Is Keith Jarrett in your collection?

I have many of his early ECM LPs, including Koln Concerts and several more recent, mostly solo albums. I also have some of his group albums and one of his old albums with Charles Lloyd from the late 60s.

Scott

 

I have about 10 albums from different time periods and styles.

The first album of his I bought was "Facing You" and is still the one I listen to most.

I saw him play live solo in 1975 not too long after the Koln Concert was recorded so that one's a favorite also.

 

No. I bought a few of his albums (Facing You, Koln Concert, Arbour Zena, Eyes Of The Heart) back when I was trying to get into all of Miles's side musicians but nothing I heard ever clicked with me. Didn't keep any of the ones I bought.

 

Sure.
The In Concert disc's were mind opening when then came out.

 

Not a big fan, so only have this on LP:

 

I only have a couple of unofficial recordings, but I was wondering the other day if Jarrett is the greatest (or most important, or accomplished...) currently active jazz artist?

 

Most definitely. Paris Concert is my favorite.

 

More than 70 cds in my shelves.
I found a few years ago a mint vinyl box set of the Sun Bear Concerts for $30 !
A few deceptions in his discography, easily forgotten with all the brilliant moments.
Jack DeJohnette is also one of my favorites musicians, which helps

 

I have around 30 cds solo and together with other musicians. Although I find him a great musician somehow I don't listen to him too often. Btw, just saw him recently live, silo in Europe. Great concert.

 

I've been a Jazz fan for 30 years, but outside of the Miles Davis electric contributions, I hadn't really listened to him until a little over a year ago. In one night I listened to Bremen - Lausaanne & Koln concert, and went a bit insane.

For me, the incredible virtuosity he displays with SOLO improvisation is just stunning. Fully formed, grasping, sweet, chaotic, those two really live up to the hype, as well as most things in his catalogue.

I fully agree with other reviewers about the trio, and though I'm not hugely knowledge about classical, but I love his two albums of Mozart material.

Enjoy!

 

Does having Steely Dan's Gaucho count?

 

No. I collect records not people.

 

I have some west German Ecm CDs

Invocations
Solo concerts
Works (comp)

I have heard others like koln

 

I've got 26 titles under Jarrett's name but some of those are 2 CD or even multi-disc sets (ie: the Impulse sets etc).

Plus I think I have everything he did with Miles but probably should double check...

 

I have Expectations and Koln Concert

 

Yes I have him playing someone's concerto on the same CD as Terry Riley's June Buddhas

 

For a time there he was the most represented artist in my collection. I've got about a hundred hours on my iTunes, all of them official albums (72 titles) and there are one or two that have been lost along the way (such as Standards in Norway).

For me Jarrett is a personal keystone artist. He was a charter member of what I semi-seriously call my "Pantheon": the (currently) twelve recording artists who have been most important to me. That said, I don't listen to his music very much any more, finding it for the most part too sleepy and/or self-indulgent. I have way too many recordings by the Standards trio, don't care so much for his early work, and if I had to rebuy now I would probably have a slimmed-down collection of about fifteen to twenty titles that I couldn't be without; that would include Arbour Zena, The Celestial Hawk, The Köln Concert, The Paris Concert, Vienna Concert, La Scala, The Moth and the Flame, The Melody At Night With You, Tokyo '96, Personal Mountains, Händel: Suites For Keyboard, & Bach: Das Wohltempierte Clavier Buch 1.

The one album by Keith Jarrett that I always have on my iPod is his recording of the Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues and I also consider Dennis Russell Davies's recording of Ritual (recently re-released on ECM) to be a core recording.

For anyone interested in piano concertos I would also encourage you to hear Jarrett's recordings of Lou Harrison's Piano Concerto (on New World Records) and Alan Hovhaness's Lousadzak (on Musicmasters). These are great performances of two overlooked (and very accessible) works that are rapidly becoming rarities only because they weren't released by ECM.

 

I've got about a dozen of Keith's albums. I particularly like Belonging, from 1974.

A workmate of mine had a flamboyant habit of splashing out and buying entire back-catalogues of any musicians or authors that he had recently discovered. I knew that he liked Steely Dan so I played him some of 'Long as You Know You're Living Yours' (from Belonging), knowing full well that when he'd made the connection with 'Gaucho', he'd be left with a massive hole in his wallet if he tried to buy Keith Jarrett's entire back-catalogue!

 

I have some.

 

He used to be. I suspect that if I look at the fine print on some of my Miles Davis albums I'll find his name. But he wore out his welcome with the Koln concerts and I'm not impressed with his classical efforts. Not a fan.

 

He wasn't...I had Nude Ants from when it was released but got rid since I didn't care for it much.

But recently he's become part of the collection through trying to find recordings with Jan Garbarek so that's most of the European Quartet bought (but not Nude Ants again - yet), and some of the American Quartet.

Not that keen on solo piano or piano trio so I doubt I'll try to track down all of his catalogue which is probably just as well...

 

Up against some stiff opposition - Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Anthony Braxton, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joe Lovano, Roscoe Mitchell, Jack DeJohnette...

 

Staircase was my introduction and remains my favourite to this day. La Scala, The Melody At Night With You, Moth and the Flame, Köln Concerts, Standards, Vienna and few others populate my collection. We were in China last year and I grabbed a new box of the Sun Bear Concerts for $18 CDN and truly wondered if he could sustain his improv chops through the duration of the tour recordings. Amazingly, he transcends my expectations. An amazing set - get it if you can!

I guess I'm in the minority but I like his random vocalizations and bleats, his moans and utterings - it makes his immersion all the more "Rock & Roll", sincere and involved. I don't find it distracting at all and even enjoy it. Genius.

 

Even speaking as a Jarrett fan I couldn't judge him as in any way the greatest currently active Jazz artist. His work in the Jazz idiom has been really very derivative: I can't think of anything he's done since the early 1970s that has advanced or attempted to advance Jazz at all. Many Jazz and Classical critics are simply not interested him, leaving him to float between genres pursuing his own interests since at least the 1980s when he put out such projects as Spirits & Book of Ways.

His achievement is more along the lines of 'Great Pianist' or 'Great Performer' than anything else.

 

I have the Koln Concert and Vol. 1 of the Standards trio, as well as his appearances on various Miles albums. The standards trip is overall more to my taste, although I like them both. Been meaning to dig deeper into his discography someday. Saw the Standards trio live once circa 1999 or 2000 and enjoyed it a lot.