Atrocity Hallucinations (2008 1989 90)

Since being afflicted in the late '90s with chronic fatigue syndrome, which kept him on the sidelines for several years, Keith Jarrett has had to reinvent himself as a performer. It's no slight on his classic live recitals of the past to suggest that has proven to be a fruitful development. In moving away from his long, inwardly streaming, lyrically sustained works and adopting a more easygoing episodic approach, he has become more accessible (and less windy) without sacrificing intensity or the freedom to draw upon all manner of styles including blues, gospel, and Americana. Recorded in 2005, The Carnegie Hall Concert features a 10-part piece that runs a gamut of moods and emotions. The enjoyable encore portion consists of three new originals, including a standard, "Time on My Hands," and a rare, enthusiastically received Jarrett oldie, "My Song," from the '70s.

Sonny Sharrock & Nicky Skopelitis - Faith Moves (1991) {CMP Records CMPCD52 rec 1989-90}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 185 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 92 Mb
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© 1991 CMP Records | CMP CD 52
Jazz / Fusion / Avant-Garde Jazz / Guitar

Recorded over the course of 1989 and 1990, Faith Moves is a series of duets between Sonny Sharrock and stringed-instrument whiz Nicky Skopelitis, whose taste for world music lends these sessions an exotic flair. The format is actually somewhat similar to Sharrock's Guitar album, where he accompanied himself on some fairly basic compositions that allowed him to soar into an overdubbed stratosphere. Here, of course, he has a partner, but the execution is oftentimes pretty similar, especially on the first half of the album. Six of the nine selections are studio improvisations, with overdubs added later to flesh out the sound or emphasize Sharrock's themes.

The Grammy award-winning pianist Daniel Barenboim, long known for his Mozart interpretations, turns his attention to Mozart’s piano sonatas, a body of work that, while forming the core of the pianist’s repertory, is not often heard in the concert hall. These sonatas showcase Mozart’s genius for the small-scale, and truly shine in Barenboim’s masterful rendering.

File under "Yes." When this version of the band couldn't obtain rights to the name, they put their album out under their combined names, but it's still Yes by any other name. Jon Anderson's tenor wails through spacy lyrics, Rick Wakeman constructs cathedrals of synthesized sound, Steve Howe rips high-pitched guitar leads, and Bill Bruford makes his drums sound like timpani. For all that, it's a pedestrian effort for these veterans, not as bombastic as some of their stuff, not as inspired as others, but it definitely has the "Yes" sound. "She Gives Me Love" even refers to "Long Distance Runaround."