Keith Jarrett: Somewhere

[agenbite]

I'm still very fond of the '94 Blue Note box. His vocalizations were never more annoying. But the trio was in peak form.

[colinmce]

Deer Head Inn is titanically great. One of my favorite jazz albums, period. I've heard relatively little of the Standards Trio but really liked Yesterdays. I might check this one out.

[John L]

I'm still very fond of the '94 Blue Note box. His vocalizations were never more annoying. But the trio was in peak form.

That is the set that I keep coming back to as well.

[Guy Berger]

You know, CJ, I vaguely recall hearing a story about Motian sitting in for that date, but for the life of me cannot remember the details.

A fantastic date, though. Let us know what you think of it.

I recall reading an interview (with Motian?) where it was mentioned that Keith J was shocked at how much Motian swung on that date given that much of his 70s playing with Keith didn't swing, at least in a traditional sort of way. (Though "Shades of Jazz" swings pretty hard...)

As far as the trio, I have over a dozen of their discs. I like them (not as much as the 70s groups) but am not sure if I need to hear any more of them. Generally I prefer their bebop playing so Whisper Not is my fave whereas I am lukewarm on Still Live.

[CJ Shearn]

Theres quite a bit of hard swinging bop playing on "Still Live" actually, but "Whisper Not" and "Up For It" have an abundance of it, "Yesterdays" (up for reappraisal by me) has a bit too. "Whisper Not" has a gorgeously captured DeJohnette ride.

[Scott Dolan]

Has anyone else heard The Out-Of-Towners?

I really think that a hidden gem.

[jazzbo]

I have them all so, yeah. It's very good. I like them all a lot. . . well maybe except for "Deerhead's Inn."

[7/4]

my Keith Jarrett list.

So do you like any of the Standards Trio albums more yet?

Still working on it. Lot's of music out there, only so many hours to the day.

[Scott Dolan]

I have them all so, yeah. It's very good. I like them all a lot. . . well maybe except for "Deerhead's Inn."

Yeah, I have to admit I was getting kind of burned out on them. I had purchased Inside Out when it came out and somewhat resolved to myself that it would be the last of their albums I'd purchase. But, I kept hearing so many good things about The Out-Of-Towners that I broke down and purchased it. And I'm very glad that I did. I'd say it's easily top three amongst the trio albums.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Scott Dolan

[tranemonk]

Just finished listening to it. It's okay compared to their other releases. Nothing spectacular in this one.

[CJ Shearn]

Surprising, b/c John Kelman at AAJ thinks it's one of the trio's best in a long time.

[David]

I'm still very fond of the '94 Blue Note box. His vocalizations were never more annoying. But the trio was in peak form.

That is the set that I keep coming back to as well.

Thirded.

Though re the vocalizations, I would argue that "Tribute" is worse.

Count me as a huge fan of "Whisper Not." The trio's conception of Bouncing with Bud is my absolute favorite non-Monk version.

[etherbored]

i'm a bit of a conisseur of keith's and the trio. my all time #1, indeed one of my favorite trio records of all-time, is the soaring "standards live', recorded early in the life of the group. i think it's perfectly imperfect - and very well recorded.

anyway, i've listened to 'somewhere' about six or seven times now. it's a deceptively, or maybe not so deceptively, deep record. ranking is really pointless, isn't it? however, for me, it comes in way ahead of 'the out of towners' and 'my foolish heart',

although each of the trio's records have their own unique qualities, on a recent listening i was struck by what i thought was a rather off quality of recording on 'the out of towners'. in any event, i long ago found it more rewarding to process the trio's output in gradation of values reflected for each performance rather than think 'this one is better than that one' (although none will ever equal 'still live'... ).

despite how one feels on the apparently polarizing subject of keith himself, the likes of the recorded work of this trio will probably never be equaled.

have you gotten it yet, cj?

Edited June 10, 2013 by etherbored

[Scott Dolan]

Haven't listened to it in years. What did you find "off" about the recording quality? Or is it something you can't quite put your finger on?

[etherbored]

a vague flatness - a lack of depth, especially in the lower end, that i hear immediately in other recordings. play 'my foolish heart' and it sounds almost bright by comparison. in any case, this was just my impression from a recent sunday morning listen after having not heard it in some time. the performaces, especially on the title track, are excellent.

[Scott Dolan]

I'll have to break it out again. Never noticed that, but may just have never paid close enough attention.

[etherbored]

yeah - let me know your mileage and i may give it another go.

[Scott Dolan]

Will do, brother.

Trying to figure out which one is the best just so I can get my ears tuned in.

Up For It, maybe?

[etherbored]

i really think 'up for it' is underrated. sonically, it's recorded outdoors, is it not? i think 'my foolish heart' sparkles, sonically speaking. maybe some listeners would think it's too bright. 'still live' and 'standards live' are both really nice. however, if you're looking for what could be an acoutsically flat base line for jarrett trio records, i'd think the relatively dry acoustics of the blue note set are just that. next to those, the rest of the catalog sounds eq'd to one degree or another.

[Scott Dolan]

I think I'll go with that. I don't have the entire box, but I do have the single June 4th disc. Got it because it was recorded on my birthday!

Good call.

[etherbored]

two days after my own.... (happy belated birthday)

[CJ Shearn]

etherbored, I should have "Somewhere" a few days after my birthday, but your assessment of the record in relation to others in the output is interesting. I'm gonna pull out "My Foolish Heart" and then "Yesterdays", I think with MFH the trio is a bit slow to warm up, then by "Oleo" they are cooking pretty hard. They sound inspired though and "Yesterdays" from what I recall is a bit more of a low boil, more inline with "Tokyo '96" (which I have on DVD in the "Live in Japan '93/96" set). The "Standards I/II" DVD's they smoke right off, and "Whisper Not" for me exudes a playfulness that Keith is back, not quite ready for the extended vamps of years prior but with a new thoughtfulness to the head solo head format. The odd thing about that one is Jack's ride cymbal is in the left channel, and it's captured so you REALLY hear the deep wash, rivets and overtones, almost like his Sabian is an old K.

Edited June 10, 2013 by CJ Shearn

[Scott Dolan]

two days after my own.... (happy belated birthday)

And wishes returned!

[gdogus]

Not to bring up the subject yet again, but Somewhere has far less of Keith's "vocalizations" than most of the trio's recordings. It's a terrific and inventive single-disc set on all fronts, but it does warrant that distinction. I love this trio, but that .. um... "feature" of the group has been a consistent problem for me. Largely removed here, i'm glad to say.

[Scott Dolan]

Man, that itself has me sold!