CD Review: Keith Jarrett - Rio

Keith Jarrett - Rio
(ECM 277 6645. CD Review by Chris Parker)

The level of inspiration experienced by Keith Jarrett at this solo concert, recorded in Rio de Janeiro in April 2011, can be gauged by the fact that he utters one of his celebrated involuntary groans only four minutes into it, and thereafter, the intensity never flags for a moment, building through two CDs' worth of stunningly inventive improvisation to an almost delirious pitch.

'Improvisation', of course, is merely a convenient tag as far as Jarrett's solo work is concerned; many of these pieces might more accurately be described as 'spontaneous compositions', relying as they do on repeated sequences of chords, or familiar structures from the blues or gospel music, but however they're described, the fifteen shortish pieces that make up this concert are simply spellbinding, eliciting great roars of approval from what sounds like Jarrett's ideal audience: silently attentive during the pieces, uninhibitedly supportive after they've finished.

Identifying the source of Jarrett's appeal is nearly as difficult as defining his approach, but perhaps the word that best conveys his unique connection with audiences is duende, the term used, most often in flamenco, to describe the heightened state of emotion that enables a performer to express feeling with unimpeachable authenticity. Whatever it is, though, Jarrett has it in spades, and whether he's playing peerlessly affecting ballads infused with his trademark yearning earnestness, joyously effervescent romps or simply(!) improvising on a bluesy shuffle, he performs with rare and profoundly affecting passion and sincerity throughout this superb concert, an occasion he himself describes as 'jazzy, serious, sweet, playful, warm, economical, energetic, passionate, and connected with the Brazilian culture in a unique way'.

Rio at ECM Records

CD Review: Charles Lloyd/Maria Farantouri - Athens Concert

Charles Lloyd/Maria Farantouri - Athens Concert
(ECM 276 7833. CD Review by Chris Parker)

'A musical bridge between our two worlds' is how saxophonist Charles Lloyd describes his collaboration with Greek singer Maria Farantouri, but – as with a number of similar ECM projects – the resulting music is so seamless, so natural-sounding, as to be almost sui generis. Lloyd first met Farantouri in 1992, subsequently inviting her to perform his song 'Blow Wind' (included in this two-CD concert recording) on stage with his band in Greece the following year.

She, in her turn, introduced Lloyd to her Greek repertoire, both traditional songs and contemporary material by the country's composers, among them the man with whom she is most readily associated, Mikis
Theodorakis. At this Athens concert, recorded in June 2010 in the Theatre of Herodes Atticus at the foot of the Acropolis, they are joined by Lloyd's regular band (pianist Jason Moran, bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Eric Harland) and lyra player Socratis Sinopoulos, plus occasional contributions from pianist Takis Farazis, and the ensemble gels impressively in what Farantouri describes as the 'outpouring topics of the Greek soul: departure, nostalgia, love and exile'.

Her rich, affecting voice blends beautifully with Lloyd's trademark spiritual warble, but with Moran in
particular bringing an adventurous jazz sensibility to the mix, there is just enough grit in the musical oyster to produce a pearl of an album, melancholy, celebratory, hypnotic by turns, but always profoundly moving.

There is a promotional video

Review: Craig Taborn solo

Craig Taborn
(Vortex, Wednesday 25th May 2011. Review and drawing* by Geoff Winston


Nothing, they say, can beat live performance at its best - even a superb studio recording. An assertion which could be no better borne out than by Craig Taborn's mesmerising solo sets at the Vortex, which kicked off a short European tour promoting his first solo ECM release, 'Avenging Angel'.

The album, produced by Manfred Eicher, was recorded on the Steinway in ECM's hallowed Lugano recital room and beautifully captures Taborn's haunting improvisations. The Vortex, with its treasured Steinway placed centre-stage (its welfare the subject of their 'Tip the Piano' campaign), the sympathetic acoustics and living-room intimacy, was the perfect platform for Taborn's intense, virtuosic improvisational process.

Taborn had just flown in from New York, but that did not temper his vibrant creativity and the technical and intellectual challenges he sets himself. Watching his physical style adds another dimension to those captured on disc. It is as though there are no rules for either hand, as his left freely takes over the melodic role from the right and both share the percussive initiatives and independent rhythmic metrics. Taborn embraced the Steinway and at times appeared to dwarf the instrument as he responded to its singularity - its timbres, clarity and resonance.

As on the recording, Taborn makes a point of maintaining the sustains. Letting go of the vaguely Frere Jacques trickle in his second piece he allowed waves of ethereality to drift in and gradually scrunched himself up foetally, head by his hands at the keyboard, with the dying sound leaving a sense of purity which defied description. The ensuing dynamics saw the broad spans of his hands bouncing vigorously, as if off a trampoline, weaving dense rhythmic complexity in the spirit of Nancarrow, with a sprinkling of Tatum.

His hands were ever-active, grabbing clusters of notes or placing chords on to the keyboard with deliberation. Taborn's grace and phrasing can be reminiscent of Satie or John Lewis's solo works, so it was no surprise when he explained that he'd just done a week with Paul Motion revisiting the MJQ's songbook, and that he "had to get [his] head back"! There was power and brilliance to Taborn's execution - a rare instance which invites comparison with Solal. A performance from the core in an environment he loves - "the Vortex feels like home" - and, ultimately, the piano was Taborn's stage.

* Drawing copyright Geoff Winston 2011. All rights reserved.

Avenging Angel is on ECM Records

CD Review: Wolfert Brederode Quartet - Post Scriptum

Wolfert Brederode Quartet - Post Scriptum
(ECM 276 4500. CD Review by Chris Parker

Dutch pianist Wolfert Brederode's first album with his international quartet, Currents, drew this comment from Jazz Journal's Michael Tucker: 'a patiently and intelligently shaped album […] the currents here are mostly deep and slow-moving, sometimes practically hypnotic in their ebb and flow', and this follow-up recording might be described in just the same way.

To assist him in achieving his often mesmeric effect, Brederode has Swiss clarinettist Claudio Puntin, Norwegian bassist Mats Eilertsen (something of an ECM regular, having recorded with Trygve Seim and Tord Gustavsen, among others) and another Swiss, Samuel Rohrer, on drums, and they flicker in and out of prominence around and behind his thoughtful piano musings, creating what Brederode calls 'a very natural way of working together … As we play the music one of us may be "featured" or come to the fore in a particular piece, but these things arise spontaneously, and change constantly.'

The material, mostly in-band originals, nine of the album's fourteen pieces by Brederode himself, is typical ECM fare: softly
pattering, lyrically fluent, occasionally rubato excursions hardening from time to time into quietly intense, subtle interaction between players more
interested in slow builds and unusual textures than in outright swing or straightforward propulsiveness.

Those listeners who came out of Tord Gustavsen's recent Cheltenham concert muttering about the difficulty they had staying awake during it will not be any more impressed with Brederode; more patient souls with a meditative streak, however, will find much to engage them in this painstakingly wrought and oddly compelling music.

ECM Records website