Customer Reviews

Selected Recordings: Rarum XII

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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I was only familiar with Jack Dejohnette's work with "the trio" (Jarrett/Peacock/Dejohnette). This is a rare opportunity to appreciate his work away from the trio - the album does contain one duet with Keith Jarrett, otherwise the trio is nowhere to be found. This is an eclectic and diverse collection with a lot of oomph. While it sounds very different in style from the trio (i.e. not the standards the trio generally performs), if you like the trio chances are you will enjoy this album also. My only complaint would be that it is too short - if this is representative of Dejohnette's work, it should be a box set.

As with the other releases in ECM's "Rarum" series, these tracks were selected by the artist himself.

Although Jack Dejohnette has recorded as a leader and sideman for many labels, I personally feel his long association with ECM is really where he has done his best work-at least to date.

I could argue with some of the selections here-personally I would choose something like "Ebony" from the never available on CD "Inflation Blues" release to better represent his work with his Special Edition horn-oriented band. I have also been waiting for the CD release on ECM of his "Untitled" CD with his band "Directions" from 1976 and would have selected something from that as well, since I place that recording in Dejohnette's top 5 ever. Please release this on CD ECM!

However, for all the tracks that I feel may be missing from this, it is still 1) An excellent sampler of Jack Dejohnettes work, or for fans like me, a nice re-visitation. 2)Very interesting from the point of view that Dejohnette himself chooses these particular selections as having that "something special".

Dejohnette oddly doesn't even focus on his own compositions-he includes an original from guitarist Mick Goodrick's solo album where Jack plays drums as a sideman as well as a Keith Jarrett composition from their very early duet recording "Ruta and Daitya".

Personally though I have many compilations made from my Dejohnette collection for my own listening over the years and I feel that there are 4 "must have" tracks that I cannot leave off any compilation of my favorite Jack Dejohnette recordings, and 3 of them are here.

They are "Pictures 5 & 6" from my very favorite Dejohnette recording "Pictures" (and I feel the 2 best tracks off of that record) and "Silver Hollow" from his "New Directions" recording. The only truly "best piece" that I find missing here is "Blue" that originally appeared on the Gateway 2 recording and also appeared on Dejohnette's other best of compilation on ECM "Works"-so try to find a remaining copy of that compilation as well for an even more complete overall picture of Dejohnette's best ECM years.

Jack Dejohnette is not only a classic creative musician but a classy human being as well, one that continues to inspire me-as he has done in the nearly 30 years since I first discovered his music. Long live Jack Dejohnette!!

There are songs that haunt you your whole life. One of those for me has been "Silver Hollow" by Jack DeJohnette's New Direction band, which appears on this compilation of some of the best of DeJohnette's work from the ECM label. Although DeJohnette is best known as a drummer, on this cut, he plays the piano, with the late Lester Bowie on trumpet, Jon Abercrombie on mandolin and guitar, and Eddie Gomez on bass. If you have never heard this cut, let me just say that it by itself would be worth the price of this CD, and there is plenty of other good music wrapped around it.

Curiously, although there is a prominent picture in the liner booklet of Keith Jarrett's "Standards Trio" with Gary Peacock on bass and DeJohnette on drums, no cuts from that group are included in this compilation. Still, this is a nice collection to have. DeJohnette is a masterly musician, and he plays with the best. Add to that the usual ECM engineering, and you have an excellent album.