Keith Jarrett - Personal Mountains (1989)

German import

It's difficult for me to pass up an ECM CD in the used bin, particularly when it is marked down to $1 as this particular CD was. This disc is a live album by Jarrett's 'European Quartet' recorded in 1979 in Tokyo and released in 1989. It has been written that "From note one Personal Mountains paints melodic vistas of great majesty wrapped in a bow of rarified execution." The playing is indeed spectacular, I just can't get into it until the last tracks. I've given the disc several spins, but overall, this one's not for me.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: Of the five tracks here, I dig track 4, Innocence, which includes nice work from both Jarrett and bassist Palle Danielsson. There's also a CD-only bonus track, Late Night Willie, which has a pleasant, laid back groove to it.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Standards, Vol. 1 (1983)
The Köln Concert (1975)

Keith Jarrett - Standards, Vol. 1 (1983)

German import

As the title suggests, Jarrett plays jazz standards in a piano trio that includes Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on Drums. Very well done although Jarrett has a habit of moaning/singing along while he plays so if that bothers you, you probably should avoid this one. There's an old musician joke that states whenever there's a bass solo, that's the time when you go to the bar for another drink or talk to your companion. However, Peacock's solos are so good that you not only listen, you appreciate what he's saying. I think there are some innovative takes on these standards and find the whole disc relaxing and enjoyable. Plus it comes with a good story about the recording of the album:

They had gone into a Manhattan studio without rehearsing or any arrangements, but in an outburst of creativity they needed just 1½ days to record enough material — mostly from the Great American Songbook, highlighted by a 15-minute gospel-flavored, hard-grooving exploration of "God Bless the Child" — to fill three albums instead of one as planned.

That's an excerpt from a 2008 Associated Press article about the trio. The full article can be found here. No rehearsing or arrangements and they improvise this? Amazing.

Jazz albums usually didn't grace the pages of Rolling Stone magazine, but this one got a review. However, the reviewer and I don't exactly see eye to eye.

click to enlarge

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard Jazz: #14

Tracks:  5 tracks, 46 minutes. The five standards chosen for this volume are:

1. Meaning Of The Blues by Bobby Troup & Leah Worth (1957)
2. All The Things You Are by Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein (1939)
3. It Never Entered My Mind by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart (1940)
4. The Masquerade Is Over by Allie Wrubel & Herbert Magidson (1938)
5. God Bless The Child by Arthur Herzog & Billie Holliday (1939)

Hard to go wrong with any of these, but my favorites are All The Things You Are, It Never Entered My Mind, and God Bless The Child.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  None, although lately I'm finding myself exploring a lot of the music released on the ECM label.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Köln Concert (1975)

Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert (1975)

GEOGRAPHY WEEK (JANUARY 8-14, 2012)

I realize New Age-ish piano music isn't for everybody, but I love this CD. However, I'm glad I didn't hear it for the first time until I was in my 30's because I don't think I could have appreciated it. Full-on improvisation at its best. I don't think my explanation would do it justice, so I'll leave it to The Wall Street Journal and Allmusic.com.

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "near on perfect"
• Stereo Review: Recording of Special Merit
• High Fidelity: "A totally novel, beautiful, and warm listening experience."
• DownBeat (★★★★★): "His solo art remains a unique entity in music, and the Koln concert is its most moving, telling exposition."
• The Penguin Guide to Jazz (5th ed., 2000):★★★★
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart (just missed at #201)
• Billboard Jazz: #6
• CashBox: #187
• Record World Jazz: #14

Tracks: The recording is in three parts: lasting about 26 minutes, 34 minutes and 7 minutes respectively. As it was originally programmed for vinyl LP, the second part was split into sections labelled "IIa" and "IIb." The third part labelled "IIc" was actually the final piece, a separate encore. That's why it works so well as a CD instead of vinyl; the music flows so much better.

Just let it play, man.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: One of my favorite late night CDs. In fact, I don't think I've ever listened to this CD in the daytime. When I was in high school, anything on the ECM label seemed a little too "out there" for my limited tastes. I'm glad I got over that bias.