits with The Old Country: More from the Deer Head Inn.Celebrating a set of circumstances--Keith Jarrett was sixteen when he first played at the Deer Head Inn and at the time of this renowned gig it had been sixteen years since last jamming with ...
Continue ReadingKeith Jarrett's European Quartet: Innocence
by Scott Lichtman
It just so happens that two of the most poignant jazz ballads--in my opinion--were released in the same year. I'm not talking about throw-back masterpieces, such as Thelonious Monk's “Round Midnight" or Horace Silver's “Lonely Woman." Rather, they are Keith Jarrett's “Innocence" and Egberto Gismonti's “Palhaço," both originally issued in 1980. What makes these pieces stand out are their simple melodies; harmonic progressions with pop, not bebop, sensibilities; unexpected key modulations; and the nuanced musicianship of the supporting bands. Norwegian ...
Continue ReadingThe Keith Jarrett Trio: Ten Essential Recordings
by Karl Ackermann
The Keith Jarrett Trio, or The Standards Trio, as it later became known, with Gary Peacock on double bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums, is one of the most celebrated and influential jazz trios of all time. The group was formed in 1983 but Jarrett and DeJohnette had been collaborating since the late 1960s when they performed together in Miles Davis' band. The early version of the Jarrett trio featured Charlie Haden on bass, with Peacock coming in at the ...
Continue ReadingKeith Jarrett: Solo-Concerts Bremen Lausanne
by Chris May
Here, in all its 2023 audiophile detail, and cut from the original analogue masters, is the 3xLP set which launched the extraordinary tale of Keith Jarrett's in-the-moment- improvised, in-concert solo albums. Arguably the most momentous of all the reissues in ECM's estimable Luminessence series, the Bremen and Lausanne concerts were recorded in March and July 1973 and released as a set in November that year, a synchronous fifty years precisely before this edition. The 2xLP The Köln ...
Continue ReadingKeith Jarrett: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
by Karl Ackermann
Keith Jarrett's affinity for the classics is well known. His solo piano and keyboard recordings in the genre include the music of Mozart, Shostakovich, Barber, Gurdjieff, Handel, Bartók, and others. The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is Jarrett's sweet spot with eight recordings--mostly two-disc sets--dominating his classical portfolio. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, features the work of another Bach, Johann's son. ECM issues this previously unreleased 1994 material, consisting of eighteen sonatas, as part of an ongoing deep-dive into ...
Continue ReadingThe Keith Jarrett / Charlie Haden Duo Revisited
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Keith Jarrett has enjoyed a long and productive career which eventually became dominated by his monumental improvised solo performances and his work with his Standards Trio, with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Along the way, he released albums by his now sometimes overlooked but excellent American and European Quartets. Revisiting almost everything in Jarrett's discography is rewarding, but his duo sessions with bassist Charlie Haden, recorded in 2007, especially so. These albums are Jasmine (ECM, ...
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