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Keith Jarrett - My Foolish Heart

GA Russell

By GA Russell
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GA Russell Mentor

GA Russell

Posted
Posted

In September ECM released a 2 CD set of Keith Jarrett's performance at Montreux from a couple of years ago called My Foolish Heart. Equal billing is given to Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette. All of the songs are standards.

I've had it since October and have been playing Disc 1 quite a bit. I really like it. It is much more joyous than the other Jarrett ECMs I have, which were from the 70s and early 80s.

Yesterday I played Disc 2 for the first time. I like it too, but not quite as much as Disc 1. I think Disc 1's improvisations are more closely aligned with the melodies than Disc 2's.

I noticed last month that this made a number of people's Top Ten lists for the year. I don't think I could quickly name ten records from the year that I like more, but I wouldn't say that it is such an obviously superior performance that the set deserves to be considered in a year's top ten.

But I would give it a very solid four stars. I'm not the world's biggest Keith Jarrett fan, although I like all of his that I have. (FWIW, my least favorite is The Koln Concert.) I think he kept the flame for standards alive between 1970 and 1990; and I think he deserves more credit for that than what any particular record calls for.

If you like Keith Jarrett, I can definitely recommend this. CD Universe has it for $21.99.

By the way, four of the songs are in a ragtime style that I find particularly appealling - light, bouncy, and as I said joyous.

And the moaning doesn't bother me anymore. I kind of like it now!

RDK Newbie

RDK

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Haven't heard this latest one, but I'm a big fan of Jarrett's "standards trio" work. If you like this one, you can safely check out the others - and there are many. Frankly, as much as i love the trio, I really wish he'd do something different. This and his solo concerts are the only format he's worked since 1982 iirc. (And I'd adjust your dates from 1970-1990 to 1982-Present.) My favorite is still the very first "Standards" album from 1982, with its great versions of "God Bless the Child" and "Stella."

John Tapscott Mentor

John Tapscott

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My gosh, a Jarrett thread that lasted at least an hour without any Jarrett bashing yet. What is this board coming to ? :rolleyes:

Seriously, i have not picked it up this one, enjoy Jarrett, hope to find it soon

I got it a couple of weeks ago, and have listened to it once. It's a very good one, if you like this group (I do). Keith's obligatory "rant" is edited out, so all you get is music (though he does a fair bit of complaining in the liner notes). :rolleyes:

GregK Apprentice

GregK

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the rants are the ** ONLY ** thing interesting about this fucking group, and that includes narcoleptic Gary Peacock and check cashing ooops i mean Direct Deposit please thanks! Jack DeJohnette.

the day someone releases a Having Fun With Keith cd is the morning ya'll find edc on line to buy (or barter) a copy. until, then with all respect RDK's past pleasure (which i assuredly do NOT share), this shit is instant LANDFILL-- if only it wasn't toxic at least ya'll could burn & use the ashes fill an urn. since that's not hep, ** BOYCOTT ** all this trash until they get the goddamn idea.

MAGNETIC KEITH JARRETT LOW STANDARDS TRIO RECORD REVIEW (part I) (hope this helps!)

"telepathic interplay"

"investigations"

"reinvestigating"

"spacious"

"stretched out"

"familiar"

"well worn"

"comfortable"

"not since Oscar Peterson..."

"not since Superman died..."

"group"

"real communication"

"true conversation"

"inimitable dialogue"

Not even 2 hours, this time. Usual suspects, of course. Perhaps anytime someone starts a Jarrett thread they should be obliged to start a second, Jarrett-bashing thread at the same time, so Chuck, Clem, etc can pile on with their same old complaints so the rest of us can just read the thread?

John Tapscott Mentor

John Tapscott

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How many posters to this thread received "promo" copies of the music in question?

Line up folks. :ph34r:

Not me. I don't think I've received a "promo" copy of anything in about 7 years, and that was only second hand from a friend in the "biz" who was representing/promoting some jazz labels at the time. But Chuck, if you have any spare Uptown "promos" to give away, well, I think you have my address... :)

clifford_thornton Mentor

clifford_thornton

Posted
Posted

MAGNETIC KEITH JARRETT LOW STANDARDS TRIO RECORD REVIEW (part I) (hope this helps!)

"telepathic interplay"

"investigations"

"reinvestigating"

"spacious"

"stretched out"

"familiar"

"well worn"

"comfortable"

"not since Oscar Peterson..."

"not since Superman died..."

"group"

"real communication"

"true conversation"

"inimitable dialogue"

:lol:

Asides aside, there are some good Jarrett recordings that I will throw on and enjoy every once in a while. They are "early" in his oeuvre, groaning but sans rants. At this point I don't really care about the brouhaha, or about his records since let's say around 1974. He'll keep putting them out, though, and a lot of people will keep buying.

GA Russell Mentor

GA Russell

Posted
  • Author
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7/4, that was Certs! Certs is a candy mint. No, Certs is a breath mint. Certs is two, two, two mints in one!

Doublemint was, Double your pleasure, Double your fun, Double your (something, taste?) with Doublemint gum!

7/4 Newbie

7/4

Posted
Posted

7/4, that was Certs! Certs is a candy mint. No, Certs is a breath mint. Certs is two, two, two mints in one!

Doublemint was, Double your pleasure, Double your fun, Double your (something, taste?) with Doublemint gum!

Thanks. I knew it was something like that. The most I remember was that sex with twins is probably fun, so also this gum should be. They really knew how to sell stuff back in the day...

...anyways...the AAJ critic uses two names. :ph34r:

JSngry Grand Master

JSngry

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Posted

As a Useful Generality, Jarrett-bashing is ok with me. But when you break it down on a case-by-case basis, it's nowhere near that simple or easy.

I know life is short, better/more interesting choices, etc. I know.

But.

That's all I'm sayin'.

John L Community Regular

John L

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Posted

As a Useful Generality, Jarrett-bashing is ok with me. But when you break it down on a case-by-case basis, it's nowhere near that simple or easy.

I know life is short, better/more interesting choices, etc. I know.

But.

That's all I'm sayin'.

Yes. Sometimes jazz is not like a Superman comic book. Its musicans don't always divide easily into good guys and bad guys.

JohnS Newbie

JohnS

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Posted

Well, I like the Standards Trio but I'm not fond of Jarrett's other work.

It strikes me that the new one isn't the Trio's best. I don't think it's just a case of overfamiliarity on my part.

A footnote I see that ECM have repackaged the first two Trio discs as a double and called it the New York Sessions.

RDK Newbie

RDK

Posted
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I know life is short, better/more interesting choices, etc. I know.

That's often the rub for me. And it doesn't just apply to Jarrett, but to Parker and Coltrane and Miles and Ellington and just about every jazz artist out there with an extensive catalog. Sure, they may be the pinnacle of jazz artists, reducing nearly everyone else to second-tier status (reminds me of the recent Peterson debate), but for me half of the fun is exploring the other "more interesting" choices... even when they often aren't artistically "better" than the holy trinity of Mingus, Monk, and Duke (or Coltrane, Shepp, and Ayler if that's more your speed).

I mentioned above that I haven't bought/heard this latest trio disc yet despite the fact that I love Jarrett's trio work. I'm sure I'll pick it up at some point, either used or through BMG, but I'm not in a rush to hear it because, frankly, I feel as if it's just more of the same: I've heard it before, I'll no doubt enjoy it, but there won't be anything surprising about it either. I admit to feeling the same way about Ellington, Monk, Parker, and so many others as well. I have dozens of discs by each of them, but in buying new ones I know that (in most cases at least) at this point there won't be much there to surprise me. They might consist of great music, but there won't be that sense of hearing someone/something new.

That's why, though I really love the trio, I won't be rushing to listen to this one. I'd rather explore the nooks and crannies, even if means suffering through some lesser shit to find the hidden pearls, than going after a sure thing.

clifford_thornton Mentor

clifford_thornton

Posted
Posted

DSCH p&f

What is this? The world needs to know!

Seconded!

I haven't heard Gary Peacock recently, so I can't say if he was lobotomized or not.

Reports are he sounded great with Bley not too long ago (a pesky pianist whom Jarrett claims never to have heard).

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