Customer Reviews

Changeless

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have bought most of Jarrett's 'standards trio' recordings and enjoy them all. I must admit, however, that the pieces I really love are the 'extensions' that they get into every now and then.

This is 49 mins of four such pieces recorded at various concerts in 1987 - and they are great! By the way, this disc was released in 1989; the distributor is playing delete/reissue games.

It's pretty simple, if you love things like 'The Fire Within' or 'Desert Sun' (Blue Note box) or 'Caribbean Sky' (Tokyo '96) then BUY this!

This is a flawless recording. The trio of Keith Jarrett, Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock is the finest in contemporary jazz. What makes this recording stand out in comparison to other recordings by the trio is that all of these compositions are originals. The interplay between the three musicians is remarkable. They are so finely attuned to one another they play as if they share the same thought, the same sentiment. The compositions are rich in depth, tone and mood. There is a spiritual flavor to this music that is quite moving. As with all of ECM's recordings the production is extraordinary. This disc is a personal favorite, one of Jarrett's best. Highly recomended...Simon

One of the more unusual installments of the Keith Jarrett Trio. Rather than standards as previous albums Changeless is a live recording of moderate paced improvisation with some of the best bass and drum interplay you will be likely to hear on what amounts to a ambient album.

When I mention ambient it is meant in the sense of gentle but insistant music that never really gets intense in a classic sense, e.g.; not much volume dynamics, yet this album features some of the most passionate work the trio had performed.

In fact, it reminded me of The Koln conceret solo album in that Jarrett is in top form, totally motivated and with wonderful accompaniment that fits like an interlaced fabric.

People I played Changeless to that do not enjoy jazz in general were attracted to it's seemingly simple drone with occasional bursts of virtuosity. From it's release to today it is still a favorite album and a worthy addition to any open minded listener's music collection.

This is a marvelous CD. Jarrett's trio is sympathetic, brilliant, and inspiring. I saw his trio recently in Chicago, and they are incredible live. Maybe that's what helps make this CD so great, as it is culled from different live concerts in 1987. It is trance music, spiritual music, deeply moving and timeless. I highly recommend it. I think the trio format is a better fit for Jarrett than his solo work, which in my opinion tends to be too discursive, or rambling, as he searches for improvisational ideas. I do like the Koln concert, however.

On the album "Changeless", Jarrett's trio experiments with the idea of unplanned compositions. In other words, every piece on the CD (4 of them) are totally unstructured and instantly composed as the music continues. This is an especially impressive accomplishment when you consider that there are three musicians, all totally feeding off the others' musical ideas and "emotional" phrasing. Some may find the album somewhat slow or hard to understand as far as musicality, but a closer listening-to should reveal an incredibly deep, meaningful improvisational performance. This album is definitely a must-have for any Jarrett fan, or any jazz fan for that matter.

After only a couple of hearings, this has jumped to near the top of my list of Jarrett favorites. Why? Because this is my favorite kind of jazz being played by one of the greatest jazz trios ever. As others have written, these pieces are stretched out, meditative, modal explorations that follow in the tradition established by John Coltrane (and carried on by Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Charles Lloyd and others).

As much as I respect the Jarrett trio's standards albums, the music of "Changeless" is the jazz music that speaks most clearly to my soul. The songs are often built on "repetitive" grooves that sometimes even remind me of Philip Glass's compositions. But since this is jazz, the musicians improvise and wander and explore and delve and build spirals of beautiful sound upon those grooves. And since this is an ECM recording, the sound is exquisite. Peacock's bass in particular has a visceral three-dimensional quality.

I would highly recommend this to people who don't necessarily like "classic" jazz, and who can't deal with "free" jazz, but who want to listen to jazz musicians of the highest caliber. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and classical Indian music. This is music that will wash over you and fill you up and soothe your soul.

This music is beyond category - it is not jazz, not classical, not new age, not fusion, not anything that you've heard before. It is music in the most spiritual sense - that is ... it will evoke thoughts and emotions to elevate you away, alas temporarily, from this mundane existence. It will give you hope that you might be able to reach peace, if not for our civilization, at least for your inner world.

You don't have to be a fan to love this collection of various live recordings. fantastic. Especially track 2.

A very calm music, invites you for a meditation, for a inner voyage.
The pianist has a complete control of the piano and fingers and emotion...
He, himself make a voyage through improvisations...
To the one that likes a music that ask for a concentration, a total abandon....
Very good !

I first encountered this fellow Jarrett working in an office with a streaming jazz channel on which played "the Koln concert"; I was blown away and wrote down the name hurriedly on a scrap of paper so I could find it again. I've been exploring jazz for some time now, with increasing intensity, and was well into Brubeck, Miles Davis, Ahmad Jamal, and a host of other greats. I had never heard of this fellow.

In the interim, I found "The Moth and the Flame" and was very impressed with the creativity and the beauty and began to learn more about him. He joins Coltrane with his ability to get the most out of the same note played repeatedly, with varied rhythm and force-- never boring. I am now close to being a Jarrett junkie. I heard a smidgeon of this somewhere on YouTube and immediately moved to buy it. It arrived four days ago. I have listened to it twelve times since. The trio compatriots are as good at their instrument as Jarrett is at his. This album is the best piece of recorded music I have ever heard (I'm 62 now and used to work at a college progressive radio station). This is primal, elemental, well-played, superbly produced, and more; words fail me. It sends shivers through my being.