Customer Reviews

Keith Jarrett At The Blue Note: The Complete Recordings

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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If you like Keith Jarrett's music and especially his work with the Standards Trio, you'll love this box set consisting of 6 albums recorded on three consecutive nights in the summer of 1994 at At The Blue Note in New York. The albums are beautifully recorded, and in my opinion the sound is even better than their studio recordings. The drums are very much in front in the soundscape, so it's easy to hear all of Jack DeJohnette's creative playing.

Another reviewer for this box set said that "There's also unparalleled "attitude," "ego," "self-belief," and a canny sense of self-promotion." I can see what he means, but if that makes for better music, why does it matter? I think that Keith's attitude, ego, self-belief and so on contributes to the music in a way that the music is more recognized in the improvisation process. What I mean by that is also what Keith himself writes in the linear notes: "[The music] must be let in, recognized, and revealed to the listener, the first of which is the musician him/herself. This recognition is the most misunderstood part of the process (even by musicians). It is a discrimination against mechanical pattern, for content, against habit, for surprise [...]. It is like an attempt, over and over again to reveal the heart of things." Though this recognition part of the improvisation process is practised among all other great jazz musicians, I think Keith has his skill fully developed. And if you're going to hear these albums or some of them, you have to be open, because if you're not, every ballad is just going to sound like it always have been; if you're open, on the other hand, you can hear how the trio constantly tries to "reveal the heart of things."

What I favour before the other albums by the Standards Trio is the variance of the playing. In spite of the fact that these 6 albums were recorded in a weekend, the trio never bores you. It's incredible how creative and imaginative they can be.

If you have never heard of ECM records , then the first thing to mention would be that all the releases have wonderful engineering . I'm not a recording engineer , but if I hear an instrument recorded and I feel that what I'm hearing is a realistic approximation of that sound , then I'm very happy .

This aspect helps you to enjoy the music and all its dynamics .

This set has no fake 'echo' on it - it's a faithful recording .

This trio , like all great groups , have been working together for a long time - about 20 years .

At that stage , the connection goes beyond personal and takes on a whole deeper significance.

Keith is an inspiration to piano players .

Gary is a bassist who is always ready to react , yet you can tell he is always feeling the music .

I'm a drummer and if you enjoy the sound of one of the best and most creative people alive today playing a drumkit , then this is the set to buy , as the drummer Jack is the sort of player that makes me smile .

The music will jump out at you - in a good way .

The trio is wonderful - it's a shame to think that some people think of jazz as a background for their dinner parties .

This is not that sort of record .

May I suggest you make the single CD with selections from this box your first purchase , then progress to this if you like the single CD . I took a chance on the whole thing and am very happy I did . Keith does make noises while he plays - I'm not that keen on it myself , but if I could play the piano like him , then it wouldn't really matter .

No wonder it won jazz magazine Down Beat's Album of the Year in 1996 . Listen and enjoy .

Finally, the Blue Notes Sessions box set is avaible in the States (I had to get mine from Germany). The earlier one disc release did not do justice to this collection (in fact, in my humble opinion, the 1st set on June 5th was the best and should have been released instead.) What you have here is Keith Jarrett at his personal best, together with Peacock and DeJohnette, the trio goes through numerous jazz standards and a handful of Jarrett originals. Keith keeps the moaning to a minimum and seems to play every set like it is his last. A truly wonderful listening experience. Check out On Green Dolphin Street, Autumn Leaves and My Romance in particular. Trust me, it's worth the money!

Rarely have I bought or heard a boxed set that could not be trimmed by at least a disc or two. Not so with Jarrett's collection of standards and a few originals taped over three nights at the famed club. There are no boring moments (not even in 26 minutes of "Autumn Leaves"), no repetition of material, and while very accessible, the music is by no means simplistic or bland. You might say it's reminiscent of the Modern Jazz Quartet in tone. Great for jazz enthusiasts and casual listeners alike, and worth every penny!

The ultimate 7-hour trip into the land of jazz piano trio. This set documents three nights of stellar performancs (Jun 3-5, 1994) by Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette. And what performances! The highlights are too many and varied to mention from the brilliance of "Autumn Leaves" (all 26+ minutes from the solo intro to superb interplay of three musicians at their artistic peak) on disc III to the sublime, melodic performance of "Skylark" on disc II and many many others. This box set is pure magic and well worth the price--quite possibly Jarrett's best trio effort. This is the ultimate piano trio box set and definitely as good a place as any to start or continue a collection into the art form. Very Highly Recommended. Note: Jarrett's annoying grunting and peculiar "singing" are kept to a relative minimum which only makes this set even more appealing.

The Keith Jarrett Trio has made some great records, but this collection demonstrates Jarrett, Peacock (who's never sounded so good), and DeJohnette at their peak. One thing that distinguishes this one from some of their previous live recordings is the size of the venue: it was recorded at a club rather than a concert hall, and there's a more intimate feel to the music as a result. (This is also true of 'At the Deer Head Inn'.) The consistency of the band over three nights is something to marvel at. A tune like 'Autumn Leaves', which swings hard for nearly half-an-hour, must have worn out most of the audience with its insistent groove, but Jarrett and friends shrug their shoulders and get on with the next number. Every disc has its own rewards, but I think three and especially five are the plums here. Worth every cent.

Being a piano player myself I have found myself overly interested and floored by Keith Jarrett's inspiration, and sense of musicallity. He has like many other times put the music and the collaborations of his team players(Peacock,DeJohnette), before himself and any sort of self indulgences. Even though they may be those to have conflicting opinions, Jazzers, Classical players, or what not; all at least have to truly respect and appreciate to what great lengths the man reaches upward to obtain a higher state of grace. On these disks it is a great pleasure to have over 6 hours of great jazz standards performed by one of the greatest piano players ever to live,and the trio made in heaven to work with. The chemistry is smooth and extremely unique to this trios sound, their musical concepts, and mastery of their instruments allow the music to breathe in a almost supernatural way, allowing popular standards to be transformed off the pages into something else. Go out and spend 70 or 80 Bucks, investing in hours of ecstasy. Enjoy!

This astonishing boxed set from the standards trio justifies a long essay as a minimum to do it justice. I will restrict myself to talking about a few tracks only.

Disc 5 starts with a track 21 minutes long. After a slightly disguised Piano introduction Jarrett begins a long exploration of "On Green Dolphin Street". This swings like hell in places, is occasionally a little funky, and is never less than very inventive. Just after 8 minutes the first Piano solo ends! After a brief interlude of bass solo and drums/Piano exchanges the theme comes back and seamlessly becomes "Joy Ride" at around 12 minutes. This is one of Keith's own compositions and has a calypso feel to it. Well you can guess that he gets into this in a big way and the drive and interplay between the musicians justs gets better and better. This track alone made the boxed set worth getting.

The other highlights on disc 5 are a rapid version of "You'd be so nice to come home to" and great version of Monks "Straight No Chaser".

Of particular interest to me were two versions of "Things Ain't What They Used To Be". You will hear Jarrett use blues licks in his solos, but not often do hear him play an entire piece in a bluesy/gospel style. This is fantastic stuff, driven along by some great bass by Gary Peacock.

I can't do justice to the set of 6 discs here. If you're a Jarrett fan and you don't have this collection, you should have. Likewise anybody interested in Piano trio Jazz should consider this an essential purchase. Its a shame more artists don't put out sets like this - although my bank manager might disagree.

With 422 minutes of music that spans three nights and six complete performances, this is arguably the most impressive look into the "Standards Trio" that is available in one (boxed) set.

The concerts took place on June 3-5, 1994, and provides the listener with an incredible appreciation with the way Keith Jarrett (p), Jack DeJohnette (d) and Gary Peacock (b) would vary sound, vision and structure over a short period of time within the same venue. The physical structure does not change, but the variables for each artist does, which is brilliantly captured in the collection.

And it is when the trio stretches out on a nearly 27 minute version of Autumn Leaves and 29 minute rendition of Desert Sun that the full potential of performing before an audience is heard; the energy between the fans and musicians is incredible.

There were many vibrant colors on the vast canvas for these shows at the Blue Note, which only grow more vivid with each listen.

I have a lot of Jazz albums, but this is the one I go to time and time again when I'm working on my computer. It's always fresh and is a true reference set. You really need to have this in your collection. I never do these reviews, but had to chime in on this one that has given me so much pleasure over the years.