Customer Reviews

Sun Bear Concerts

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4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
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I think it was Patrick Moraz who called himself "an unconditional fan" of Keith Jarrett's music. Jarrett has certainly taken his listeners on an unconventional ride over the years, from more or less traditional jazz (albeit more masterfully realized than any vitually anyone else's) to straight classical interpretations, to avant-garde experimentation, with many, many stops in between. But it is as a solo piano improviser, alone on the stage, producing awe-inspiring suites of music in a spontaneous, unprepared explosion of creativity, for which Jarrett is most famous. His KOLN CONCERT and SOLO CONCERTS were seminal 70's jazz recordings, and remain timelessly popular today.

This recording, SUN BEAR CONCERTS, represents Keith at the height of his solo powers. An enormous 10-LP set, (now 6 CDs) this album sold for the unheard of [price] when it was released...and remained on the charts for months. While it was hailed as the work of genius in many circles, it also raised a few critics' eyebrows by reason of its sheer size, leading to accusations of ego-tripping. Jarrett claims that he and ECM founder Manfred Eicher came to the conclusion that the music worked best as a coordinated whole, and this released the entire package rather than mere excerpts. To me, it shows a great deal of courage to produce a collection that they knew would have limited commercial appeal because of its size and cost, out of conviction that the music would speak for itself.

It does, magnificently. This piece is truly an organic whole, with each concert contributing to the collective work in a way never surpassed in Jarrett's career. For anyone who is familiar with Keith through his shorter solo works, this album will produce immediate and lasting dividends. For the uninitiated this may be an acquired taste, but once it is fully understood, SUN BEAR CONCERTS will provide a lifetime of musical excitement and inspiration...

If you are a newcomer to Jarrett's solo work, you should probably start with Koln or Paris concert, Staircase or Moth and the Flame. While all of his solo piano music is worth experiencing, I thinkthe Sun Bear concerts reveal Jarrett's creation (revelation) process in its most pure, organic, and human form. Each concert is a building process; he's constructing worlds with sound ("think of your ears as eyes"), not just running through the scales like so many players do. And the worlds are sometimes raw and ferocious, sometimes hypnotic, and they sometimes ache with longing. It will take time to "get" this music, but once you do, the way you "see" music will be changed. Kyoto, Osaka, and the second Encore in themselves are worth the price of admission. A number of reviewers here and elsewhere have said stuff like "you have to wade through some noodling by Jarrett in a number of the pieces before he stumbles on a winning idea" but these folk have not fully got the music I'm afraid. There is really no "noodling" here. To think otherwise is to blindly hold a view of what the terrain of these worlds should look like before they have even been explored. Jarrett's one of the best and this is certainly one of his most magical outings.

The level of talent exhibited on these discs is dismaying to the would-be craftsmen in the art of piano improv like myself. Keith Jarrett is one in a million and this is some of his best stuff.

I can't really pick a favourite since every concert has its own allure for me and every track is indeed utterly unique - you wouldn't mistake one for another. I can immediately identify which concert I'm hearing after listening to just a short passage. There's no interchangable music here. I like what one of the reviewers said about Jarrett "constructing worlds with sound". That was a very apt metaphor. I think of each of these concerts as worlds of their own, or different universes, each with its own physical laws. (Incidentally, I first listened to these pieces as I "constructed worlds" almost literally, on my computer using Vistapro 4.0, a 3D rendering program, so the metaphor has a personal significance for me. I gave each landscape the name of one of the cities where Jarrett performs in this set.)

Some highlights (for me) include the forcefully melancholic ending of Osaka Part 1, the grand theme that emerges startlingly in the late second half of Nagoya which is developed with amazing extemporaneous virtuosity, and the revelatory recapitulation at the near-end of the Kyoto concert.

I, for one, really like the atonal elements (frequently heard as the opening to the second section of each concert) not just as 'part of the journey', but in and of themselves. Just as there can be no day without night, there can be no tonal music without atonal and the episodes provide a spice to each improv, a welcome contrast to the more harmonically conventional structure of most of the first movements. It's never senseless key-pounding, there's always a rhyme and reason. A good example is the second movement of Osaka - a firmly tonal, dancy type of music quickly dissolves into a manic, chaotic atonal episode which in turn evolves into mysterious arpeggios which evolve into tonally ambiguous gypsy scales and the music takes on a meditative, exotic, "middle-eastern" resemblance, before leading back to more familiar forms.

I don't understand why some consider this collection "less accessible" than some of his other releases. If you've liked any ONE of Keith's single disc improvisations you should enjoy all of these - they sound like an index to all of Jarrett's many styles. There's something for everyone.

I've been searching for some music - any music - by any artist - that could compare to Koln concerts for more than 10 years now. There's nothing that comes close. Finally, I decided to take a look at Sun Bear concerts. The thought of spending $107 for a set of CDs seemed extreme. But, after reading the glowing reviews, and realizing there's nothing else out there to compare with Koln, I finally made the purchase. This is a great series of CDs. It, still, does not resonate as Koln does. Koln touches a place in my soul that no other music has ever done. But, there's no doubt this is the closest to Koln I've found. Especially the beginning part of the Kyoto concert. So, to those who love Koln and are looking for more, I don't hestitate to recommend this set. It's not as good, hard to say it's even "similar" but it's still very enjoyable and contains many magical parts.

Keith Jarrett's SUN BEAR CONCERTS, a 6 CD box set of solo performances recorded in Japan in 1976, are further proof of this pianists extraordinary talent. In fact, it's hard to know quite where to begin in describing Jarrett, a veritable phenomenon and entirely worthy of that overused epithet, "genius".

In addition to his versatility, evinced in a variety of musical styles & settings over the past 35 years, Keith Jarrett's most noticeable characteristic is the high degree of energy with which he invests his playing: John Coltrane and Ali Akbar Khan are the only other musicians this reviewer is aware of that possess the same degree of sustained ( yet controlled ) intensity. These qualities are especially noticeable in solo performances, where the listener can follow Jarrett's ideas, spun out in a fascinating organic process of ebb and flow.

Needless to say, since his solo concerts start with few or no preconceived themes, there are periods of repetition: vamps, ostinato and ground bass patterns are heard for minutes at a time. However, these moments do not constitute monotony, setting as they do the stage for subsequent flights of fancy. The quicksilver nature of these transitions is wondrous to behold: they run the gamut from tranquility to fury with the entire emotional spectrum between. The joyous jaunting of gospel/blues passages alternate with shimmeringly mysterious "impressionistic" textures.

Jarrett's technique ( nourished from jazz roots in Powell, Tyner, Evans & Taylor ) is pianism of the highest order: his dexterity is jaw dropping, touch crystalline and tone of colorful and liquid beauty. Yet it is truly technique at the service of expression, as opposed to the "mere virtuosity" of lesser lights.

The five individual "Sun Bear" concerts are named after the cities in which Jarrett was performing, each perfomance being divided into 2 parts of more or less equal duration. Favorites are listed in order of personal preference below:

KYOTO (75 min)
OSAKA (72 min)
SAPPORO (74 min)
NAGOYA (75 min)
TOKYO (75 min)

In addition to the aforementioned, there are short encores for three of the concerts.

Mundane notes: the packaging, while sturdy enough, is nothing spectacular. Liner notes are negligible (a minor loss in my opinion). The only drawback is the price; these performances are, to my knowledge, only available as part of the box set under review. In any case, the SUN BEAR CONCERTS are a stunning achievement and deserve the very highest recommendation.

Here we have 6 discs of Jarrett at the peak of his gospel-induced, funk-tinged ivory tinkling. While one can hear (easily at times) the classical European-style romaniticism that which dominated Jarrett's later solo works (AKA Paris, La Scala, etc.), these six discs of superb music are drenched in Jarrett's 70's gospel style. All of the discs feature two parts; most are divided evenly, and each disc (as you can see) is alotted to a seperate concert. Though they may sound similar upon first listening, each one of these concerts is truly unique. Atonal diversions are common (one per disc), but not extraneous and tend to add variety to the music. Jarrett is at his DENSEST on these discs; he spares any rumative unaccompanied meanderings and simply dives right into complete gospel orchestration from the first second; as another reviewer pointed out, it often seems Jarrett is using three or four hands to execute many simultaneous but differing polyphonic lines throught the pieces (think In Front). Almost all of the improvisations sound more 'composed' than most of Jarrett's work (ie: there is more logical structure than the "idea... develop... new idea... develop... " syntax other concerts he has performed tend to fall into). These CD's are almost entirely free of vocalizations, and are stricken with a wonderful melancholy ringing sound that adds to etheral qualities of this "heavenly" music - never harsh - like a hazy, but sunny day. If you enjoyed Köln, Solo-Concerts, Facing You, Bregenz, or any of Jarrett's solo work, this Box Set is strongly recommended. If you've never heard Solo-Concerts, I suggest you try that out first, as it is very similar to Sun Bear and far less financially taxing :)

IMHO this mammoth 6-disc set represents the best of Jarrett's solo piano work. His music flows so convincingly that many of my friends are surprised to learn that the Sun Bear concerts were improvised. It takes rare talent to have that kind of spontaneous creativity, and jet Jarrett plays on for 20, 30 even 40 minutes at a time without pause.

Jarrett's skill as a pianist is also impressive. At times it can seem like the man has three hands... Listen carefully and you'll hear multiple musical themes emerging from some passages.

The music occasionally lapses into the atonal, which can be somewhat annoying if you're not in that mood. But there are some real musical treasures in this boxed set. The first few minutes of Disc 5 are my personal favorite.

This is probably the highest fidelity recording I will ever hear and it will probably require the rest of my life to monitor all six CDs to the degree of reason of which they are worthy. I believe these live sessions would appeal to any kind of listener regardless of predisposition. I have to say that his improvisation transcends classical discipline without insensitive separation.

This is a good album if you are a Jarrett fan and want to hear him at the height of his powers. More inventive than his better-known "Köln Concerts," this album follows Jarrett for five concerts in consecutive Japanese cities. Each disk includes both his improvisations before and after intermission. The pieces typically last between 30 and 45 minutes each, with a couple of concerts including short encores. While you have to wade through some noodling by Jarrett in a number of the pieces before he stumbles on a winning idea, once he does the results can be almost transcendent. Particularly the first improvisation on "Kyoto" and the second half of "Tokyo" have some truly remarkable moments, although almost all the pieces have real highlights tucked between more ordinary moments. It just takes a little patience to find them.

*Note: the Track Listings provided by Amazon.com are incorrect. There are five cities each representing two improvisations (and six CDs including the "encores"), not the three tracks listed here.

More than 30 years ago, a massive 10-LP set was released on ECM that chronicled five improvisational piano concerts Keith Jarrett performed in November 1976 in Japan.

And the 397 minutes of brilliance was oftentimes overshadowed by critics who took aim at the package and not what was inside; essentially dismissing the music due to the volume of vinyl. Now "cut" down to six CD's - each of the five concerts on a CD, with the sixth being the encores - it remains an artistic masterpiece that has not lost its power or majesty over the many years.

Rather than being an exercise in self-indulgence, Jarrett is demonstrating how moods and textures are honest emotions on a concert stage when a performer allows the audience peek into his soul.