Search - Keith Jarrett :: Still Live (Shm)

Even the Jarrett "squeak!" can't hurt this gem

K. Swanson | Austin, TX United States | 03/04/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One of jazz' great ironies is Keith's famous scolding of audiences for making noise, and then when they become silent he starts squeaking like a mouse who found the back door to the cheese compartment.



This album is so fine, however, that his endless squeals can barely besmirch the genius of the piano playing that elicits them. I haven't heard a better Jarrett record, trio or not. There is SO much MUSIC here! Not just stellar technique but truly melodic glissandos and rippling crescendos of joy that turn these jazz standards on their heads and show what true musical inventiveness can achieve.



By far my favorite is When I Fall In Love Again, best version of this chestnut I've heard including Bill Evans' (high praise indeed!). You can hear Bill all over Keith's harmonic ideas but KJ's touch on this tune is all his own and he coaxes the theme into gorgeous canyons full of light and shading that take my breath away, year after year. Jack and Gary are with him every step, prodding and supporting, and by tune's end you feel as if you've been witness to something truly magical.



One of the great jazz trio records, up there with OP's Night Train and Evans' Portrait In Jazz and Village Vanguard albums.



Can't recommend this one highly enough.

Just remember to listen past the mouse!

"

Ranking at Best.

C. A. Lemley | 03/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not sure what prompts certain professed "purists" to low mark Jarrett for grunts or play the dismantle-his-genius game pursuant to other alleged impurities. Want no grunts? Sterility in plastic piano capsules? Want perfecto piano playing by stiff aficionados who, like the "purists" they cater to, are also too timid to let out a good soul-body grunt? The music world is asphyxiated with them so no need to look far. Or do you want a Jarrett bright as an angel and way up on his wing? Then look no further and grab this CD set. It's one of the best free-wheelin' Jarrett CD sets out there, I assure you, a definite winner and the trio shines. I have virtually every CD by Jarrett so I speak from that particular angle."

An Inner Mounting Flame

Mr. Richard D. Coreno | Berea, Ohio USA | 03/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The "Standards Trio" - Keith Jarrett (p), Gary Peacock (b), Jack DeJohnette (d) - take their artistry to amazing heights in this 2-CD that chronicles the July 13, 1986, performance at the Philharmonic Hall, Munich, Germany.



Jarrett is particularly expressive at what has become a "signature" song, Autumn Leaves, with other amazing highlights being My Funny Valentine, Billie's Bounce and I Remember Clifford. The cymbal patterns of DeJohnette are brilliant, as is the subtle way Peacock expresses his flair on the contrabass.



The 10 tracks are as accessible as any that has found its way out of the ECM vault and a relatively inexpensive way for a new listener to get a woderful overview of the trio's incredible interpretations of classic material in the pop/jazz genres.



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