no End Jarrett

Recorded at his home studio in 1986, the double album No End illuminates hitherto undocumented aspects of Keith Jarrett's music. He is heard on electric guitars, electric bass, drums and percussion, overdubbing tribal dances of his own devising: "Somehow something happened during these days in the 80s that won't ever be repeated," he writes in his liner notes. "There was really, to my knowledge, no forethought or composition - in the typical sense - going on; just a feeling or a rhythmic idea or a bass line concept or melody. None of this was written down."

Mysteries: The Impulse Years 1975-1976 is a four CD collection of the Keith Jarrett albums Mysteries, Shades, Byablue and Bop-Be. The set was released in 1996 by Impulse! Records and in 1997 by Aris / MCA. Previously unreleased alternate takes are present on each disc. The music was performed by Jarrett and his affectionately-titled 'American Quartet', composed of Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, and Dewey Redman. Guilherme Franco contributed additional percussion to Mysteries and Shades.

Mysteries: The Impulse Years 1975-1976 is a four CD collection of the Keith Jarrett albums Mysteries, Shades, Byablue and Bop-Be. The set was released in 1996 by Impulse! Records and in 1997 by Aris / MCA. Previously unreleased alternate takes are present on each disc. The music was performed by Jarrett and his affectionately-titled 'American Quartet', composed of Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, and Dewey Redman. Guilherme Franco contributed additional percussion to Mysteries and Shades.

Mysteries: The Impulse Years 1975-1976 is a four CD collection of the Keith Jarrett albums Mysteries, Shades, Byablue and Bop-Be. The set was released in 1996 by Impulse! Records and in 1997 by Aris / MCA. Previously unreleased alternate takes are present on each disc. The music was performed by Jarrett and his affectionately-titled 'American Quartet', composed of Charlie Haden, Paul Motian, and Dewey Redman. Guilherme Franco contributed additional percussion to Mysteries and Shades.

Recorded live in Tokyo in April 2001, Always Let Me Go is Keith Jarrett's 149th concert in Japan. Joined by his long-standing partners Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, these performances are playful, explosive, somber, and completely improvised. After 20 years of working together, they trust each other (and the audience) enough to deliver over two hours of unscripted music. DeJohnette prowls through his drums like a restless cougar: he chatters, scuffles, and pounces on the skins with agility. Likewise, Peacock spoons out a concrete foundation of bass; one that bubbles as it spreads through the cracks in Jarrett's 88 keys (which serve the pianist so very well).

The group colloquially known as “the Standards trio” has made many outstanding recordings, and After The Fall must rank with the very best of them. “I was amazed to hear how well the music worked,” writes Keith Jarrett in his liner note. “For me, it’s not only a historical document, but a truly great concert.” This performance in Newark, New Jersey in November 1998 marked Jarrett’s return to the concert stage after a two year hiatus. Joined by improvising partners Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, he glides and soars through classics of the Great American Songbook including “The Masquerade Is Over”, “Autumn Leaves”, “When I Fall In Love” and “I’ll See You Again”.

Live Funkhaus, Hamburg, Germany, June 14, 1972.

Live Funkhaus, Hamburg, Germany, June 14, 1972.

Spirits is more than a jewel in the rough. It is the rough of a jewel. By this, I mean to say that through its hard-won journey Keith Jarrett has peered into the heart of darkness that is life and compressed it into a diamond so honest that no amount of polishing will wear away its blemishes. Recorded at his home studio, then post-processed by ECM engineer Martin Wieland, this is a most personal album of boundless expression. Then again, so is every Jarrett album. The difference is in the instrumentation: an unusual array of flutes, keys, and percussion, overdubbed in various combinations and densities (Jarrett even picks up a guitar, which he treats more like a sitar). Jarrett also sings, wails as if in and of the earth, finding in Nature a single feather plucked from nowhere. Bird-less, it has no recourse to flight, and can only call to a sky it will never know.