Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa (1984)

The inaugural release on ECM's New Series imprint for classical music, and an album that was instrumental in elevating Arvo Pärt and his tintinnabular style of writing in the public consciousness.  Recording for this incredible-sounding collection took place in late 1983/early '84, apart from WDR's 1977 world premiere live recording of the eventual title track.

Two arrangements of Pärt's Fratres take up most of the first half of the album, the versatile composition first being performed by Gidon Kremer on violin and Keith Jarrett on piano, foreshadowing greater input by Jarrett to ECM's new classical sub-label.  The piece's haunting sequences of chords and interlocking harmonies are also performed by the cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic.  In between is one of Pärt's most famous orchestral pieces, the sublime Cantus In Memory Of Benjamin Britten.  To finish the album, the aforementioned premiere recording of Tabula Rasa is in two parts: just under ten minutes of fiendish string canons and cadenzas, then a wide-open, heavenly expanse of prepared piano and gorgeous orchestration.

link

pw: sgtg

 

Previously posted at SGTG:

Kanon Pokajanen

Spiegel Im Spiegel

Other posts featuring music by Pärt:

Trivium

Re: ECM

Christmas in Budapest, 2016

James MacMillan 60th Birthday Concert, 2019

The Fruit Of Silence at Truro Cathedral, 2019

BBC Concert Orchestra, Proms 2021

Keith Jarrett - The Survivors' Suite (1977)

Jarrett's 'American Quartet' (with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian) at their most uncharacteristic in a through-composed suite, and quite possibly at their best.  The Survivors' Suite was written by Jarrett specifically with a concert at NYC's Avery Fisher Hall (previously Philharmonic Hall, now David Geffen Hall) in mind, the restrained tempo apparently suiting the acoustics better.

On record, the 48 minute Suite is simply split into "Beginning" and "Conclusion" over the two sides.  Most strikingly of all, Jarrett plays no piano for the first eight and a half minutes, as a sombre bass recorder/horns and percussion stretch gradually builds.  He then leaves the sax to Redman to propel the music forward in the manner more typical of Jarrett, before reaching a calm piano interlude at Beginning's halfway point.  Haden and Motian are both highlighted as the first half nears its end.  Conclusion starts out in firey group interplay mode and largely keeps up that momentum, with great solo spots along the way.  Out of Jarrett's "weird but wonderful" corner of his discography (Hymns/Spheres, Invocations etc) this is arguably the summit.

link

pw: sgtg

Keith Jarrett at SGTG:
Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett 

Live-Evil
Expectations

Belonging
The Köln Concert
Hymns/Spheres
G. I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns
Invocations/The Moth And The Flame
Concerts: Bregenz/München
Setting Standards: New York Sessions
Dark Intervals
Changeless
Tribute
Vienna Concert
At The Blue Note: Saturday, June 4th 1994, 1st Set

Standards In Norway 
Tokyo '96
La Scala

Miles Davis - Live-Evil (1971)

First in a three-Friday look at some of the many double-live albums released by Miles Davis in the 1970s (already posted: Agharta, see list below).  This one does actually include short tracks of studio material, three of them by Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal and recorded in June 1970; Pascoal also contributes vocals, percussion and electric piano to those pieces.  All the rest are live recordings from The Cellar Door in Washington DC, 19 December 1970.  Joining Miles on stage were Gary Bartz, John McLaughlin (a quick end-of-residency addition), a rare electrified Keith Jarrett before he swore off amplified keyboards, and a cracking rhythm section of Michael Henderson, Jack DeJohnette and Aitro Moreira.

The album title, and a couple of the track titles, come from the mirror-text effect on the vinyl gatefold: MILES DAVIS LIVE = SELIM SIVAD EVIL.  Sivad is the first lengthy live jam - might that be Jarrett's (in)famous vocalising halfway through? Could be Airto.  What I Say turns up the tempo for an even funkier exploration - Jarrett sounds like he's about to play LA Woman in the intro there.  The brief studio tracks by Pascoal are mellow, drifting drones, and completing Record 1/CD1 is a studio take of Gemini/Double Image by Davis/Zawinul, which actually dates back to February 1970.  That last one adds Khalil Balakrishna on electric sitar, and all the studio material adds Chick & Herbie to the keyboard section.

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Over on Disc 2, Selim provides a quick overture in the form of a Pascoal piece sounding similar to the other two, then it's Live Evil all the way in the two remaining long tracks.  Funky Tonk does what it says on the tin, with plenty of Jarrett grooves, McLaughlin solos and storming percussion.  To close, Inamorata is a great straight-ahead funk jam, with the "Narration By Conrad Roberts" being a brief voice-over poem near the end by the titular actor, for reasons I've never quite seen explained.

Disc 1 link

Disc 2 link

pw: sgtg

Miles Davis at SGTG:
Conception
Walkin'
Blue Moods
Bags' Groove
Miles Ahead (with Gil Evans)
Sketches Of Spain (with Gil Evans)
Quiet Nights (with Gil Evans) 

A Tribute To Jack Johnson
On The Corner

Big Fun
Agharta

Keith Jarrett Trio - Standards In Norway (rec. 1989, rel. 1995)

Typically transcendent telepathy from Jarrett, Peacock & DeJohnette, recorded in October 1989 at the Konserthus, Oslo, then released six years later in what now sounds like one of their very best live albums.  A slinky mid-tempo All Of You gives way to a gorgeous Little Girl Blue (lovely Peacock solo there), to a groovy Just In Time, and so on.  So no great surprises in the song selection, but then this trio's essence was always in taking the over-familiar and making it shine afresh like material that could've been composed yesterday.

link

pw: sgtg

The Standards Trio at SGTG:

Setting Standards: The New York Sessions

Changeless

Tribute (recorded on the same tour as Standards In Norway)

At The Blue Note: Saturday, June 4th 1994, 1st Set

Tokyo '96

Keith Jarrett - Jan Garbarek Quartet - Belonging (1974)

The 'European Quartet' in their first and most timeless outing, and another chance here to pay tribute to the late Jon Christensen.  Right from the pulsing opener Spiral Dance, Christensen displays just how much he deserved the gig of ECM's house drummer, and remains great throughout these six tracks, all composed by Jarrett.

Two lengthy ballads show off Jarrett and Garbarek in their prime, as do the gospel strut of Gaucho Long As You Know You're Living Yours and the nifty groove of The Windup.  A brief duet between them in the form of the title track completes a truly legendary ECM session.

There's also some classic TV footage of this band floating around YouTube - see below.

link
pw: sgtg

Keith Jarrett at SGTG:
Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett
Expectations
The Köln Concert
Hymns/Spheres
G. I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns
Invocations/The Moth And The Flame
Concerts: Bregenz/München
Setting Standards: New York Sessions
Dark Intervals
Changeless
Tribute
Vienna Concert
At The Blue Note: Saturday, June 4th 1994, 1st Set
Tokyo '96
La Scala

Jan Garbarek at SGTG:
Afric Pepperbird
Triptykon
Popofoni
Solstice: Sounds And Shadows
Sol De Meio Dia
Paths, Prints
Song For Everyone
Making Music

Keith Jarrett Trio - Tribute (1990)

Haven't returned to Jarrett, let alone the Standards Trio, for a while on this blog now.  So here's a nice two-hour serving of phenomenal playing, interaction and improvisation, and not so phenomenal (but tolerable) vocalizing.  Tribute is a recording of a particularly sublime Jarrett-Peacock-DeJohnette concert held on 15th October 1989 at the Köln Philharmonie.  The 'Tribute' concept is that each track on the album is dedicated to a jazz legend who once performed it; the dedicatees are included in brackets after each song title in the tracklist.

Disc 1 gets underway with an effortless strut through Lover Man [Lee Konitz] and I Hear A Rhapsody [Jim Hall], everyone firing on all cylinders as expected.  The trio take the tempo down a bit for a gorgeous Little Girl Blue [Nancy Wilson] before the first half of the concert ends on a massive high.  Solar [Bill Evans] segues into a lengthy group improvisation, one of their very best, which was titled Sun Prayer for the album.

Disc 2 follows a similar pattern, with a frantic Just In Time [Charlie Parker] giving way to an achingly beautiful Smoke Gets In Your Eyes [Coleman Hawkins] and much more.  The finale doesn't spill straight over into improvisation this time: It's Easy To Remember [John Coltrane] deserves the spotlight in and of itself.  Then the trio launch into a minimal Jarrett groove with a Latin flavour, entitled U Dance (and you will - or at least tap a foot) for the final improv.  Gorgeous to the last drop. (I nicked that last line from a much better reviewer than me.)

Disc 1 link
Disc 2 link
pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Setting Standards: New York Sessions
Changeless
At The Blue Note: Saturday, June 4th 1994, 1st Set
Tokyo '96

Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett - s/t (1971)

Another look at that period in Keith Jarrett's early career, previously visited on Expectations, where he was still figuring out his overall direction.  Sharing the limelight for this album was vibes maestro Gary Burton, who'd been recording for longer but was in a similar phase of experimenting with his modes of expression.  Both would end up at ECM within the year, and both had already recorded for Atlantic, the label for this self-titled and often under-rated LP.

The material is all Jarrett's except for Como En Vietnam written by Steve Swallow, the bassist for the album.  Jarrett takes a brief solo on soprano sax on that track, but otherwise sticks to piano.  Gary Burton sounds great throughout, with his cool, languid tone shining on the mid-tempo material, but equally capable on the upbeat, knottier moments.  The other supporting voice is session guitarist Sam Brown, who adds the same bluesy, funky touch that he brought to Expectations.  Think of this great little record as a distillation of some of the best bits of Expectations, with the huge added bonus of Gary Burton, and you can't go wrong.

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pw: sgtg

Keith Jarrett - Vienna Concert (1992)

Just over an hour of solo Jarrett from the State Opera House, Vienna, on 13 July 1991.  If, like me, part of your enjoyment of Keith Jarrett's later solo recordings are the unintentionally hilarious sleevenotes, this one's a doozy.  There's a brief enconium from Manfred Eicher, comparing Jarrett to Bach; an excerpt from poet/writer Robert Bly for whatever reason; and this from the pianist himself: "I have courted the fire for a very long time, and many sparks have flown in the past, but the music on this recording speaks, finally, the language of the flame itself."  Okay, thanks Keith.

The Vienna concert recording is, admittedly, one of Jarrett's very best.  The 40-minute first part is one of the most effective and engrossing examples of his progression from blues/jazz-based improvisation in his earlier solo concert releases, to something approaching classical brilliance.  This is Jarrett well on his way to La Scala (link below).  It develops subtly and beautifully from quiet, reflective beginnings to a knotty middle section and a stately coda.  Part II is darker and more hesitant, but still manages an urgent-sounding finale before 'the language of the flame' unexpectedly flickers away, rather than burning brightly to the last.  A great entry in Jarrett's concert catalogue, well worth repeated investment in.

link
pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:
Expectations
The Köln Concert
Hymns/Spheres
G. I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns
Invocations/The Moth And The Flame
Concerts: Bregenz/München
Setting Standards: New York Sessions
Dark Intervals
Changeless
At The Blue Note: Saturday, June 4th 1994, 1st Set
Tokyo '96
La Scala

Keith Jarrett - Invocations / The Moth And The Flame (1981)

Two completely distinct albums in one package from Keith Jarrett today, with the first disc being a November 1980 recording and the second from a year earlier.  On the seven-part Invocations, Jarrett takes the droning pipe organ sound of Hymns/Spheres and refines it, also adding saxophone.  In fact, the first part is a saxophone solo (as is the finale), before the organ is introduced in the second, playing in Riley-esque arpeggios that gradually slow and become more indistinct.

The two instruments are first heard together, in overdub, on part four.  ECM record buyers had been given this combination not long before, in Jan Garbarek/Kjell Johnsen's Aftenland (wonder if it was an influence on Jarrett here?), but the sound of Invocations is both heavier and warmer - although to be honest, achieving a warmer sax sound than Garbarek isn't that hard...

The Moth And The Flame brings Jarrett back on to home turf, with 40 minutes of piano improvisations in five sections.  The gently rippling first section gives way to a meditative second, and so on with Jarrett running through the expected modes of expression on piano that he could produce in his sleep by this point.  In short, there's nothing stunning or outstanding here if you're familiar with the Jarrett essentials, but neither is it forgettable.  And paired with one of his most experimental records, The Moth And The Flame acts as a very nice palate cleanser.

Disc 1 link
Disc 2 link
pw: sgtg

Keith Jarrett - Expectations (1972)

Another Jarrett post with a twist: instead of the usual record label that's released his every whim over the past five decades, here's Keith with the label (CBS) that took a punt on him by releasing a double album, no less, then unceremoniously dropped him as soon as it hit the shelves.  Who knows why - poor sales?  Expectations certainly isn't a bad record - it's a hugely ambitious blueprint for Jarrett's eclectic confidence as a player and arranger, and from this distance, a cornerstone of his discography.  Oh well, CBS's loss was Manfred Eicher's gain - and Ed Michel's, as Impulse would pick up Expectations' core quartet for the rest of the 70s.

That 'American Quartet' of Jarrett, Motian, Haden & Redman are expanded here by Airto Moreira on percussion and the underrated Sam Brown on stinging, firey guitar, with occasional string and brass additions.  After a quick orchestral curtain-raiser, Expectations gets going with the latin groove of Common Mama, a mode that will be returned to in late highlight Sundance.  Hitting a looser blues/gospel groove makes Take Me Back another highlight, and the freer jams are essential too.  There's a ton of Dewey Redman on Bring Back The Time When (If), and a rare organ performance from Jarrett on the side-long Nomads.  Notwithstanding the fact that the string dubs don't always gel, Expectations is essential Jarrett from the first minute to the 77th.

link
pw: sgtg

G.I. Gurdjieff - Sacred Hymns, performed by Keith Jarrett (1980)

Not had any solo piano from my favourite master of the art for a while, so here's something with a bit of a twist: none of the 15 pieces on this album were actually composed by Keith Jarrett.  Sacred Hymns is instead Jarrett's first emergence as an interpreter of written music by other composers, a sideline that would gather pace as the 80s progressed.

The composer in this case was Armenian mystic George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (b. circa 1870, d. 1949), to whose philosophies Jarrett was sometime devoted.  The music here dates from the 1920s, when Gurdjieff wrote with the assistance of Russian composer Thomas de Hartmann.  All of the pieces bear devotional titles, and are influenced by Russian Orthodox liturgical music as well as other Central Asian religious & folk themes.  Aside from that, fellow fans of Ravel/Satie will find much to love here as well.  Beautiful stuff.

link
pw: sgtg

Keith Jarrett - La Scala (1997)

Jazz Piano Friday again, and why not, when it comes to one of Keith Jarrett's grandest statements in all of his solo concert history.  The 44 minutes of the first improv, 27 minutes of the second improv and a sweet little Over The Rainbow encore on the night of 13 February 1995 were certainly enough to move a seasoned conductor's assistant to tears, as Jarrett relates.  Whether that sleevenote comes across as an endearing anecdote about the power of music, or a hilariously self-important bit of pomposity from an artist who would become ever more notorious for them, largely depends on what mood it catches me in.

The music from this performance in Milan's great opera house, however, never fails to move me.  After about 15 minutes of sedate beauty, Jarrett appears to hit a wall to some listeners' ears, but the tentative mid-section of La Scala Part 1 works just fine for me as a refreshingly minimal interlude that gradually builds in ritualistic intensity.  It then falls back again before finally bursting into the stream of notes that will build up the triumphant final five minutes (remind anyone of Köln Pt. I?).

La Scala Part 2 finds Jarrett suitably re-energised to take off on a more knotty, abstract flight.  Round about the halfway mark, this coalesces into a more melodic, flowing, cruising altitude.  Jarrett then settles down to ten minutes of music that must rank among the most wondrous ever to have come from the fingers of this, or any other pianist (final bit of crazy notwithstanding).  As the cherry on the top of this, we get five minutes of Over The Rainbow that would melt the hardest of hearts.  Agelessly beautiful stuff.

outer sleeve cover

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Keith Jarrett - Dark Intervals (1988)

A typically transcendent hour of live Jarrett, recorded at Tokyo's Suntory Hall in April 1987.  The longest track here, the 12-minute Opening, might start out under the little white clouds on that cover image, but a storm soon brews up.  And hold on a sec... 12 minutes is the longest track on a Keith Jarrett solo concert album?  Yep, there's no half hour plus improvised voyages in sound on Dark Intervals, just eight pieces averaging about 7 minutes, with applause between each.  IIRC he'd only do this another couple of times, again in Tokyo, and then in Rio de Janeiro.

On first listen, especially if you're accustomed to Jarrett's more epic workouts like Köln, Bregenz/München etc, the shorter pieces and applause throughout can seem to hinder the flow of the concert, but the upside of this arrangement is undeniable - it puts the spotlight squarely on the quality of each miniature masterpiece of improvisation.  They're pretty much all somewhere between very good dark melancholy and just outright magnificence - if I had to pick favourites they'd have to be the gorgeous Americana or Ritual Prayer and the constant motion of Parallels.  Dark Intervals is one of many essential Jarrett solo concerts, and perhaps the most accessible post-Köln, for its relative brevity.

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Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert (1975)

How can I possibly resist a request to post one of my absolute favourite albums of all time?  It's difficult to think what I can even write about Köln, but here goes.  Let's just keep it simple, rather than a 'saved my life more than once' emotional gush.  29 year old pianist arrives at the Cologne Opera House tired and sore, only to find that the house staff have wheeled out a crappy old rehearsal piano by mistake.  Has to be just about coaxed into even playing by 17 year old concert promoter.  Goes on stage at 11:30pm (following the evening opera) and makes the most of the piano that he can; captures lightning in a bottle for an hour.

The irony continues to this day that two lengthy improvisations (the encore [Part IIc] was a Jarrett composition, Memories Of Tomorrow) that were born out of making the best of the circumstances above have become so indelibly etched, note-for-note, in the minds of millions of listeners, me included.  That could largely be said of any recorded improvisation, but the 'millions of listeners' bit is down to Köln's enduring magic.

From the smallest germ of an introduction (the melody played by the opera house bell to summon the audience for a performance, hence their just-audible recognition at the beginning), Jarrett goes on to create 25 minutes of sheer melancholy transcendence, ending in a triumphant, life-affirming finale.  Suitably energised, he starts the next half hour on a rollicking bluesy note, before settling for largely calmer waters for the rest of the second improvisation, then, as mentioned, delving into his written repertoire for the crystalline gorgeousness of the finale.  Jarrett might have started out this concert being not entirely pleased that the tape was running, but the world should be grateful that it was.

link

bonus download now added, for anyone interested:
1 hour radio show about Jarrett, from BBC Radio 3, March 2018 

Keith Jarrett - Concerts: Bregenz/München (rec. '81, rel. '82; full CD reiss 2013)

Having concentrated on trio concerts up until now, it's high time I posted some solo Keith Jarrett - winging it by the seat of his pants, grunting and groaning aplenty (to a tolerable level in these '81 shows) on his way to absolute transcendence.  Two concerts, a few days apart - one from Bregenz where Jarrett hits his groove early on, then mellows out before an exploratory section, and a twice-as-long one from Munich that takes us on a more epic journey.

In both cases, Jarrett seems determined to extract every possible drop of sound from the piano, getting in some serious percussive thumps and string plucks towards the end, before restoring calm with the gorgeous encores.  Originally released as a 3LP box in 1982, ECM also provided the option to just buy the single-disc Bregenz concert on its own, which ended up being the only CD version until the whole set was finally reissued four years ago.

original box set cover, 1982 (2013 reissue at top)

Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3

Keith Jarrett Trio - Setting Standards: New York Sessions (2008 compi, rec. 1983)

This blog's had a decent sprinkling of Keith, Gary & Jack doing their thing in concert - see Changeless, Blue Note and Tokyo '96 - so here's the original studio blueprint for the Standards Trio, when they first recorded in a NYC studio at the beginning of 1983.  Three albums' worth of material ensued, and for the Standards Trio's 25th anniversary all three were reissued in this handy box.

It wasn't the first time ever that these three musicians had played together - that was a Peacock-led date in 1977.  This however was the moment when they chanced on the proposition (without even planning - see below!) that what jazz needed in 1983 was a back-to-basics Great American Songbook investigation, and one that breathed fresh life into these classic songs, making them sound freshly minted.  Case in point - the 15 minute joyous romp through Billie Holiday's God Bless The Child that ends the first disc here, originally released later in 1983 as Standards Vol. 1.

Apparently the recording session began with no rehearsal or song choices - they just simply played, and ended up with two hours' worth of standards and improvisations.  The two improvisations were in fact the next to be released, as Changes (1984) - an inspired, free-form album (Disc 3 in this box set) that built into this Standards Trio's modus operandi that they'd always leave room to improvise and run with a mood if it took them.  Changeless, as mentioned above, would be the next installment of that.  Lastly, in 1985, the cool and contemplative Standards Vol. 2 (Disc 2 here) was released, and was possibly the most successful album in creating an extended, unified mood reminiscent of Bill Evans' great trios.

original album covers

Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3

Charles Lloyd - Forest Flower: At Monterey, 1966 (rel. 1967)

Speaking of Keith Jarrett... nearly thirty years prior to that trio date in Tokyo, he appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival in his early sideman role to the great Charles Lloyd.  Showing great promise even then, Jarrett fills out the clipped, Latin rhythm (Jack DeJohnette's here too) of the 'Forest Flower' suite as the perfect foil to Lloyd's warm, mellifluous tenor sax.

Jarrett ups the groove whenever Lloyd takes a more free flight and takes an assured solo early in the 'Sunset' section, and even plucking the piano strings towards the end.  The fact that I've mostly made this writeup all about Jarrett clearly shows I need to listen more widely to Charles Lloyd (his flute playing on the Jarrett composition Sorcery is also superb), so consider that my homework.

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Keith Jarrett Trio - Tokyo '96 (rel. 1998)

From the intermittent SGTG tradition known as Jazz Piano Friday, some more Jarrett, Peacock & DeJohnette on rollicking form at the Orchard Hall, Tokyo on 30 March 1996.  By the time ECM released it two years later, Jarrett was laid low with ME/CFS, but would fortunately recover in time to take the Standards Trio into the 21st century for more transformed songbook classics and extended improvs.  Highlights on this particular release include the turbo-charged It Could Happen To You and Billie's Bounce in the first half, and the two Jarrett originals - Caribbean Sky and Song - that are effortlessly segued from standards at the end.

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Previously posted at SGTG: Changeless / Blue Note June 4, 1994

Keith Jarrett Trio - Changeless (rec. 1987, rel. 1989)

By the late 80s, Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette had carved out their niche as the great standards trio - but in concert they were also leaving room to stretch out and improvise, whenever a particular groove led them.  Four especially inspired examples of this were collected on this album, from recordings of a US tour in October 1987; the fifteen minute Endless is generally held to be the standout, as it gradually weaves its hypnotic spell, and I'm not going to disagree.  An essential document of pure inspiration.

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Keith Jarrett - At the Blue Note: Saturday, June 4th 1994, 1st Set

It's that time of year again for autumn leaves - to be specific, my favourite rendition of the Joseph Kosma chestnut, stretched to a thrilling 26 minutes by my favourite jazz piano trio.  After four minutes of Jarrett's solo meanderings, the Peacock/DeJohnette engine room revs up and locks in to an upbeat cruise through the melody, followed by plenty of soloing.  From the 13 minute mark onwards, we're into one of these stellar improvs that only this trio can pull off.

The Standards Trio spent a whole weekend's residency at the legendary Blue Note in June 1994, and every note they played was released the following year in a 6-CD box set.  This disc, the first set from Saturday night, was the only one to be released in its own right - presumably  because it's absolutely phenomenal from start to finish.  Everyone's at the top of their game, Jarrett's vocalisations are...tolerable, and the recording quality, as you'd expect, is peerless - perfect jazz club intimacy.  Other than Autumn Leaves, the other extended high-point of the set is You Don't Know What Love Is segueing into a Jarrett original called Muezzin.  Jack DeJohnette switches to hand percussion, and the results are pure magic.

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