Keith Jarrett - Radiance

quote:

Originally posted by dsteady:
Thanks for the input everybody. I hope to break free this week and drop some dead-prezzies at the local jazz shop. Jarret's output is so prodigious that one can feel somewhat adrift when buying his stuff. I love Köln, like everyone else, but am not always crazy about his Standards/American trio work. I think I'll have a go at the "more-intellectual" european quartet.

dn'l

Daniel - I would look at three CD's, all absolutely excellent - My Song, Belonging and Personal Mountains. I thimk that this is about the best stuff Jarrett has done and would be great if he resurrected a band like this.

Cheers
Adrian

quote:

Originally posted by Expat in Oz:
I would look at three [European Quartet] CD's, all absolutely excellent - My Song, Belonging and Personal Mountains. I thimk that this is about the best stuff Jarrett has done and would be great if he resurrected a band like this.

I heartily agree with you on almost all points (I just can't single out any one facet of Jarrett's music as "the best," although if somehow forced to choose it may well be the European Quartet), but what about the one you didn't mention, Nude Ants, recorded just a few weeks after Personal Mountains? The band is at peak levels, and it has that funky small club sound and vibe.

And although we agree on the merits of the European Quartet, I actually feel it's less intellectual than the music of the American Quartet (which I also dearly love nonetheless).

I'd love it if Jarrett started composing again (one of the truly under-appreciated composers of our time) and recording/performing with the European Quartet, but I just don't think it's gonna happen.

...

quote:

Originally posted by fred simon:

quote:

Originally posted by Expat in Oz:
I would look at three [European Quartet] CD's, all absolutely excellent - My Song, Belonging and Personal Mountains. I thimk that this is about the best stuff Jarrett has done and would be great if he resurrected a band like this.

I heartily agree with you on almost all points (I just can't single out any one facet of Jarrett's music as "the best," although if somehow forced to choose it may well be the European Quartet), but what about the one you didn't mention, Nude Ants, recorded just a few weeks after Personal Mountains? The band is at peak levels, and it has that funky small club sound and vibe.

And although we agree on the merits of the European Quartet, I actually feel it's less intellectual than the music of the American Quartet (which I also dearly love nonetheless).

I'd love it if Jarrett started composing again (one of the truly under-appreciated composers of our time) and recording/performing with the European Quartet, but I just don't think it's gonna happen.

...

Fred - agree with your comments. Maybe then I should change "best" to my favoutite closely followed by the Standards trio.

Also, yes I was negligent not to include Nude Ants - as you say an excellent disc. Think I am going to go home tonight and give it a good listen and imagine sitting at the Village Vanguard listening to this great band - must have been quite an event.

Adrian

Stefan

My copy has finally arrived. I must confess that I was a bit nervous when I read the notes that it was conceived to have no melody or rhythm (or something like that). But I found it absolutely captivating, fascinating and involving. Track 5 is incredible - it's like he has about six hands. My wife plays piano and is often underwhelmed by this sort of stuff, but she really liked it.

The recording is amazing and it sounds like you are in the hall. We have a chair off to the left of the 'listening sofa' and I kept looking over to see who was coughing - spooky. I think someone should have asked the cougher to leave, what with that and Jarret's grunting it's a unique experience!

Thanks for the recommendation.

Nigel

I'm glad you like it, Nigel, and wished many of the freqeunt contriubutors here would tell much more about their musical experiences. It puzzles me that only a small percentage of discussions and opinion exchange go to music. Versus discussing cables, racks and boxes.

Re: Jarrett - I'm have had my private "Keith Jarrett festival" over the last days. Can't stop putting one CD after the other, and occasionally return to "Radiance". He's so special and musically outstanding. And, I'm so glad that he overcame his disease and plays and records again.

You might have read in the liner notes, that they have experimented with editing the coughing (from various sources), and decided to leave it as it was recorded. I don't mind too much. Funny that also on other Japanese recordings there's a lot of snorting, coughing, etc. Maybe the Japanase way of expressing respect ?

kuma ?

cheers
Stefan