KEITH JARRETT - Munich 2016
ECM 779 3748
Keith Jarrett (piano)
Recorded live July 16, 2016
Keith Jarrett’s retirement from performance in 2017 came as a surprise. Since 1998 the prodigious pianist had been performing at a regular clip after he bounced back from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, now known as Systematic Exertion Intolerance Disease. The epic marathon solo concerts that began on Concerts (Bregenz, Munchen) in 1973, the smash seller Koln Concert (1975) , and the massive 10 LP and 6 CD Sun Bear Concerts (1976) among countless others were miraculous for their captivating long form improvisation created from the ether. The titanic influence from these performances spawned even new age pianists attempting to capture the feeling of some of the vamp sections along the way, but lacked the magic, depth and invention of the real thing. Fast forward to 2005 and Radiance which signaled Jarrett’s triumphant recorded return to solo performance– the album marked a stark contrast. Rather than the 30 and 40 minute segments of pure spontaneity, the pianist broke things up into more manageable concise chunks of improvisation. Thus, the results shed new light on his improvisational process, particularly with his left hand. Munich 2016 follows last year’s La Fenice and the 4 CD box A Multitude of Angels concluding his long form improvisation work in 1996.
Munich 2016 is a recording that is one of Jarrett’s most focused solo recitals since Rio (2011) and is yet another jewel in Jarrett’s second chapter of solo releases. Taken in the whole scheme of things it ranks among the very best of his solo output, which is filled with milestones. The reason it ranks so high is the level of invention, which at the end of a tour seems rare in itself. The pianist is as energized here as if it was the first leg of a tour, when things are rife with possibility. There are familiar tropes, the folk like melodies that harken back to the earlier so work, the slow boiling gospel influenced sections, and driving vamps, but all are rendered with such an enthusiasm for discovery that it is all anew. What is perhaps most impressive of all besides the three encores on disc 2 that drip with lyricism are the three trips Jarrett takes into the avant garde.
Quite frequently in the second act of Jarrett’s solo life, things begin in this realm, where his left hand is a source of tremendous contrapuntal strength. As “Part I” begins, he explores slabs of notes with the right hand as they scurry and fight for air with the left. Eventually he arrives at a left hand ostinato that early on, that reflects Jarrett’s interest as a drummer, but as it moves through motivic development, it brilliantly becomes like almost like an entire orchestral french horn section. Dissonant stabs from the right hand, move against the now gear like ostinato. The spiraling right hand leads spiral away and develop into stabbing chords as if the predator is inching towards it’s prey, and set of Moorish, phrygian ideas develop to close. It’s a breathtaking nearly 14 minutes. The other avant garde forays in “Part VII” and the brief “Part XII” are call backs to the ferocious style of playing in Charles Lloyd’s quintet. The amorphous, squiggling lines of “Part XII” are like a bright rainbow prism, with refracted light, and Jarrett’s intensity shows remarkable technical agility with speed of light contrapuntal improvisation.
Elsewhere, “Part II” radiates with a La Scala (1997) like beauty, as if it could have been an impressionistic classical piece several hundred years ago, and “Part III”’s gospel hymn rises in intensity, the grace notes add a touch of extreme emotional openness and fragility. “Part IV” functions as a sort of continued examination of the gospel feel with a patented driving ostinato. The encores of lesser known standards have always been a treat, and surprising, as in La Fenice’s case, traditional songs inserted right in the midst of the improvisation. “It’s A Lonesome Old Town” is simply stunning in it’s melodic creativity and slowly building arc. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”, like “When I Fall In Love” with the Standards Trio, became a standard closer, but like with the former, it is never the same twice, and Jarrett seems to find infinite ways to navigate the melody and harmony.
In a catalog filled with so many releases and high water marks, it might seem impossible to fathom how there can be anything else to add to the canon that ranks among Jarrett’s best work. With it’s strong melodic invention, and particularly inspired improvisational flights, in light of Jarrett’s retirement from performing it must be considered among his best work. It will be interesting to see what Jarrett archival releases follow in the future to add to the narrative.
Reviewed by CJ Shearn
ECM 779 3748
Keith Jarrett (piano)
Recorded live July 16, 2016
Keith Jarrett’s retirement from performance in 2017 came as a surprise. Since 1998 the prodigious pianist had been performing at a regular clip after he bounced back from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, now known as Systematic Exertion Intolerance Disease. The epic marathon solo concerts that began on Concerts (Bregenz, Munchen) in 1973, the smash seller Koln Concert (1975) , and the massive 10 LP and 6 CD Sun Bear Concerts (1976) among countless others were miraculous for their captivating long form improvisation created from the ether. The titanic influence from these performances spawned even new age pianists attempting to capture the feeling of some of the vamp sections along the way, but lacked the magic, depth and invention of the real thing. Fast forward to 2005 and Radiance which signaled Jarrett’s triumphant recorded return to solo performance– the album marked a stark contrast. Rather than the 30 and 40 minute segments of pure spontaneity, the pianist broke things up into more manageable concise chunks of improvisation. Thus, the results shed new light on his improvisational process, particularly with his left hand. Munich 2016 follows last year’s La Fenice and the 4 CD box A Multitude of Angels concluding his long form improvisation work in 1996.
Munich 2016 is a recording that is one of Jarrett’s most focused solo recitals since Rio (2011) and is yet another jewel in Jarrett’s second chapter of solo releases. Taken in the whole scheme of things it ranks among the very best of his solo output, which is filled with milestones. The reason it ranks so high is the level of invention, which at the end of a tour seems rare in itself. The pianist is as energized here as if it was the first leg of a tour, when things are rife with possibility. There are familiar tropes, the folk like melodies that harken back to the earlier so work, the slow boiling gospel influenced sections, and driving vamps, but all are rendered with such an enthusiasm for discovery that it is all anew. What is perhaps most impressive of all besides the three encores on disc 2 that drip with lyricism are the three trips Jarrett takes into the avant garde.
Quite frequently in the second act of Jarrett’s solo life, things begin in this realm, where his left hand is a source of tremendous contrapuntal strength. As “Part I” begins, he explores slabs of notes with the right hand as they scurry and fight for air with the left. Eventually he arrives at a left hand ostinato that early on, that reflects Jarrett’s interest as a drummer, but as it moves through motivic development, it brilliantly becomes like almost like an entire orchestral french horn section. Dissonant stabs from the right hand, move against the now gear like ostinato. The spiraling right hand leads spiral away and develop into stabbing chords as if the predator is inching towards it’s prey, and set of Moorish, phrygian ideas develop to close. It’s a breathtaking nearly 14 minutes. The other avant garde forays in “Part VII” and the brief “Part XII” are call backs to the ferocious style of playing in Charles Lloyd’s quintet. The amorphous, squiggling lines of “Part XII” are like a bright rainbow prism, with refracted light, and Jarrett’s intensity shows remarkable technical agility with speed of light contrapuntal improvisation.
Elsewhere, “Part II” radiates with a La Scala (1997) like beauty, as if it could have been an impressionistic classical piece several hundred years ago, and “Part III”’s gospel hymn rises in intensity, the grace notes add a touch of extreme emotional openness and fragility. “Part IV” functions as a sort of continued examination of the gospel feel with a patented driving ostinato. The encores of lesser known standards have always been a treat, and surprising, as in La Fenice’s case, traditional songs inserted right in the midst of the improvisation. “It’s A Lonesome Old Town” is simply stunning in it’s melodic creativity and slowly building arc. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”, like “When I Fall In Love” with the Standards Trio, became a standard closer, but like with the former, it is never the same twice, and Jarrett seems to find infinite ways to navigate the melody and harmony.
In a catalog filled with so many releases and high water marks, it might seem impossible to fathom how there can be anything else to add to the canon that ranks among Jarrett’s best work. With it’s strong melodic invention, and particularly inspired improvisational flights, in light of Jarrett’s retirement from performing it must be considered among his best work. It will be interesting to see what Jarrett archival releases follow in the future to add to the narrative.
Reviewed by CJ Shearn
