[Bruno]

I love this man. His music is pure magic for me.
I love his trio albums, but the true magic is when he's all alone with the piano, the audience is waiting, and then he starts playing and the world disappears and you enter into another dimension...
I was there when he played the "La Scala" concert here in Milan... I was literally crying when he ended playing the first part. That ending melody will be haunting me forever...

As I would really like to complete his very large discography, and I'm actually buying his CDs (unfortunately a piano in MP3 format sounds pretty badly to my ears, if bitrate isn't high enough!), I was wondering which ones I should buy next and which ones I can avoid (if any).
Right now I have, in no particular order: "La Scala", "The Koln Concert", "The Carnegie Hall Concert", "Changeless", "The melody at night with you", "Dark Intervals", "El Juicio", "The Mourning Of A Star", "Belonging" (with Jan Garbarek - beautiful!), "Fort Yawuh", "Radiance", "Spirits", "Up for it", "Treasure Island".

Thank you very much!

Bruno

[koenfucius]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Any fans of Keith Jarrett?

You called?

Also consider his classical interpretations of Bach's Wohltemperierte Klavier and (with Michala Petri) Sonatas for harpsichord and flute. You could spend a fortune on his discography.

PS: Did you know he is also a pretty competent saxophonist?

[Nightfly]

Originally Posted by koenfucius

You called?

Also consider his classical interpretations of Bach's Wohltemperierte Klavier and (with Michala Petri) Sonatas for harpsichord and flute. You could spend a fortune on his discography.

PS: Did you know he is also a pretty competent saxophonist?

Koenfucius,

You read my mind.. his Well Tempered Clavier is my favorite interpretation
second only to Glenn Gould of this classic piano catalog of Bach...
Also the flute and harpsichord sonatas are quite beautifully done..
and no I did not no he played sax..

Bruno,

I agree..Keith Jarrett is a true artist and creater...
I will definitely check out "La Scala" tonight but I think that
you would fair better with his studio work than his concert for
mp3 sound and some of his late work is well recorded and overlooked..
and when he works with other artists to use your word Magic..
I will look over my collection and maybe be more specific.

Thanks for putting Keith Jarrett's name out there, and reminding us of
this incredible artist with a great diverse catalog to explore.

Edit:I would like to recommend: Keith Jarrett- Gary Peacock- Jack DeJohnette
Great traditional jazz Trio recordings they are all excellent- but one I play
often is "Standards Live"

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by koenfucius

You called?

Also consider his classical interpretations of Bach's Wohltemperierte Klavier and (with Michala Petri) Sonatas for harpsichord and flute.

Thanks! As I love Bach I'll definitely get this!

Originally Posted by koenfucius

You could spend a fortune on his discography.

That's exactly what I'm worrying about... but for real artists like him I'll make an exception: no MP3s!

Originally Posted by koenfucius

PS: Did you know he is also a pretty competent saxophonist?

Yep! I've heard him playing in Fort Yawuh and Treasure Island. But you know, I don't like his solos very much... I think he should really stick with his piano!

---

For Nightfly: Thanks for your post! I love his trio works too, I've got "Up for it" and the awesome "Changeless", and the interplay between these guys is phenomenal...

[radioshoes]

Originally Posted by Bruno

I love this man. His music is pure magic for me.
I love his trio albums, but the true magic is when he's all alone with the piano, the audience is waiting, and then he starts playing and the world disappears and you enter into another dimension...
I was there when he played the "La Scala" concert here in Milan... I was literally crying when he ended playing the first part. That ending melody will be haunting me forever...

As I would really like to complete his very large discography, and I'm actually buying his CDs (unfortunately a piano in MP3 format sounds pretty badly to my ears, if bitrate isn't high enough!), I was wondering which ones I should buy next and which ones I can avoid (if any).
Right now I have, in no particular order: "La Scala", "The Koln Concert", "The Carnegie Hall Concert", "Changeless", "The melody at night with you", "Dark Intervals", "El Juicio", "The Mourning Of A Star", "Belonging" (with Jan Garbarek - beautiful!), "Fort Yawuh", "Radiance", "Spirits", "Up for it", "Treasure Island".

Thank you very much!

Bruno

I remember discovering Jarrett's solo concerts around 1980 and almost bankrupting myself catching up with what I'd missed. If you like the Jarrett of The Koln Concert, you seem to be missing some classics - there's Solo Concerts from 1973 and Concerts from 1982, both 3LP/2CD sets and both essential. Then - and this is what prompted me to flog off half my record collection in 1982 - there's the mighty 10-LP/6CD Sun Bear Concerts, which I'm afraid is also essential. Of course, in 1982 there were no Russian download sites - now you have no excuses! Then there's Arbour Zena, in which KJ is accompanied by Jan Garbarek and a string orchestra. Wonderful.
Another fascinating album is Hymns/Spheres, on which Jarrett plays an ancient church organ and gets some amazing sounds out of it. Unfortunately, ECM have only ever issued this two-album set as a single CD and, typically, cut the very best track.
Oddly, I've never really got on with Jarrett's later records. I often feel he's so determined not to repeat himself, as soon as he feels a melody coming on he now veers off into something discordant. And since melody is what Jarrett always did better than anyone else in the field of improvisation - at his peak it seemed as though he could simply pluck melodies out of the ether at will - albums like The Paris Concert and La Scala have never quite done it for me.
Another curious fact is that when Jarrett composes music - as in The Celestial Hawk - the results are never as satisfying as when he improvises. Go figger that one.