No, this is not a “reunion” of the quintessential trio of Keith Jarrett/p, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette/dr. It’s merely a musical Our Town recording of what was then called “The Standards Trio” captured on a 2 disc set from a 1998 concert in Newark New Jersey. The pianist at the time had returned to live performances after a two year sabbatical, and it comes right before their classic Whisper Not album. This one’s as good, if not better.
The material is an amalgam of bop standards, Songbook classics and a few ringers. Of the latter, Pete La Roca’s “One For Majid” is a bouncing delight, filled with joyful bon bons. Jarrett swoons over material such as “When I Fall In Love” and “Autumn Leaves,” mixing up concision and exploration wonderfully. On the former, a succinct 5 minutes allows the reflections to give just enough emotion, while the latter has everyone stretching out and revving the engine for over 13 minutes.
The team sounds inspired on the bebop hits, as Jarrett is a whirlwind of dexterity on “Scrapple From the Apple” while insouciant on “Bouncing with Bud.” The team takes inspiration of Bill Evans’ famous read of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and adds a few more reindeer as they rev up the groove, while John Coltrane’s “Moment Notice” has the butanes increasing with each chorus.
On repeated listenings to this album and the others by this band during the same period, one has to ask oneself, “Did we appreciate them enough when they were around?” Like Tom Brady, sometimes glory comes afterwards.
ECM Records