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The six-CD box set Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note fully documents three nights (six complete sets from June 3-5, 1994) by his trio with [more]
At two marathon three-day recording sessions in December 1975 and October 1976, the finest group that pianist Keith Jarrett ever led (his quartet/quintet with [more]
This was the first real indication to the world that Keith Jarrett was an ambitious, multi-talented threat to be reckoned with, an explosion of polystylistic music that sprawled over [more]
This gargantuan package -- a ten-LP set now compressed into a chunky six-CD box -- once was derided as the ultimate ego trip, probably by many who didn't take the time to hear it [more]
Recorded at the same sessions as Death and the Flower, this out-of-print LP, whose music has not yet been reissued on CD, features pianist Keith Jarrett's exciting but underrated American [more]
Amidst rumored tension within the band, Keith Jarrett's "American" Quartet met for one last marathon recording date before disbanding, and Impulse made the most of it by spreading the [more]
While still a member of the Charles Lloyd Quartet, Keith Jarrett did some occasional moonlighting with a trio, anchored by two future members of Jarrett's classic quartet, [more]
Treasure Island, released in early 1974, was the second of two albums pianist and composer Keith Jarrett recorded for Impulse Records -- the first was Fort Yawuh, issued a year [more]
For many years, the trio of Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette has been taking jazz standards and expanding them via improvisation into an [more]
The six-CD box set Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note fully documents three nights (six complete sets from June 3-5, 1994) by his trio with [more]
At two marathon three-day recording sessions in December 1975 and October 1976, the finest group that pianist Keith Jarrett ever led (his quartet/quintet with [more]
When Get Up with It was released in 1974, critics -- let alone fans -- had a tough time with it. The package was a -- by then customary -- double LP, with sessions ranging from [more]
This was the first real indication to the world that Keith Jarrett was an ambitious, multi-talented threat to be reckoned with, an explosion of polystylistic music that sprawled over [more]
This gargantuan package -- a ten-LP set now compressed into a chunky six-CD box -- once was derided as the ultimate ego trip, probably by many who didn't take the time to hear it [more]
Gary Burton's early pre-ECM career can easily be sliced into fourths -- his flirtation with country music via his time spent in Nashville, working as a sideman with Stan Getz, [more]
Recorded at the same sessions as Death and the Flower, this out-of-print LP, whose music has not yet been reissued on CD, features pianist Keith Jarrett's exciting but underrated American [more]
Amidst rumored tension within the band, Keith Jarrett's "American" Quartet met for one last marathon recording date before disbanding, and Impulse made the most of it by spreading the [more]
While still a member of the Charles Lloyd Quartet, Keith Jarrett did some occasional moonlighting with a trio, anchored by two future members of Jarrett's classic quartet, [more]
One of the most significant pianists to emerge since the 1960s, Keith Jarrett maintained a career that went through several phases. He gained international fame for his solo concerts, which found him spontaneously improvising all of the music without any prior planning, but he also led a couple of dynamic quartets/quintets, performed classical music, and later played explorative versions of standards with his longtime trio. Although his tendency to "sing along" with his piano now and then is distracting, Jarrett continued to grow as a powerful improviser after decades of important accomplishments.
Jarrett started on the piano when he was three, and by the time he was seven he had already played a recital. A child prodigy, Jarrett was a professional while still in grade school. In 1962, he studied at Berklee, and then started working in the Boston area with his trio. He moved to New York in 1965, and spent four months with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. As a member of the very popular Charles Lloyd Quartet (1966-1969), Jarrett traveled the world and became well-known; he also began doubling occasionally on soprano (which he would utilize through the 1970s). During 1969-1971, he was with Miles Davis' fusion group, playing organ and electric keyboards; Chick Corea was also in the band for the first year. Jarrett can be heard "battling" Corea throughout Davis' Live at the Fillmore, but is in more creative form on Live/Evil.
Upon leaving Miles Davis, Jarrett permanently swore off electric keyboards. He had cut sessions as a leader for Vortex (1967-1969) and Atlantic (1971), but starting in November 1971, he recorded extensively for ECM (in addition to some sessions in the 1970s for ABC/Impulse), an association that continued into the 2000s. In the 1970s, Jarrett led two groups: an exciting unit with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, and occasional percussionists (often Guilherme Franco); and a European band with Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson, and Jon Christensen that recorded the popular "My Song." In addition, starting in 1972 Jarrett began his famous series of improvised concerts that resulted in such popular recordings as Solo Concerts, {Köln Concert}, and the mammoth Sun Bear Concerts. By the 1980s, Jarrett was performing classical music as much as jazz, but in the 1990s he recorded extensively (including a six-CD live set) with his "standards trio," which included Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette. Although initially influenced by Bill Evans, Jarrett has had an original and influential style of his own since the early '70s, and remains a vital force in jazz. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide