Customer Reviews

Rarum 1: Selected Recordings

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I'm not sure why ECM has chosen to name this compilation series RARUM, as the Latin word means thin, scattered, sporadic.
However rarum is great for doing a rapid search on the Amazon catalogue, which instantly brings up all nine offerings in the series,
together with a misspelling of the Lucretius work 'De Rerum Natura'.

I'm slowly working my way through five of the :rarum compilations, and this is only the second I've been listening to. My belief is
that this is rather better than the Jan Garbarek :rarum, for a couple of reasons: firstly, more effort has been put into selecting the right
tracks, and secondly, more music has been squeezed in. The first Garbarek :rarum CD clocks in at 70 minutes. The first Jarrett CD
fills just over 80 minutes. There are plenty of excellent Garbarek tracks that could have filled the spare 10 minutes, but to the buyer,
it simply seems that no-one could be bothered to make the choice.

The 2CD Jarrett compilation takes us on a tour of much of his ECM output, starting with three tracks of his clavichord compositions
from 'Book of Ways'. These strike me as the weakest part of the compilation, but I don't know the pieces well, so maybe I'll grow
to like them.

24-bit remastering has improved the sonic qualities of much of Jarrett's music, particularly the percussion and treble instruments. The
attack of Palle Danielsson's double bass on 'Long as You Know You're Living Yours' (the track that Donald Fagen plundered for a
composition on the Steely Dan GAUCHO album) has never sounded better. Jarrett's customary grunting and stomping never
interferes with one's enjoyment, but it is a pity that several members of the forward audience at Bregenz 1981 had tickly coughs
which are also accentuated by 24-bit remastering.

Jarrett's Nordic quartet produced music of exceptional quality, but it is a shame that his US quartet (Motian, Redman and Haden) is
entirely unrepresented here.

If I were compiling a third CD for this album, I would add:

'Survivors Suite Part II', 'Summer Night' (from BYE BYE BLACKBIRD), 'Runes' (from ARBOUR ZENA) and the gorgeous
'Prism' from PERSONAL MOUNTAINS.

So at whom is this CD compilation aimed? I suspect that few copies will be bought by the novice who has no Jarrett albums in his
or her collection. I assume that ECM intending that the collection will appeal to the likes of me, who has a few Jarrett albums on LP
and CD, and wants to hear some unfamiliar tracks as well as remastered versions of familiar tunes. In both respects, :rarum scores
excellently.

Here we have Jarrett's own overview of his career so far.The selection shows both the diversity of his music and also the common thread running through all of his music.
We are presented with a body of work that is simply breathtaking in its summoning up of what Robert Fripp refers to as " the moment when the music leans over and takes us into it's confidence".The clavichord pieces which open disc 1 are beautifully recorded and wonderfully played invitations to the moment and yet they are regarded as minor peices in the canon.By the time we reach the solo piano improvisations on disc 2 we are in the presence of something beyond music.
I would reccomend this set to anyone looking for a place to start with Keith Jarrett's music.

Simpy put ,I feel jarrett has taken the restraints inherent in a 2 disc release and presented us with some of the most magical moments of his music making so far.

To coin a cliche, Keith Jarrett is an American original...an artist who truly defies easy description. He can play piano softly with all of the melodic structure of a New Age recording artist...or he can improvise with all the ferocity and dissonance of the jazz and classical greats. He has had in indescribable influence on modern American music for nearly the past 40 years.

ECM's 2002 release of "Selected Recordings" is a great way for one to be introduced to Jarrett's multi-faceted work as well as a nice reason for old fans to reminisce about his 50-plus albums for ECM alone. What is so special about this collection is the diversity of music and instruments (on various tracks Jarrett plays piano, clavichord, pipe organ, saxophone, Pakastani flute, recorders, percussion, etc., etc...) There is also a nice representation of live versus studio recordings as well.

I have owned many of Jarrett's recordings through the years, but with a few exceptions, always found it difficult to enjoy any one entire recording upon repeated listening. After many albums of live solo piano improvisations I sometimes found myself wanting to rip the latest solo-live CD from its cradle and toss it out the nearest window. Likewise, Jarrett's nearly incessant need in recent years to release more and more "Trio" CDs (with accompaniment by Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette) was growing tiresome and repetitive. One live "Trio" CD was beginning to sound just like another.

Here, new and old fans alike can enjoy various sounds, styles and arrangements in smaller doses without the feeling that they are listening to a "Greatest Hits" collection.

Jarrett's work on "Spheres" and "Invocations" performed on the great pipe organ of Ottobeuren is eerie and breathtaking. Likewise, his piano improvisation closing the concert in Bregenz, Austria in May, 1981 is both a soaring and melodic improvisation. Check out "The Celestial Hawk" and the solo CD of "Concerts" (from Bregenz, Austria) if you are seeking to purchase some of Jarrett's other great album works.

I believe this to be a good introductory collection for anyone not familiar with Mr. Jarrett's work. It is a compilation containing samples from albums recorded during more than 30 years that this accomplished musician invested into the world of music. The selection was influenced by Keith's revisiting his old recordings. Hence, the transition between some tracks may seem at times disconnected. All the same, the musician's intent was to expose to the younger generation of listeners some his older and less known recordings. It is indeed a joy to have ECM revisit the work of some "Great Masters".

Looking back at all the albums that Keith Jarrett has recorded for the ECM label over the years, it is hard to believe that he already had a number of recordings under his belt before he started with ECM (the discography lists 43 ECM "jazz" recordings with Jarrett as a leader, 3 where he was sideman, and 11 ECM New Series "classical" recordings). Even granting the man two CDs to spread his favorite cuts over, there was no way ECM was going to wind up with a really representative sampling of his work.

And not surprisingly, Jarrett feels obligated to make some points, starting the anthology with not one but three cuts from his clavichord recording, Book of Ways, and no less than five cuts from Spirits, the homebrew overdubbed album from 1986 that was one of his most controversial releases. He also points out in his liner notes that "I think it's important to note that all of the solo tracks, whether clavichord, piano, organ, or soprano saxophone (and organ with saxophone) are totally improvised [italics in the original]." Jarrett then goes on to point out some of the recording techniques employed, and how they too are original conceptions.

Yes, the man can come on a bit strong, but he has certainly earned the right, producing marvelous music in a variety of styles, both as a soloist and with a variety of sidemen. Keith Jarrett is truly one of the master musicians of our time, and this set, impressive as it is, only gives a tiny glimpse of his many masterly musical achievements.

One final observation: after all of the intense and swinging jazz on CD2, Jarrett chooses to close the album with an organ recording, "Hymn of Remembrance." What a perfect ending!

This is a worthy introduction to the many talents of Keith Jarrett. Two CD's cover a broad spectrumof his ECM career with many of the highlights covered.

From a Jazz point of view the 'European Quartet' material with Jan Garbarek is the undoubted highlight. There are two tracks from Belonging - "The Windup" and "Long as you know you're living yours". As well as "Late Night Willie" from Personal Mountains. These three are fantastic tracks and you won't find any 70's Jazz thats better than this. The Standards Trio material is almost as good. Perhaps the only reason I prefer the quartet is just the variety of sound the Tenor Sax adds. The interplay on the Trio tracks is as good if not better - "The Cure" being a good example. The Live at The Blue note tracks are excellent as well.

The remaining material is a mixed bag and personal taste will decide a lot. I loved the Book of Ways material. This still improvised but in a such a way that it could have been written for the Clavichord it was played on. Whereas I was much less keen on the material from Spirits.

If you already have a lot of Jarrett you'll probably give this miss, but it is a very good sampler. Having bought it for somebodyelse and heard it a lot now it has certainly inspired me to want to get a few key albums that are missing from my collection.

If you are reading this, I assume that you are already familiar with Keith Jarrett's music. This is not the album to first get acquainted with him (for that, check out his jazz standards with the trio or the Koln / Paris / etc piano solo concerts).

This album introduces you to Jarrett's more obscure works. For example, he plays the clavichord, soprano sax, Pakistani flute, and pipe organ, besides the expected piano.

Unfortunately, the soprano sax pieces, whether soloed by Jarrett himself or Jan Garbarek, sound a little too generic, dated to the 1980s, and very Kenny G / muzak. I admit some prejudice here, maybe they will grow on me.

Overall, I recommend this album as an eye opener to what Keith Jarrett has to offer. After some repeated listening, I think I will seek out some of the full albums that these tracks come from.

While not a big fan, I have followed Jarrett's jazz career and sampled some of his comfortable, if unoriginal, classical recordings. But what is this? Misfiled under Jazz, I thought I was getting a sampler of Keith Jarrett through his long career. Here were selections from 13 recordings that I had never heard of. What I got was two CDs with 160 minutes of warming-up, goofing-off, noodling-around and generally wasting time. Why did they waste studio tape to record this? How did it end up being released to the public (13 times, no less!)? And most strange of all, why is it on a "best of" compilation? It really makes one wonder how bad the other stuff was that they left off.

If you like Jarrett's Jazz or Classical recordings this will sound similar, if you remove all signs of melody, counter-melody, rhythm and syncopation and just leave the basic harmonic structure without any elaboration. But wait, there is more... you also get moaning, grunting, groaning, humming and a variety of other background interruptions. Is this a new genre of music? If it is, I am glad I have missed out.

Who is this Keith Jarrett guy? I am so thankful to the fine folks at ECM for releasing this 2-cd set of this keyboard wizzard with the footstomps and wild banshee grunting. This 2-cd set nearly takes up 160 minutes of some mighty fine piano work (and some fairly annoying clavicle playing) enhanced with some of the most bizarre, madcap stomping and moaning I have ever heard. The moans this Keith Jarrett character makes when digging for inspiration drives my wife's annoying tabby (Bobo!)absolutely bonkers. In truth, the grunting sounds very much like a cat being tortured and I think somehow Bobo is disturbed by this. I have only seen his hair stand up on end once or twice before, but everytime Keith grunts, electroshocko! Bobo runs wild. I loooooove it and would highly recommend this to folks who dig piano and enjoy watching cats run wild (and I do mean wild). What a combo!!! ECM = Electro Cat Motion!!!