Keith Jarrett recommendations

[uli]

no love for spheres?

 

[mjzee]

After Koln, this is still my favorite Jarrett - there's a nice mix of moods, and the two long pieces are outstanding:

If you like Nude Ants, Sleeper is also excellent - in the same vein, recorded a month earlier:

[MomsMobley]

12 hours ago, uli said:

no love for spheres?

 

Spheres is hep and actually an excellent idea; there's much to said / heard in "old" instruments that's not present or elusive in "modern" ones. Jarrett on chamber organ and / or harmonium and / or hurdy gurdy would also be interesting.

People puzzled over or derided the Gurdjieff / de Hartmann album but look how many others have explored the repertoire since

I come and go with "Luminessence" but for channelling a certain sober side of the 1970s, this, Glenn Gould Hindemith Sonatas for Brass w/ members of the Philadelphia Orch will get you there

 

[CJ Shearn]

On 2/20/2018 at 0:30 PM, uli said:

no love for spheres?

 

I really want to grab a copy of the complete album on CD now, just having reviewed Kit Downes' "Obsidian", which is a fantastic album.

[danasgoodstuff]

I've probably said this before but I saw/heard the american quartet in Edmonton, AL and thought it was far better than any of their albums...most of Keith's other stuff doesn't do that much for me either.  Strangely enuff, my favorite KJ on record might be his playing on Miles @ the Cellar Door which is v. atypical.  Don't hear a big similarity to Bley who I'm also kinda luke warm on, FWIW.

[soulpope]

On 20.2.2018 at 9:59 PM, mjzee said:

 

Sleeper is also excellent .... recorded a month earlier:

The "European Quartet" in peak form and Jan Garbarek's finest hour ....

[JSngry]

This a near-perfect of what is My Personal Jarret Paradox - music that I don't much like on it's own played in a way that I very much do like, or vice-versa. I love it when that paradox doesn't occur, but it usually does, sooner or later.

Sometimes I wonder if the real lesson that Jarrett learned for his time with Charles Lloyd is that it's not only ok to be the weakest link in your own band, it's actually a viable commercial proposition.

[Dave James]

Never been much of a Jarrett fan, but I pull this one out every so often:

                                                      

 

Edited March 14, 2018 by Dave James

[Joe]

 

[Holy Ghost]

I think I only heard one chirp for the excellent Expectations; make it two: get it if you don't have it already.

[HutchFan]

It's fun to read through this thread, which was started back in 2004. Here are some of my thoughts.

I tend to run very hot or very cold with KJ. To this listener's ear, the good stuff can be INCREDIBLE, mind-blowingly good. On the other hand, many of his recordings don't do anything for me.

If I were to pick a handful of my favorite KJ recordings, the list would include: Shades, Death and the Flower, Treasure Island, and The Survivor's Suite. (Obviously, I like the American Quartet best. How can you go wrong with Dewey, Haden, and Motian?!?!)

I also LOVE Facing You. That said, I'm ambivalent about most of Jarrett's solo recordings. I don't think any of them are anywhere near as interesting as Facing You, although Koln Concert probably comes closest.

I've never been able to find my way into the European Quartet (although, strangely, I love the same rhythm section's recordings with Bobo Stenson -- so my problem isn't with Garbarek). I suppose I like Belonging. But that's it. I just "like" it -- which is disappointing, given how much the American Quartet's recordings have electrified me.

And I've had a similarly tough time enjoying the Standards Trio. I just can't get a foothold -- even though DeJohnette and Peacock are two of my favorite musicians. (I actually prefer Peacock's Tales of Another -- with the exact same line-up -- much more than any of the Standards Trio recordings that I've heard.)

So there you go. One person's totally subjective take on KJ's discography. Make of it what you will!

[felser]

On 3/25/2018 at 1:52 AM, Holy Ghost said:

I think I only heard one chirp for the excellent Expectations; make it two: get it if you don't have it already.

Make it three.  The one to have if you're having only one for some reason.  

[Guy Berger]

On 3/25/2018 at 1:52 AM, Holy Ghost said:

I think I only heard one chirp for the excellent Expectations; make it two: get it if you don't have it already.

“Common Mama” and “There Is a Road (God’s River)” are among the best things KJ recorded in his entire career bar none but... I think overall TREASURE ISLAND is a more focused sequel that covers the same based.

[MomsMobley]

La Scala part 2 

 

[Utevsky]

No question he's a talented player and all, but I can't stand his whining -- not the whining about audiences (another topic), but the noises he makes so frequently while playing.  I'd like to see a special discography listing the tracks on each Jarrett album where there is no squealing. 

[Big Beat Steve]

36 minutes ago, Utevsky said:

No question he's a talented player and all, but I can't stand his whining -- not the whining about audiences (another topic), but the noises he makes so frequently while playing.  I'd like to see a special discography listing the tracks on each Jarrett album where there is no squealing. 

Why not do it the other way round?

Do a discography of "collected accompanying noises". I think the grunts by Oscar Peterson would come in an honorary second.

Seems to be a topic of some concern:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-groaning-jazz-pianists-thread.62376/

http://observer.com/2015/12/the-great-groaning-pianists/

etc.

[king ubu]

Add Bud Powell to the list ... and Glenn Gould if classically inclined.

Also what about JMac's "whines" when he ends a phrase of his solo?

A.T.'s squealing drum chair?

Oh, and all those 'bone players humming while playing?

[Ken Dryden]

I don't think any artist's singing or growling is as annoying as Keith Jarrett's, though Glenn Gould may be a close second. My parents were seated in the second or third row during one of Gould's last concerts in the early 1960s and were puzzled by the strange sounds. 

 

[Hot Ptah]

On ‎6‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 11:59 AM, MomsMobley said:

La Scala part 2 

 

La Scala is one of my favorite Jarrett albums.

[Scott Dolan]

Agreed. 

La Scala is a wonderful album. One of his best solo albums by far. 

[MomsMobley]

i would have preferred the set was called A Multitude of Angles not Angels but

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by MomsMobley

[crisp]

On 07/07/2018 at 9:56 PM, Ken Dryden said:

I don't think any artist's singing or growling is as annoying as Keith Jarrett's, though Glenn Gould may be a close second.

Try Masabumi Kikuchi then. Paul Motian's albums with him are rendered worthless by Kikuchi's creepy, unpleasant growling.

[mjazzg]

8 minutes ago, crisp said:

Try Masabumi Kikuchi then. Paul Motian's albums with him are rendered worthless by Kikuchi's creepy, unpleasant growling.

Not for me, they're not.

Love them all as well as Kikuchi's solo and trio ECM discs

[crisp]

Great, but how can you bear the noise? It's not annoying like Jarrett's grunts, but genuinely disturbing, like an angry wild animal.

[kh1958]

10 minutes ago, crisp said:

Great, but how can you bear the noise? It's not annoying like Jarrett's grunts, but genuinely disturbing, like an angry wild animal.

I heard Motian live with Kikuchi at the Village Vanguard. The growling was so loud, weird and disturbing. Unlistenable stuff  for me.