Keith Jarrett Albums (65)
'My Foolish Heart: Live at Montreux'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 13
Label ECM
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What The Critics Say
My Foolish Heart is an anniversary release celebrating 25 years of the Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette trio's traveling and performing together despite the rich and varied individual careers of its members. Recorded in 2001 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Jarrett held the tape close to the vest until what he felt was the right time for release -- whatever that means. The bottom line is, listeners are very fortunate to have it. The official live offerings by this group have always been crystalline affairs of deep swinging communication, no matter the material. Not only is My Foolish Heart no exception, it is perhaps the standard by which the others should be judged. Almost two hours in length, the program is comprised entirely of jazz and pop standards -- beginning with a tough, limber, punchy version of Miles Davis' "Four" lasting over nine minutes. That the music begins like this, so utterly strident and swaggering, full of lyric invention and energy, is almost reason enough for purchase. The inherent commitment to the music is not measured: it's total. There are few -- if any -- groups in jazz that have been together for such a long time. And there are few groups new or old that are even capable enough to manage such a wide-ranging selection of the repertoire: from the title track and "Four" to "Oleo," "Straight, No Chaser," and even "Five Brothers"! But the selection of material is only the wrapper. What's inside it is not just the history of jazz but history in the making, because these three prove beyond all measure not only the vitality of the material but also the necessity of the trio interpretation of it, and indeed what is possible: bop, hard bop, post-bop, swing, and here even ragtime, played with all the seriousness and joy it demands. The readings of Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Honeysuckle Rose" and Rodgers & Hart's "You Took Advantage of Me" are wild affairs, beautifully executed, sure, but played with the requisite emotion that new interpretations require. On this set, these tunes have been brought out of history, out of the canon of milquetoast sweetness as diversions for the purpose of entertainment, and out into the present as revelatory statements in harmony and rhythmic and lyric invention. The interplay between Peacock and DeJohnette is utterly dynamic. The way these two not only complement but also challenge one another creates a sense of balance that allows Jarrett room for flight -- not into his own quirks as a musician, but into the entire universe of jazz. Peacock and DeJohnette solo a lot here, with in-the-pocket contributions to the melodic panorama of the music. The ballads, too, such as the delicate reading of Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne's "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" and the curious but spot-on choice for a set closer, Cahn and James Van Heusen's "Only the Lonely," are read with such sensitivity and confidence that overly reverent interpretation (a trap for any player who risks bloodlessness) is impossible; the nature of "song" is kept as the trio offers these renditions with deep emotion and a singer's sense of space and elegance. Over 13 tunes, this band offers more surprises, delights, and jaw-dropping musical acumen than even fans believed possible. As Jarrett writes in his liner notes, "There was no other night when we felt that we had to (almost literally) grab the audience by the throat and shake them into hearing what we were doing." Perhaps they were distracted by heat, bad sound, and lighting problems -- Jarrett speaks to these twice in his notes -- but perhaps, until they reached the ragtime segment of the set that demanded a waking response, they were just floored by the swinging intensity with which the set began. Whatever the reason, this document is a mindblower from start to finish, and there are moments when all you can do in response is look at the box slack-jawed and wonder if what you just heard really happened. It did and it does, over and over again. This set is a magical, wondrous moment in the life of a trio when it all comes pouring out as inspiration and mastery. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'The Carnegie Hall Concert'
Release Date 9/26/2006
Tracks 15
Label ECM
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What The Critics Say
The new rules Keith Jarrett has made for himself in solo performance are firmly in play on the two-disc Carnegie Hall Concert, recorded in the Isaac Stern Auditorium in September of 2005. Those who found his earlier solo recordings -- from Vienna and Köln to La Scala -- to be compelling might be a bit disconcerted at first, because of the completely different approach Jarrett has taken to improvising. His concert is divided into shorter segments, or parts, and often changes direction numerous times in the course of a single piece. Indeed, the impression is given almost of composed songs where harmony, melody, and rhythm are pulled to the breaking point and reassembled along new lines. And even in more angular or turbulent sections, Jarrett's ideas are drenched in lyric ideas. Whether he is playing against himself contrapuntally, entering into a difficult chromatic interlude, or opening onto a pastoral sonic field, his notion of "song" prevails. His more knotty and immediate approach is full of wonderful ideas, sometimes deeply serious, at others humorous and beguiling. But there isn't a dull moment. Indeed, if the audience -- which contained many critics and musicians -- is any indication, the electricity carried over the stage both ways. There are ten parts that make up the concert proper, and on disc two, five short encore pieces that run from four to six minutes in length, culminating in his only standard, with a beautiful reading of "Time on My Hands." His beautiful reading of "My Song" (from a quartet recording in 1977) is here, restated with consummate grace. This is a Jarrett solo set for the ages; it showcases, since his full return in 1997, his renewed and restless commitment to the music and to himself as an artist. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Restlessly searching out new territory for improvisations, Keith Jarrett tackles the massive Karl Joseph Riepp "Trinity" Baroque pipe organ at the Benedictine Abbey in Ottobeuren, Germany. He starts out with a pastoral "Hymn of Remembrance," then embarks upon a long nine-movement series of "Spheres" before closing with a grand "Hymn of Release." The devotee of Jarrett's piano will quickly discover that his organ idiom has nothing to do with his piano performances; he likes slow-moving, pulseless, sometimes dissonant, sometimes reverent or ecstatic smears of sound (which makes practical sense in the hugely reverberant churches where pipe organs are found). In the ninth movement, Jarrett can fool you into thinking that he is playing floating electronic space music (on an 18th-century organ!). Yet if one must apply a category, despite the improvisatory element, this double-CD is contemporary classical organ music, much closer to that of Olivier Messiaen than anything in the jazz world -- and only intermittently as striking. (Note: on the single CD issue, only "Spheres" is listed). ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Keith Jarrett returned to performing and recording solo concerts in 1995 with La Scala (released in 1997) after recovering from an illness. That fine recording followed his manner of working that he had begun on Köln Concert in 1975: That is, completely improvised concerts from beginning to end that had melodic and "motivic" centers. The double-disc set that is Radiance, recorded in Japan in 2002, is a new fork in the road. The work has no conceptual center. Jarrett says he wanted to let some of the music "happen" to him while he sat at the piano, deep in thought. He states: "I wanted my hands (particularly the left hand) to tell me things." And happen it does. Each piece, after the first one, comes out of the work that immediately precedes it. There are 13 linked pieces that mark the Osaka concert spread over the first disc, and one-third of disc two. The effect is startling at first because Jarrett is constantly working with what comes, whether dissonant or assonant; he uses the small essences, quick phrases, and themes that come out of each piece to dig further, to extend wider his discovery. Whispers of many musics enter, from classical and jazz to pop to Latin to folk. Nothing feels like a direct quote, but all of it gels together as elemental. Each piece is an aspect of a transformational construction. Most of the music very is exciting; it walks, then runs on edges before turning and stopping, then dances, crawls and rolls, ever-somewhere just past the reach of what preceded it. Some of Radiance is quiet and lyrical (part three, for instance), because it has been suggested by the intensity of the chaotic and forceful harmonic and rhythmic notions preceding it. Jarrett admits in his liner notes "The listener has to bear with me here. The whole thing is risky, but I've taken you places before and I'm not aiming to disappoint." This is born out in the way the audience responds. Some sections get no applause because of the quick, shape-shifting manner in which Jarrett seemingly careens from one place to the next. But intent listening reveals the sometimes very subtle links between themes, spaces, and harmonic and rhythmic invention. Two-thirds of disc two come from a concert in Tokyo conducted in much the same way, though he includes the first two pieces -- a cut from the second-half of the concert and the final track -- as the performance's closer. These do not distract from the Osaka gig. In fact they contain a beautiful, if momentarily disjointed flow. This is Jarrett the artist taking chances, lots of them. His process is immediate, poignant, and utterly engaging throughout and marks a new phase in his solo recordings that will spur great interest in any open-minded listener interested in improvisational music. There is a DVD of the Tokyo performance being prepared by ECM for release. ~Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While still a member of the Charles Lloyd Quartet, Keith Jarrett did some occasional moonlighting with a trio, anchored by two future members of Jarrett's classic quartet, Charlie Haden (bass) and Paul Motian (drums). On this CD, Jarrett turns in a very eclectic set at Shelly's Manne-Hole in Hollywood, careening through a variety of idioms where his emerging individuality comes through in flashes. He covers Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages" -- which actually came out as a single on the Vortex label -- in an attractive, semi-funky style reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi. "Pretty Ballad" delivers a strong reflective dose of Bill Evans, while "Moving Soon" is chaotic free jazz. By the time we reach "New Rag," we begin to hear the distinctive Jarrett idiom of the later trios, but then, "Old Rag" is knockabout stride without the stride. As an example of early, unfocused Jarrett, this is fascinating material. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
'The Out-of-Towners'
Release Date 8/21/2004
Tracks 6
Label ECM Records
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What The Critics Say
Recorded in 2001 live at the State Opera House in Munich, Out of Towners features the Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette trio in the kind of performance we've come to expect from them these last 21 years: Stellar. Being one of contemporary jazz's longest-running bands has its advantages; one of them is having nothing to prove. First and foremost, this band plays standards like no one else. Given their individual careers, the members playing in a trio that performs classics carries a kind of freedom, as well as weight. This material is treated not as museum-piece jazz, but as the essence of song. Check the whispered elegance of "I Can't Believe You're in Love With Me." This Jimmy McHugh-Clarence Gaskill number has plenty of history being recorded definitively by singers, chronologically by Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. The trio lean into the lyric phrasing in the body of the tune and turn it gently inside out without ever losing its melodic essence. They follow it with "You've Changed," a fine exercise in rhythmic invention with a popping, sure-footed swing throughout. The complete re-vamp of Cole Porter's "I Love You" that unfolds over ten minutes digs into the lyric underbelly of the song and brings out so many subtle and shaded nuances it's like hearing the composition for the first time. The lone original on the set is the title track, written by Jarrett. A sprightly swing is stretched and molded over nearly 20 minutes, and one can hear everyone from Horace Silver to Thelonious Monk to Hampton Hawes in Jarrett's approach, underscored by Peacock's strident basslines that walk the edge of DeJohnette's cymbal-caressed beat. The big surprise is the elegant, finger-popping read of Gerry Mulligan's "Five Brothers." Its skipping melody is folded inside waves of harmonic interweaving by Jarrett through the body taken in a knotty swing that is given wings by the rhythm section. Besides the wondrous performance, the sound of this recording should be noted. Its warmth is immediate, its very close and intimate sound makes the listener feel as if she were in the middle of the stage taking this all in, not in the audience. This is an accomplishment on all fronts. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Life Between the Exit Signs'
Release Date 5/3/2004
Tracks 8
Label Rhino
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'Up for It: Live in Juan-Les-Pins'
Release Date 5/20/2003
Tracks 7
Label ECM
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What The Critics Say
For a trio that has been together this long (over 20 years), Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette still play with the enthusiasm of a group of people discovering each other for the first time. That's no cliché. One listen to "If I Were a Bell," the opening track on this live set, reveals how footloose, free, and excited these three can be when they encounter one another on the stand. Certainly, the near symbiotic relationship they have built over time makes the freewheeling feeling come easy. But that's a bit misleading in a sense, because if the listener pays the slightest bit of attention to how the rhythm section works with Jarrett, it becomes obvious just how much listening is going on in this conversation. Jarrett's timbral and dynamic palettes can change on a dime, and Peacock and DeJohnette never miss. The other wonderfully breezy thing about this set is that all of the tunes are from the jazz canon except for the title track, which closes the album and is a Jarrett original. From Frank Loesser's "If I Were a Bell," the band literally charges into Oliver Nelson's "Butch & Butch" at a furious tempo. DeJohnette pushes Jarrett on the tempo, and Peacock walks through the middle, balancing out not only time but harmonic equations in Jarrett's extrapolations on the melody. Nonetheless, despite the sprints -- "Scrapple From the Apple" by Charlie Parker is another down the line -- they never cease to literally amaze on the ballads. Here, "My Funny Valentine," "Autumn Leaves," and the just under mid-tempo "Someday My Prince Will Come" are given such impeccable lyrical treatment it's almost breathless. One of the most exciting tracks here, especially since it begins the last third of the program, is the inclusion of John Lewis' "Two Degrees East, Three Degrees West." The gorgeous stride Jarrett plays, which is all his, stands in amazing contrast to the original light-fingered version played by the composer. Jarrett invokes Fats Waller and early Ramsey Lewis in the blues feel while keeping his own sense of tempered attack through the shimmering shades of blue and green in the minor keys. This is one tough track in feel and emotion. The rhythm section doesn't just walk it either; they slip under and around Jarrett to fill out the edges, making this a beautiful dialogue piece. Up for It is a dynamite set, as refreshing, spirited, and innovative as any Jarrett has ever released, but full of good vibes too. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Recorded at the same sessions as Death and the Flower, this out-of-print LP, whose music has not yet been reissued on CD, features pianist Keith Jarrett's exciting but underrated American group of the 1970s, a quintet with tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Paul Motian and percussionist Guilherme Franco. The group (with Jarrett occasionally switching to flute and Redman to the bizarre-sounding musette) is in typically exploratory, yet often melodic form on lengthy renditions of four of Jarrett's inside/outside originals. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Pianist Keith Jarrett's mid-'70s quintet was the strongest regular group that he ever led and all of its recordings (even some that ramble a bit) are worth picking up. Thanks to its strong start, Shades is one of this unit's most rewarding recordings. "Shades of Jazz" has a memorable melody and logical (if unpredictable) improvisations by Jarrett and tenor-saxophonist Dewey Redman. The momentum slows down a bit with the gospellish "Southern Smiles" and "Rose Petals" but picks up again with the final number, the rather intense "Diatribe," an excellent vehicle for this classic group. Throughout, bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Paul Motian and percussionist Guilherme Franco keep the band's juices flowing. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
