Keith Jarrett: The Old Country: More from the Deer Head Inn

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 Paul Motian during the final days of the American Quartet—pianist, drummer, and bassist Gary Peacock hold nothing back. So one can hardly blame Jarrett for kicking into his doo-doo-dee-weeing vocalizations immediately on the spry and spritely kicker "Everything I Love." The effervescent performance bares its own excitement as well as the residual thrill of its predecessor. Then and now the packed house (max occupancy:130) love it!

What would become a trio touchstone in the decades ahead (anchored by Jack DeJohnette), "I Fall In Love Too Easily," may at first seem to break the blitzkrieg energy established by "Everything I Love" but it tells it own tale: a story of three men, each their own firebrand, coming together to pay respect to music creators before them. That mindset is particularly at work in Motian, whose brief stint with Jarrett and Peacock swung decisively more metro than DeJohnette's muscular back beat, gives a snap and crackle to The Old Country: More from the Deer Head Inn that is a great joy to hear.

"Straight No Chaser" bounds back to that initial energy flash with Peacock bearing down while pianist and drummer chase each other round the room. "All of You," the trio's second flare up with Cole Porter, wheels and winds itself upon itself then reverses the action. As straight ahead as these three could possibly get, "All of You" still sounds like a fun jam on a weekend night. A solo here, a solo there, over and under and out.

They feet never stop tapping. Proof positive is Nat Adderley's early 1960s soul jazz gem serving as the center point of the album. The ribald yet laid back groove fits these guys to a T. That same groove gains momentum with "Golden Earrings." A stealthy and languid "How Long Has This Been Going On" wraps The Old Country: More from the Deer Head Inn with an impish elegance only Jarrett could create.