Search - Keith Jarrett :: Tokyo 96

Oh...my...goodness...great balls of fire!

the way I see it | Midwest | 08/02/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What a recording! As good as anything the trio has put out for our listening pleasure including Standards I and II and the complete Blue Note set. This CD is so incredibly balanced with a seamless flow between ballads and up-tempo songs. All three artists are completely on fire! My only complaint, and it is a very minor one, is that I wish the two standards that segue into compositions by Jarrett were both about fifteen minutes longer (Harold Arlen's "Last Night When We Were Young" segues into Jarrett's "Caribbean Sky" and Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine" segues into Jarrett's "Song"). There are at least three such long standard-to-Jarrett composition segues on the complete Blue Note set, which I adore and which have spoiled me. On Tokyo 96, both "Carribean Sky" and "Song" should have gone on for much longer, especially "Carribean Sky". But that's a minor "complaint" and really just a personal desire to hear more of Jarrett's beautiful compositions that flow so nicely out of particular standards. It's still a perfect recording--but it could have been even "perfecter"!



As for those who find Jarrett's vocalizations to be annoying--and I sometimes fall into that camp, though I still own dozens of his recordings--I didn't notice much on this CD. In my opinion, what little there is almost had to be there because the music was truly worth shouting over and making all sorts of primal sounds. (If I had been at this concert, I would have been screaming like a madman!) But again, given how stunning and magical this evening was, I think Jarret showed incredible restraint. If you have a chance, I encourage you to listen to the entire CD through some headphones. Oh...my...goodness...great balls of fire!!!!!!!

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