Customer Reviews

Paris / London (Testament)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My first exposure to Keith Jarret's solo pianistic magic was at an unforgettable London concert in the late seventies. I have been a loyal fan ever since and have enthusiastically followed his progress through his various jazz and classical explorations.

I presume that most readers would be familiar with Jarrett's solo jazz performances. Here we have the usual combination of abstract, sometimes difficult music, together with more lyrical numbers. I must admit to preferring the latter (my favorite album being The Melody At Night, With You) and am pleased to report that there is a generous amount of achingly tuneful and soulful pianism to be encountered. This is to be found throughout both concerts but particularly in the second part of the London concert. Jarrett is not an artist to let the listener off easily; sometimes I feel that the songful parts are a reward for sharing the more difficult journeys!

In the booklet notes, Jarrett writes frankly of the personal crisis that he was experiencing at the time of the London and Paris concerts. He intimates that these traumatic circumstances spurred him to produce something special out of this adversity. My impression is that the standard of these events is equal to very good, but not extraordinary solo Jarrett.

The Paris concert (or part thereof?)runs for around 70 minutes; the London event lasts just over 100 minutes. The sound is up to the usual excellent ECM standard and the 3 discs are compactly enclosed in cardboard sleeves. This set should be an obligatory purchase for all Keith Jarrett fans.

Having been a fan of Keith Jarrett since his early journeyman jazz days, his solo and trio explorations have always been of interest, although some recent recordings have left me wincing. The joy and extroverted romance of his popular solo concerts of Köln, Tokyo, Paris, and La Scala had turned to long series of brief, darker and edgier, introspective free jazz and classical-like statements in Radiance and The Carnegie Hall Concert. In this three-CD package of Testament, Jarrett increasingly exits the Mahlerian wilderness to find some sweetness or some jazzy fun. From his deeper ramblings emerge extraordinary lyricism, impressionistic and nostalgic (Disc I, track 3), only to return to the rapid note din of Chaos in the next track, awaiting the Muse of changing moods, such as a staccato blues (I:6), or a song of longing and remembrance (I:7), or a passionate meditation (II:1), or a nervous rhythmic study of urban modernity (II:2). However fine was the Parisian Testament, the London recordings are even stronger, sometimes more classical in form, sometimes steeped in traditional jazz. Jarrett seems to be more relaxed, with a greater liveliness and creativity. Moreover, Jarrett in London relies less on those irritating, amorphous, noisy baseline beginnings of Paris and earlier recordings (though they, alas, do occur). Jarrett's solo journeys are as frank and apparent as his narration of his troubled marital situations. The drama of his short pieces engage us; he is a powerful artist of the keyboard and each section is a new emotional scene in the unfolding Act. These recordings are significant, mature milestones in Jarrett's long career. **** 1/2

For the past twenty or so years, pianist Keith Jarrett has alternated between extemporaneous solo performances and trio recordings with his longtime bandmates Gary Peacock and Jack JeJohnette. This three disc collection is a recording of two long solo performances recorded live in Europe. It is a fascinating, if exhausting listening experience with Jarrett moving from gentle melodic improvisations to abstract, at times dissonant sections. He has stated in the past the he is merely the conduit for the music and that sense is continued here with the music flowing onward like a river, broken only by lengthy stretches of buoyant applause. It must be said that Jarrett never takes the easy way out as a solo performer, he demands a lot from himself and the audience. Using the length and breadth of the keyboard he crafts elaborate stories with the piano. If you are a fan of the Jarrett solo canon, you will most certainly like this album, but newcomers are probably better served with The Koln Concert album as a starting point.

"Testament" means, at the least, evidence, and Mr Jarrett's provides quite a chunk in this 3CD set that he is one of the great artists. We may remember a first encounter as I do in the Chinese Girl's School in Penang, Malaysia, in the 1960's when he performed as part of the Charles Lloyd Quartet on a USIS tour of the Far East. Then there is the first ECM encounter with FACING YOU and its startling black and white cover. Or we get stoned with KOLN in the background. Or twitch with disbelief at the SUN BEAR CONCERTS release. But as they say, that was then, this is now. Performing artists, and especially, improvising musicians, are at the creating cutting edge and what they do is in the moment. Mr Jarrett has been fortunate in having ECM whose owner Manfred Eicher accompanied him on this tour, as freedom to create and not marketing has always been the priority.
In the end, it's not about what has been, how potent the technique now is, how long or fast the pieces are, it;s about the music. And the music contained in these documents is a major musical statement which traverses in some ways Mr Jarrett's approach to the instrument of the years. The Paris concert is darker than the London but all the music is magnificent.
A bargain price too.

While I've been a big Jarrett fan for two decades, I have been reluctant to buy Jarrett albums over the past few years because of his grunting and "singing," which, one day for no apparent reason, started to bother me. I mean, yes, he's a genius, but there are myriad gifted musicians out there who don't feel the need to get in their own way. I almost did not get this one, but in the samples, I didn't detect any of his noises. Whether he is trying to control himself or they were brought down in the mix, they are virtually inaudible, making this recording, in my estimation, a very pretty, tranquil (though not groundbreaking) listen.

This is outstanding. More daring, more ethereal, more touch-the-heart than earlier improvised concerts. It's exciting to put oneself inside the mind of Jarrett as he slowly makes his journey across the keys, experimenting, enlarging, enhancing themes and styles. Some of his spunky atonalities and lighting fingerwork is playful and laugh-out-loud fun. The collection includes a few romantic, seemingly simple improvations that one must play over and over again. This is a thrilling performance, much more rewarding than the Vienna Concert and it even tops the Koln Concert.

Allow me to add my voice to the others in reviewing this release with 5 stars. I would rank this among the best of his solo recordings, alongside Vienna and Radiance. Time after time on these three cd's, Keith pours out his heart, his mind and his soul, pushing himself to extremes of emotion and spontaneous composition; there are no extra notes, no wasted time in these relatively short sketches. Each is a diamond. Any composer would be proud to take years to write just one of these pieces, but it is Keith improvising on the spot.

One has to stop and appreciate the history of this man and what he brings to the performance. Although he empties himself of all that he has done before in order to create anew, he nevertheless brings himself to new heights of expression. His technical mastery grows with each recording- a seemingly impossible idea, considering all that he has done. This recording features more control of touch and greater independence between his hands. It is astounding that he can pull this off.

One also has to stop and pay respect to Keith for being one of the few (maybe the only) person on earth who can do this at this level. I had a rather haunting feeling throughout that this is Keith's spirit speaking to us, saying things that there are no words for.

If there was ever any doubt about Keith Jarrett's stature as an absolute giant of jazz music, Paris/London: Testament settles the score once and for all. Game, set, match Keith Jarrett! Recorded over two amazing nights: November 28th, 2008 in Paris at Salle Pleyel and December 1st, 2008 in London at Royal Festival Hall, is entirely improvised solo piano music of the highest order. In the accompanying essay to the three CDs, Jarrett movingly describes the circumstances that led up to these performances. His wife had just left him. He hadn't done a fully improvised performance in years. He didn't know if he had the strength or the will to go forward with the shows that had been booked in Paris and London well in advance. Instead he chose to take the advice he used to give his piano students: "If you're going to play, play like it's the last time." These great performances brought Jarrett to tears and I can understand why. This music is so beautiful and so wonderfully, emotionally executed. There are threads of classical, jazz, chamber music, modern music. It just all flows out of Jarrett, sometimes like a raging river, sometimes like a trickling stream. The colour and nuance in his playing are astounding. Sound engineer Martin Pearson has done an incredible job capturing the playing. This is one of the very best live recordings I've heard. Keith Jarrett is a man who has struggled and suffered mightily for his art. A bout with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome left him in terrible shape for a couple of years. I think the adversity in his life and his indominatable spirit have made Keith Jarrett a better player as he ages. The closing paragraph in the essay accompanying Paris/London Testament is worth quoting from to end this review: "So, loss may be a big thing, but what remains becomes even more important than ever. Just never let go of the thread. And be honest with yourself. A writer I greatly admire and with whom I was just recently in touch, echoed some of my words when she wrote back to me: 'How fragile and serendipitous things are indeed, unbearably so.'"

These 3 CDs are an excellent way to rememeber how fanatastic are his solo recordings, since the masterpiece "Koln Concert". Highly recommended.

The audiences in Paris and London were indeed fortunate to have been with Jarrett during these performances. The alteration between ballads and 'rocky road' intepretations is well-planned and executed. To understand the personal issues and anguish that Jarrett was experiencing serves to heighten the importance of "Testament". This is a standout in the oeuvre of Keith Jarrett.