Customer Reviews

Jasmine

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jarrett and Haden were reunited in 2007 during recording of a documentary about the bassist. After they played together informally, Jarrett invited Haden home, where they spent four days recording in Jarrett's studio. Given their recent histories of recording standards - Jarrett with his Standards Trio, Haden with his Quartet West - they unsurprisingly opted for songs from the Great American Songbook.
It's more than 30 years since the last recorded meeting of these two great names in contemporary jazz, and Jarrett has not made a studio album since 1998, preferring live solo or trio recordings.
Therefore, the recording is quite an event. As a concept, these piano-and-bass explorations of eight classic American songs could not be simpler, but the poise and subtlety of both thought and execution make it a spellbinding experience.
Jarrett has a remarkable talent for creating an aura of stillness around him, so that every note he plays stands out clear and bright and the slightest harmonic nuance carries meaning. Haden's bass, with its intimate, woody tone, lays the perfect groundwork, as always.
The two instruments - piano and bass - are beautifully recorded in a very simple and natural fashion. The repertoire is made up of carefully chosen standards, and their approach is deliberately shorn of over-elaboration, but the music itself is full of nuances and the kind of masterly touches and inflections we have come to expect.
Their interaction on the slow and mid-tempo tunes they favour is sublime.
"Every note carries full weight and every silence - Haden is a master in using space - has significance". - K. Mathieson
"It's an intimate, home-studio recording of love songs - deep, almost painfully heartfelt - and so good it will be sure to top most best-of lists. There's no tricksiness, just the woody thump of Haden's bass adding authority to Jarrett's tender, faithful chording. "For All We Know" is a Desert Island Discs cert; "Body & Soul" is done almost jauntily; the closing "Don't Ever Leave Me" a bitter sweet miracle. If you buy only one album this year, etc...".-Phil Johnson
Brilliant.
Essential.

Five ENGAGING Stars!! Playing together for the first time in 30 years, jazz legends Keith Jarrett (playing his unique "practice Steinway" piano) and Charlie Haden on his upright bass give jazz fans a spontaneous, unrehearsed jazz duo recording of great improvisational beauty and introspection, recorded in Jarrett's home recording studio. Playing mostly major and minor standards, this recording underwent an extensive song selection and order of presentation process that works beautifully. Messrs Jarrett and Haden are in superb form using musical extra-sensory perception to reach a point that is "deeper than a conversation", with a bouncing, elastic internal pulse that needs no drummer as they solo and 'comp' with intimacy and inventiveness.

The 'best of the best' on this CD include a wonderful interpretation of the rarely heard Cy Coleman gem "I'm Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life" (12 minutes), a jumping and imaginative version of "No Moon At All", an awesome 11 minute version of "Body and Soul", and a charming "One Day I'll Fly Away" which was composed by Crusader pianist Joe Sample for singer Randy Crawford. In all, this is one great CD of ballads recorded with the trademark ECM soundscape by engineer Martin Pearson (Haden is particularly impressed with how his sound is captured: courtesy of Mr Pearson) and propelled along by two of the giants of jazz. "Jasmine"-like, indeed! Highly Recommended. Five BEAUTIFUL Stars (This review is based on an Amazon.com MP3 download of 8 tracks, 62:32 total time; and the outstanding National Public Radio interview "Charlie Haden and Keith Jarrett Channel The Standards": see second note below.)

I will keep this short. This is sublime, mature playing by two great artists at the top of their game. Hal Galper, the jazz pianist, said that a musician spends the first part of his/her career learning how to play and hear everything, and the second part learning how to play less than what they can hear and can play. This is an example of that. The playing is gorgeous and restrained, with profound, perfect musical choices that younger musicians simply are not capable of. I am not one of those people who thinks that everything Jarrett does is great. But this is. Magnificent.

Love this CD on my first listen. Two greats interacting on a level that only years of experience can produce. Very laid back vibe. Jarrett does some of his "talking" while playing but that is not as obnoxious as other times.

Give this one a go!

I became a fan of Keith Jarrett's years ago after hearing "The Melody At Night With You", which like "Jasmine" was recorded in Jarrett's home studio. "Jasmine" won me over with the first song, Jarrett and Charlie Haden's nearly ten minute version of "For All We Know". The last minute and a half of this song is simply some of the most beautiful and heart wrenching music I have ever heard. It impresses me on two levels: the interplay between Haden and Jarrett is instinctive and amazing, and the sheer beauty of Jarrett moving up octaves (until you're fooled several times into thinking the song is over when it isn't) is enough to bring tears to my eyes every time I hear it. It seems to me that most of the debate about the quality of this album centers around Jarrett's tendency to vocalize while he plays, his ego, the quality of the recording itself, and where this music stands in terms of both the musician's careers. I would agree that both Jarrett and Haden have made music that is more groundbreaking and challenging than "Jasmine" both together and seperately in their long careers, but does that make their release of an album of standards pointless, saccharine, and not worth hearing by comparison? In my opinion it does not. This is not free jazz or the "Koln Concert" album, and it wasn't meant to be! While Jarrett's vocalizations are a matter of taste, (I for one don't particularly enjoy them), they don't detract from the playing on this album in my opinion. For one thing, they are somewhat in the background on this recording due to the microphone placement; I have heard recordings where they are much more prominent and distract from Jarrett's playing. Again, they are present on a few of the songs but not every one, and I have heard worse from Jarrett on other albums. Other reviewers have commented that they don't like the "dry" recording quality; to me this is another matter of taste. I found the manner in which "Jasmine" was recorded to be appropriate in that the lack of reverb made the performances sound more intimate, which makes sense for a collection of love songs. Lastly, giving a beautiful collection of songs like this one or two stars on Amazon because you find Jarrett's ego to be a turn off is in my opinion unnecessary as it does not reflect on the music. I have seen Jarrett play live at Carnegie Hall, and he does seem to have a huge ego, a pretentious streak, and a nasty side. However, in the jazz world (or for that matter, any form of the arts) that is not uncommon. Not to mention that while I did not care for his personality the night I saw him, his playing was more than exceptional, and he also gave the audience their money's worth and did seven or eight encores. If you listen to "Jasmine" at face value, I cannot imagine that it would be a turn off to the average listener. It is a beautiful, pensive, relaxing, and moving collection of songs, and I would recommend it to any lover of jazz.

With JASMINE (ECM Records, May 2010 release), Keith Jarrett (piano) and Charlie Haden (double bass), have achieved precisely what they were hoping to with this album of ballads from The Great American Songbook - created an album of absolute, exquisite BEAUTY. A work containing restraint, space, intimacy, and a sublime reverence for the gorgeous melodies that are stated and explored on each of the tunes on this c.d., distilling the essence of each with a tastefulness and an economy that could only come from two artists who are at this moment of their musical journeys, at the very top of their game, musically, personally, spiritually. Another reviewer calls this album "an instant classic." It is. The following is from the liner notes of the album: "Art is dying in this world, and so is listening, as the world becomes more full of toys and special effects." How true that appears to be. But then perhaps its for moments like this that certain individuals are called to a lifetime in music, who happen to be "obsessed with beauty," and choose to follow that call into the creation of an album precisely like JASMINE? I can't imagine anyone who has the good fortune to listen to the music on this c.d., not being immediately put back in touch with what matters most in this world. The tunes are: FOR ALL WE KNOW / WHERE CAN I GO WITHOUT YOU / NO MOON AT ALL / ONE DAY i'LL FLY AWAY / I'M GONNA LAUGH YOU RIGHT OUT OF MY LIFE / BODY AND SOUL / GOODBYE / DON'T EVER LEAVE ME. The only criticism I have of this album is Mr. Jarrett's habit of using his voice while he plays. I suspect he's been doing this for so long he can't help himself. At times, these sounds he makes distract from the music and I'm reminded I'm still here in the world, not in Heaven. This, also from the liner notes: "Here is some music for you. Take it and its yours." You bet. And with all kinds of gratitude. Most highly recommended.

what struck me first about this recording was the clarity of sound, and secondly how close haden's bass sounded as a near organic extension of jarrett's piano. the improvisations are deeply grounded in the jarrett musicology built up over decades. his versatility resonates. his grunting adds a percussive quality to the playing by the duo. harmonious, tranquil and mystical. very peaceful.

Anyone with a passing interest in Jarrett's recorded work knows what I'm talking about. I fully embrace every enthusiastic five-star rating of the music recorded here. It's beautiful. I hoped, though, I could be spared the frustration of having Jarrett's Sniveling Whine once again corrupt an otherwise amazing listening experience. No such luck. I know, I know -- I should pay attention to the music, etc. I've been listening to Keith Jarrett for 25 years, even with the SW. This time I've just had enough. How does Jarrett expect anyone to overlook that intrusion time and time again? He's walked off stage because audience members were coughing too much. I'd bet if someone else started the SW during a concert he'd walk off for that too. At least I didn't try to follow the advice to "Call your wife or husband or lover in late at night and sit down and listen." As soon as the SW foolishness began, more than the recording would have been ruined on that night......

I`ve been listening to Keith Jarrett for years, have formed a strong opinion about what works emotionally as well as acoustically. His album The Cure stands out above all of them with His version of Blame it On My Youth being unique. An artist who can play his own beautiful phrase using the changes of an existing song is the acid test in my mind. Keith can do it. Jasmine is very good, just a click down from The Cure. Larry Benz

I bought the CD after I incidentally heard an interview with the two musicians. Although famous pieces like the ones on Jarrett's Cologne concert are more dramatic and tumultuous, the ones on this CD are beautiful in their own mellow, calming and understated way. Beautiful performance.