Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Keith Jarrett: La Fenice

19

Keith Jarrett: La Fenice

By

Sign in to view read count
Keith Jarrett: La Fenice
The archival gap tightens between the earlier solo release of Keith Jarrett's mid-90s concert, as captured on A Multitude of Angels (ECM, 2016), and his post-illness return to live performing. La Fenice was recorded at the Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, in 2006, four years after Jarrett had returned to solo performing in Japan. The double album closely corresponds with Jarrett's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement award from the International Festival of Contemporary Music of the Biennale di Venezia.

The opening seventeen-minute improvisation finds Jarrett in the perpetual throes of invention. "Part I" is technically impressive even if emotionally chilly. Hints of classicism permeate the busy early going, but beyond the first ten minutes the pace slows to a near minimal series of melodic fragments. The impenetrability of the piece is occasionally overpowering. In opposition, the catchy themes of "Part III" and "Part IV" recall the mesmerizing motiffs of The Köln Concert (ECM, 1975). The second disc opens with "Part VI," a repetitive piece that never seems to generate forward momentum throughout its thirteen-plus minutes. Here, it becomes increasingly evident that Jarrett is playing to an audience of one, dispensing one dialect for another with no ostensible consequence. The second disc concludes with Jarrett staples "My Wild Irish Rose," "Stella By Starlight" and "Blossom," each treated with his distinctively individual style of lyrical eloquence.

As the greatest pianist of our time, the bar is inconsiderately high for Jarrett's work. One of a kind, he can't rationally be compared to his contemporaries, so with each addition to the catalog his output is judged relative to his own history. In that vein La Fenice falls short of later ECM albums such as The Carnegie Hall Concert (2005), Rio (2011), or A Multitude of Angels. The spontaneous improvisations are interesting but a bit sterile; the ballads are beautifully played as always, but predictable. At the end of the day, La Fenice is neither essential Jarrett nor an unworthy addition to his resume. It simply lacks the impact of much of his solo work.

Track Listing

CD 1: Part I; Part II; Part III; Part IV; Part V; CD 2: Part VI; The Sun Whose Rays; Part VII; Part VIII; My Wild Irish Rose; Stella By Starlight; Blossom.

Personnel

Keith Jarrett: piano.

Album information

Title: La Fenice | Year Released: 2018 | Record Label: ECM Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.