Keith Jarrett Trio 

Standards Live

★★★★

Keith Jarrett is an undisputed king of his craft; that being improvisation. I've been on a bit of a piano trio listening spree recently and this fit comfortably in with the others. Like Bill Evans before him, Jarrett is able to transport the humble trio setting into something greater. While it might not be as straightforwardly beautiful, it takes time and dedication to appreciate its full beauty. 

This also happens to be a live recording with his American group, composed of Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette. This group has recorded multiple studio sessions of their versions of standards, and this is their display of finally bringing it to the stage. And I should add, it's better that way. You can hear the joy and enthusiasm in the crowd by the end, they know they have listened to a genius at work with this talented and cooperative sidemen.  

The versions of standards that are presented here start off pretty basic, almost to the point. But they slowly start drifting and changing from their original standard composition. They slowly but surely end up as something completely original that only someone like Jarrett could create. There's good variety for his playing style too; intensely rapid key tapping to almost bluesy and molasses like playing that seems to drag you and leave you heavy. 

And Jarrett is really into it too, he seems a bit more vocal at the piano than most of his other recordings. The bass playing is superb and the solos DeJohnette takes really sets him apart from all other percussionists at the time. If you're looking for some straightforward, vanilla standards then don't come here. This transforms each idea into something completely different but also similar, and this attribute keeps it unique even 30 years later. 

Favorite Song: The Way You Look Tonight