Search - Keith Jarrett :: Birth

Dark, Brooding Stuff

The Mascara Snake | Deepintheheartof Appalachia | 02/21/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A good example of George Avakian produced, Atlantic-era Keith Jarret. By this time the guys had picked up Dewey Redman and expanded to a quartet (for better or worse). I personally prefer this band as a trio, don't get me wrong, I really like Dewey it's just that...wait, what am I saying? Dewey Redman beats the living snot out of Jan Garbarek in Jarret's "European band" of the 70's...on second thought, Dewey is great! For me this isn't what I would call one of their best sessions (maybe I'll change my mind later after more listening) but it's certainly a good one. A lot of dark, very introspective, conceptual stuff here. And yes, the track "Mortgage On My Soul" contains the FABLED Charlie Haden wah-wah upright bass! Back in those days, it seems like people wouldn't hesitate to run ANYTHING thru a wah-wah pedal. Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Horns...Hell, I've even seen a picture of the Dutch drummer Pierre Corbois from that era with his drums mic-ed and fed into a ring modulator and a wah-wah! I'm glad that those days are over now, but Haden's bass is one of the most intense wah-wah experiences I've ever had!
If you like Jarret's music then I'm sure you will like this album, if you are just getting into Jarret, don't waste your money on the stuff that Jan Garberek ... all over, (no offense to any of the other musicians in that band) there's plenty of other stuff that show's that this man does have talent, a whole lot of it, and there are even quite a few albums out there where it dosen't sound like he is continuously being
"Porked" while he is playing!"

An early classic!!

frankied20 | Melbourne, Victoria Australia | 03/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was thrilled to find this old classic re-issued on c.d. I think it documents an interesting period of the band between the early Keith Jarrett trio recordings and the later "american quartet" recordings. Like many of Jarrett's recordings of this period it contains a great mixture of compositions and improvisations. A must for people interested in the early music of Jarrett- and it's worth listening to just to check out Charlie Haden playing the wah-wah pedal!"