While still a member of the Charles Lloyd Quartet, Keith Jarrett did some occasional moonlighting with a trio, anchored by two future members of Jarrett's classic quartet, Charlie Haden (bass) and Paul Motian (drums). On this CD, Jarrett turns in a very eclectic set at Shelly's Manne-Hole in Hollywood, careening through a variety of idioms where his emerging individuality comes through in flashes. He covers Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages" - which actually came out as a single on the Vortex label - in an attractive, semi-funky style reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi. "Pretty Ballad" delivers a strong reflective dose of Bill Evans, while "Moving Soon" is chaotic free jazz. By the time we reach "New Rag," we begin to hear the distinctive Jarrett idiom of the later trios, but then, "Old Rag" is knockabout stride without the stride. As an example of early, unfocused Jarrett, this is fascinating material.

One of the best recordings for Keith Jarrett's mid-'70s American quartet (whose style differed sharply from its European doppelgänger), The Survivors' Suite opens with Jarrett's aching, breathy sigh on the bass recorder, evoking the sound of a horn somewhere across a great expanse of fog. Percussion soon punctuates the melodic line to give the opening a more spiritual, ritualistic feel, which is only the first of many mutations that this album will go through. Divided into two parts, entitled "Beginning" and "Conclusion," this suite effortlessly flows between its movements which range from fiery free jazz to open, meditative atmospheric pieces showing heavy input from indigenous musics to instrumental solos that owe a sylistic debt to the music of the previous decade…

On Keith Jarrett's first recording with his "European" quartet - Jan Garbarek (sax), Palle Danielsson (bass), Jon Christensen (drums) - he stakes out somewhat less abrasive territory than that which his "American" foursome was exploring at this time. Garbarek sports a neutral, vibratoless tone that occasionally reaches an emotional climax; the rhythm section is supportive and just loose enough. The record operates at its strongest level when Jarrett locks the quartet into his winning gospel mode on "'Long as You Know You're Living Yours" and the tense drive of "Spiral Dance"; the reflective numbers are less compelling. Still, this album successfully bucked the powerful electric trends of its time and holds up well today.

Even before his solo concerts became popular successes, Keith Jarrett was clearly getting a free hand from ECM founder Manfred Eicher, as this ambitious double album of classical compositions proves. In this compendium of eight works for all kinds of ensembles, the then-28-year old Jarrett adamantly refuses to be classified, flitting back and forth through the centuries from the baroque to contemporary dissonance, from exuberant counterpoint for brass quintet to homophonic writing for a string section. Though the content is uneven in quality, Jarrett is clearly sincere and skilled enough to exploit his European roots with only a handful of syncopated references to his jazz work. The strongest, most moving individual pieces are the strange, gong-haunted "In the Cave, In the Light" (the probable source of the title of Jarrett's publishing company, Cavelight)…

Jarrett’s solo concert tradition continues with two highly creative performances of recent vintage - from Paris’s Salle Pleyel on November 26, 2008, followed by London’s Royal Festival Hall on December 1. The English date was Jarrett’s first London solo concert in many years and, in the words of one reviewer, “triggered the sort of ecstasy that might greet a returning prophet”. As with “Radiance” and “The Carnegie Hall Concert”, the music covers a wide arc of expression, as “that old Jarrett magic forges majestically on” (The Guardian).

The songbook craze wheels around to the compositions of Keith Jarrett, which ought to be an oxymoron since we're dealing with an artist who usually makes up things on the wing. Yet it works, for not only does this package isolate and spotlight some nice tunes by the prolific pianist; it also honors his eclectic bent by roaming all over the spectrum in search of diverse idioms. Bruce Hornsby is delightfully funky on piano in a second-line New Orleans treatment of "Backhand," which goes through some riotous passages. Pianist Chucho Valdes bumps through "U Dance" with the unorthodox help of baritone saxophonist Jay Rodriguez, while guitarist John Scofield is relaxed as he meanders through "Coral.".

Sure, the Keith Jarrett Trio of the '80s and '90s recorded way too much music for the casual fan to absorb. But one's reservations fade when confronted with the sheer creativity and empathy that the trio displayed in this gorgeously recorded live date at New York's Town Hall. As in several albums before, the emphasis for Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette is on standards, save for a sole ostinato-based Jarrett original (the title track). "Bemsha Swing" finds Jarrett at very nearly his best, transforming standard material completely in his own funky manner. In addition, there is a really beautiful rendition of Oscar Levant's "Blame It on My Youth," and an eloquently harmonized "Body and Soul" with generous solo space for Peacock. There is some squeaky vocalizing by Jarrett over some of his solos, but not enough to deter anyone from enjoying this 77-minute outpouring of first-class improvisational jazz.

The reason to mention the "particulars" of this document of informal sessions is because Keith Jarrett went to the trouble of doing so in his liner notes: they came about in the aftermath of he and Charlie Haden playing together during Ramblin' Boy, a documentary film about Haden. The duo, who hadn't played together in over 30 years, got along famously and decided to do some further recording in Jarrett's Cavelight home studio without an end result in mind. The tapes sat - though were discussed often - for three years before a decision was made to release some of them. Jasmine is a collection of love songs; most are standards played by two stellar improvisers. Picking out highlights on this eight-song, hour-long set is difficult because the dry warmth of these performances is multiplied by deeply intuitive listening and the near symbiotic, telepathic nature of the playing…

During the 1970s, solo piano box sets were rare. When Keith Jarrett's monolithic, ten-LP solo box, Sun Bear Concerts, arrived from ECM in 1978, the only comparable collection was The Tatum Solo Masterpieces, a six-disc set of the pianist's '50s sides. Jarrett's five Japanese concerts from November of 1976 in Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, and Sapporo were completely improvised and gloriously recorded by engineer Okihiro Sugano. Most jazz critics greeted it as a seminal work that set Jarrett apart from his peers.
When he hits a mysterious minor ninth to open the first concert in Kyoto, all bets are off. For nearly 80 minutes he balances tension with release, the pastoral with the cosmopolitan…

Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett is an album by vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Keith Jarrett with guitarist Sam Brown, bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Bill Goodwin, recorded in 1970 and released on the Atlantic label in 1971. Jarrett also plays soprano saxophone on this recording. The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "Elements of pop music, rock, country and the jazz avant-garde are used in the mixture of styles and the results are quite logical".

Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett planned a major engagement with classical music in the early 1980s. His plans were cut short by a skiing accident and later by struggles with chronic fatigue syndrome, but this ECM release, marking Jarrett's 70th birthday and capturing a pair of performances from Saarbrücken, West Germany, and Tokyo in 1984 and 1985, respectively, suggests what might have been. Both performances were rapturously received in countries where audiences tend toward the undemonstrative, and it is not just Jarrett's rock-solid fan base that was responsible. The program itself represents Jarrett's most inspired choice.

Timeless Radio Recording. Recorded by KPFA-FM.