Search - Keith Jarrett :: Eyes of the Heart

Not Much Gas Left in the Tank

G B | Connecticut | 10/01/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Recorded in May of 1976, this was one of the American group's final official recordings. They had recorded the better-known Survivor's Suite a month earlier and in October would return to the studio one final time to record the albums Byablue and Bop-Be. Tthe group plays as a quartet, minus the percussionists that added color to earlier albums. (Jarrett, Redman and Motian all double on various percussion instruments.) Around this time personal tensions between the group members were worsening, and judging by their final three albums, beginning to have a negative impact on the group's music.



The most obvious problem with this album is the near-absence of Dewey Redman. I'm not sure exactly why Dewey doesn't come in until 2/3 of the way in track 2 (the official story is that he was drinking wine offstage), but this seriously detracts from the music -- in my opinion, his dark, gruff melodicism was the perfect foil for Jarrett's more lyrical/flowing style. In addition, the work of the rest of the group seriously falters in Redman's absence. Motian and Haden are much more lethargic than usual, and drop out for extended periods of time. Keith spends a lot of the time playing solo piano, and the music is much more repetitive and less interesting than the well-known solo concerts from this period. (He also has a lengthy soprano solo near the beginning.) There just isn't much going on for those first 25-30 minutes.



Once Redman comes in, about 10 minutes into track 2, the music improves dramatically. The vamp that Keith had been playing for the previous 10 minutes intensifies, and Haden and Motian suddenly wake up. Dewey PLAYS a dark, intense solo. The encores begin with a calypso (Dewey briefly hints at "St. Thomas", I think), followed by a brief Motian drum solo and then an Ornette-type piece with Keith on soprano. Keith has a very nice solo, and then Dewey wails on tenor. The last encore is a brief piano improvisation by Keith.



Overall, this is one of the American group's weakest albums; just compare it to the brilliant Fort Yawuh, recorded 3 years earlier at the Village Vanguard with the group at the peak of its powers. Nevertheless, the end of part 2 and the first two encores are enjoyable and worthy of being mentioned alongside their other work, though not necessarily alongside their BEST work. There are occasional flashes of interest on other parts of the album. If you're a Keith Jarrett completist, pick this up. Otherwise, if you're exploring with the American group start with the Impulse boxes (or the single CD release of Fort Yawuh) or (if hell-bent on picking up only KJ albums on ECM) The Survivor's Suite."

This album swings, sways and sparkles

Rafaelo Kazakov | New York, NY United States | 09/15/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Please disregard the above review - this is a record of the final days of Jarrett's "American group" and my all time favorite of their many recordings. Admitting that it is a flawed album it is also true that Charlie Haden is at the very top of his form, Dewey Redman plays in a plaintive, soaring voice reminiscent
of Jan Garbarek and Jarrett is at his improvisational forte (though I grant it that not everyone might be so hot about the repetitive vamp playing that takes up a lot of the album). There was (non-musical) tension between the members of the group, most evident in how Redman does not take his cue and does not enter the first track as a result of which Jarrett and Haden extend what was supposed to be an intro to a full 17 minutes (Redman never comes in - a biography of Jarrett has it that he was drinking wine offstage and just did not bother...) However when Mr. Redman finally decides to join in (about 10 minutes into the third track) he comes in like brush fire and the the track soars into a group improvisation which is the highlight of the album......... only those 6 minutes are worth your money."

My first keith jarret album

Alejandro Lara | Venezuela | 09/02/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Eyes of The Heart by Keith Jarrett introduced me to jazz. I picked it up randomly and felt in love with. From then on I've acquired an extensive collection of Keith Jarrett's music and some I must say is excellent and the rest old fashioned. It seems that Keith Jarrett's styles change with time from being a traditional jazz musician with his Dijonette, Peacock trio to a musical innovator and back to the traditional, which makes it difficult to choose between the hundreds of albums under his name that are in the market today. Eyes of The Heart falls in the innovating category and the music was written all by Jarrett. Like most of his albms it was recorded while he played infront of a crowd. The music is sincerely beautiful and captivating and in my opinion it's a great introduction to jazz because I was hooked on. Of course, from then on finding such good music has not been a random process as it was picking up this great record."