Customer Reviews

Up for It: Live in Juan-Les-Pins

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What makes this album interesting, is the exact thing that may make it displeasing to some listeners: it is the same trio doing most of the same songs they've covered for nearly 20 years. However it is the reinterpretations that makes this record worth buying. I've been confronted with many jazz listeners who complain of Jarrett's stiff playing. Of course, I don't agree, but they imply that his lack of swing (like Wynton Kelly or Oscar Peterson) makes him a lesser pianist. This record OF ALL KEITH JARRETT RECORDS will end that disclaimer. The playing on this record is different than most Jarrett performances because it the music has been approached with a bit more harmonic freedom (most problably because of their last two efforts.

In regards to statesments made previously about minimalism and 20 minute ranting; While that doesn't apply to this record, it should be noted that many of the great achievements in modern jazz are minimalistic compositions. This roots back to Kind Of Blue, and even more obvious, Coltrane's remarkable quartet designed their whole sound around minimalism.

If something inside your head made you curious enough to read these reviews, I would say you should buy the album. It's a hard album to review, because unfortunately....if this were a brand new pianist and a brand new trio, it would get more than enough praise, but because it's Keith Jarrett doing another one of his trio standards records, it gets some bad press. Still, if you are going to listen to jazz standards, listen to the best...Keith, Jack, and Gary WILL BE regarded in the same category as Miles and Trane in about 20 years and the reviews of records like these will be so different, mainly because, a record like this, while consisting of nothing innovative, is out and out GREAT MUSIC and great music is good anytime.

Even if you're a fan of the Jarrett standards trio's albums, you might wonder whether to pick up this year's release. On the surface, from the list of standards played, it seems like just another one in a series of fantastic, but possibly redundant, releases. (After a couple of releases of pure improvisations, this is the first album of standards since "Whisper Not.") Does Jarrett really need to release another version of Autumn Leaves? In terms of form, this is just another night of sublime piano trio playing by a master combo that has been together for twenty years. Intro-Melody-Solos-Recapitulation of Melody-Outro.

But even a first listen will clear out your ears. This is not just another night with Keith, Jack and Gary. It is HOT! Jarrett's liner notes reveal that the recording was made in adverse conditions: a very cold and rainy night on an outdoor stage protected by a plastic tarp. Only at the last minute were the trio persuaded to play. As Jarrett says, "...it had indeed started raining harder again as we did a very short sound check, but something wonderful was happening in the music despite all these things. Within seconds, we were 'in the zone.'...What ended up on the recording represents, to me, the triumph of desire over circumstance, the triumph of youthful exuberance over age, and our need for music and wisdom."

"Up For It" is a further expression of Keith Jarrett's original motivation to form a group to play standards, rather than his own compositions: that great music has nothing to do with the material and everything to do with what can be extracted by living musicians open to the present moment. Even if you are thoroughly steeped in the Jarrett trio's recordings, you will hear new energy on this record.

Twenty years is a long time be in a relationship. Most marriages don't last that long, but the ones that do are usually filled with beautiful experiences that need to shared and honored. This Trio celebrates its' 20th year together with "Up For It". Returning to the traditional standards format that the originated in 1982, this is another beautiful musical experience to be cherished and shared.

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack Dejohnette are exceptional musicians in their own right. As a Trio, they are magical. Take a beautiful tune like "Autumn Leaves". The melody is announced and restated by Jarrett before Jack grabs the groove and drives the tune into a toe-tapping-head-bobbing frenzy. Peacock locks in and Jarrett spins his improvisation into a hypnotic gospel-like vamp before fading off into the sunset. This kind of magic happens often on "Up For It". My other favorites include "My Funny Valentine" and "Someday My Prince Will Come". These updated classics have renewed bounce and energy in this Trios hands. For some reason, I am left with very warm thoughts of Miles Davis. There isn't a weak moment here. Even the Liner Notes take you on a wonderful journey that makes this experience even more profound.

I loved the last two improvisational recordings that this group produced. "Always Let Me Go" and "Inside Out" were landmark recordings that demonstrated how well this group has evolved as a unit. Whether they are "In" the pocket or "Out", the magic always finds the music with these three. "Up For It" brings us back to what makes this group special - insightful communications between them combined with exceptional musical chemistry. What more could you ask for? This is another wonderful addition to my music collection. Enjoy!!!

Let me first say that I admire Keith Jarrett for continuing to release recordings at a fairly steady pace despite his and his bandmates' obvious health problems.

This record, like many of its predecessors of late, has health problems as well. The problem with recording jazz standards is that they tend to become, like cliches in writing, so familiar to the audience that they lose their meaning. This is especially true if artists tend to record the same standards repeatedly. The Keith Jarrett Trio used to solve this problem in one or more of, I'd say, 3 different ways:

1) By resurrecting standards unfamiliar to most jazz listeners.
2) By recasting a familiar standard in a novel way.
3) By playing wholly improvised or original material within, or around, a standard.

The Keith Jarrett Trio, at their best, often combined these strategies. What they did not do was quickly play the head, launch into uninspired and meandering solos, play the head out, and end the tune. On those classic trio albums like Standards Vol. 1 & 2, Still Live, The Cure, and Standards in Norway, we hear Keith and his brilliant collaborators treating each song as if it were a blank canvas, inventing the form as they progressed and taking solos that had direction, logic, and inspiration. Beginning with, in my opinion, Tokyo '96, the KJT took a different approach that has prevailed ever since and has killed the music's magic.

Keith himself said that he had grown tired of playing long intros to each tune--but is the solution then to treat each tune in the reverse fashion, meaning to play little or nothing in the way of introductions and endings?

What we have on these newer albums is a depressing lack of imagination. If that sounds arrogant, let me explain. Each tune begins with little besides a rote statement of the melody. Keith's once-brilliant introductions (check out "Body and Soul" on The Cure) have faded into simple variations of the melody or meandering note clusters. Keith's solos often display a lack of direction and logic and, worst of all, feature seemingly dazzling legato lines that go nowhere and feel like hollow technical shows of wizardry. Jack has gotten into the habit of swinging earlier in the tune, sometimes even during the first head. In past years, he tended to restrain himself early in the tune, playing half-time on a limited number of drums and launching into full swing only when the energy of the tune demanded it. And Gary, at least on Up For It, seems unusually passive.

When we listen to the Keith Jarrett Trio, we are listening mainly for new approaches to familiar material. Standards die if they don't find new interpretations. We all can agree that there was something truly new and magical about Keith's recording of, for instance, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" on Tribute. There is real invention and magic and sensitivity on that recording, and many others. On the other hand, a tune like "Autumn Leaves", which Keith has recorded on almost every major trio record, including Up for It, lacks any semblance of novelty and probably deserves to not be played much anymore, especially in the bland way that the trio tends to play it. Incidentally, both times I've seen the trio live, they've inevitably played "Autumn Leaves" and the tune has degenerated into repetetive boredom.

Why treat each tune the same way? On Tribute, Keith turns "You and the Night and the Music" into a 20-minute minimalist invention of profound power. Later on in the same concert, "Billie's Bounce" is as straight-ahead as can be, albeit with supreme groove and inventiveness. Each tune on the great KJT recordings, it seems, is treated as a new process. I don't believe this is the case any longer. I'm starting to fear that the trio may have lost its magic.

What caused this? One certain cause is the deteriorating health of all three members. Apparently, Gary underwent surgery for cancer, and Keith's health problems have been well-documented. Another possible cause might be that the three musicians have simply become too familiar with each others' playing styles and have exhausted the spontaneity inherent in their earlier recordings.

I do not really give much credence to Keith's emphasis (in the album's liner notes) on the poor weather at Antibes as a pre-concert depressant. I don't underemphasize the effect of the weather on the instruments. I'm a musician myself, and I know how moisture can ruin a good instrument (incidentally, the piano on Up For It sounds lousy). However, Keith's emphasis on the problems before the show seems to read, like many other similar statements, like the ramblings of a prima donna searching for an excuse for a bad performance.

I give this record 3 stars because, despite its shortcomings, it is still the work of one of the most important jazz musicians ever.

keith jarrett has been on a roll of late. the last several recordings by the "standards" trio (jarrett, gary peacock, and jack dejohnette) have plumbed the depth of their twenty year history as a trio. the last two, "inside out" and "always let me go" were amazing group improvisations revealing the connection these players feel when performing. this album returns to the standards format as they explore seven old tunes, followed by one original. it stands right up there with "whisper not", the last standards outing. the interplay is fantastic, and the solos continue to find new paths within familiar tunes. someone complained that we may not need yet another jarrett performance of "autumn leaves", but i am reminded of something miles davis said in response to a critic who questioned why miles recorded so many versions of "four"--because the '56 version wasn't the '64, that's why! jazz uses the same tunes repeatedly, but each time there is something different in the reading, soloing, and interpretation that makes it art. this album is no exception. the trio has been riding a peak now for several years--thank God their health hasn't slowed them down--and if this album is true, they'll be riding high for a while yet to come. enjoy!

Like a truly great Bordeaux, this trio just gets better and better with age. It astounds me that there are so many new things to discover about "My Funny Valentine" or "Someday.." or "If I were a Bell", but someone as deeply spiritual as Jarrett and his colleagues Peacock and DeJohnette are coming from someplace wholely other. This is the music of the soul in an intensity of sublime wonder. The very telepathy honed over all these years would be cause enough to celebrate even if they were only practicing scales. As it is, in the continued service of truly great songs, the entire philosophical question of what is the proper subject for jazz is presented with such a compelling argument that rebuttal is pointless.
Jarrett can embrace melody as passionately as McCartney, and liberate the soul through improvisations as splendidly as Evans. He is at once fiercely independent and supremely respectful that thre are wonders to be found in the small gems of well-crafted songs. That he can return to a repertoire as often as he does and re-discover their integrity and importance ranks him as one of the most important pianists in the jazz firmament. No one else plays like him. No one ever did. That unique mystery that infuses his soul is what Miles must have been drawn to.
As for Peacock and DeJohnette, how could any musician ask for a better rhythm section. DeJohnette, especially in his recent collaborations with John Surman, has sought out the metaphysical and made it swing. Hegel and Kant recast as new bop pioneers, Peacock and Jack stand in the darkness of Plato's Cave and strike a match. The illumination is brilliantly blinding.
As with any Jarrett concert, what a show this must have been. I keep coming back to Bill Evans, for in the impressionistic Evans, there never seemed to be an end to the miracles he would uncover in the tunes all of his generation knew. Jarrett walks a similar holy path, one lived consciously, mindfully, with a sense of wonder he articulates beautifully.

A longtime Jarrett/Peacock/De Johnette fan, I am continually blown away by the telepathy and musicality this band demonstrates. The Juan-Les-Pins set is particularly inspired and (as the liner notes indicate) the individual health of the band members failing, there's perhaps an extra measure of fire and urgency to their playing. A brilliant summation of post bop piano with Chopinesque flair and Milesian wonder. My Funny Valentine alone is worth the price of the disk.

In response to the practically infamous review by con 52432, let me state for the record that this is no mediocre offering by the world's best jazz trio (not surprisingly, as its leader is probably one of the world's greatest musicians). Most of us who faithfully follow the man's career know this. Those of us who are fortunate enough to perform on any instrument know this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"..uninspired and meandering solos"? Instead, try: relentless musical invention (and reinvention) of melody- always fresh, never redundant. The problem for this reviewer is that repeated listenings to this trio's work may begin to sound stale...but if the listener is truly paying attention, one can only concede to the sheer artistry at hand. As far as the health of these players is concerned, con52432 reminds me of the typical jaded critic, waiting like a vulture in the wings for any opportunity to devour the "fallen" performer. No such luck here.

I'm not suggesting that I don't have favourite moments from the trio's archives of my own, but that doesn't render the remainder of their ouvre any less resplendant- it's just that sometimes their chemistry is especially intense. One can't expect to encounter such consistent brilliance from any artist- it's what enriches the works of all great performers and makes following their evolution all the more rewarding and intimate.

I concede the piano has sounded better in most other live ECM recordings, partly owing to tone and partly through the mix. But don't let that be a deterrent from this further testament to these very gifted and hard working players. That Keith launches into the guts of the improv with little more than a scant outline of the song's head indicates his desire to play with the song that much sooner. The longer drawn out intros were a phase in his career of exploring the standard. Leave the pomp to the neoclassicists!

Else to say: it is still so evident that these guys love to play. If we all played as well, we'd also have little reason to stop issuing these performances and their subsequent recordings. Bravo to the hundredth power.

I purchased this CD when it came out. I am long-time fan of Keith Jarrett Trio and very much liked this CD. Then I did not listen to it for over a year. Last week I 'rediscovered' it and, luckily for me, I took the time to carefully read the liner notes done by Kieth himself. They are very interesting and will put you in the mood of when they played and recorded this masterpiece. The reading made me like this CD even more. You will ask with I did not read them before, well, sometimes I do not have the time or do not want to read whet someone has to say before I do hear the music, my mistake here. I suggest buying it, reading the liner notes and only then hear the music. Great indeed!!!!

Keith Jarrett is very famous in Japan too.

He always says something to himself when playing piano.

It is very strange, lol.