AHHH! This is the ECM that I know and love! What we’ve got here is an archive recording of a Tokyo concert from 1979 with pianist Keith Jarrett accompanied by Jan Garbarek/ts-ss-fl-perc, Palle Danielsson/b and Jon Christensen/dr-perc, performing acoustic jazz at a time that most other artists were either partially going electric or completely jumping onto the fusion bandwagon. The music here finds Jarrett in an uncannily inspired mood; he sounds like he has something to prove, and the interplay between him and Garbarek on driving pieces like “Personal Mountains” and “Innocense” creates flying sparks. It’s easy to forget that Jarrett used to be this supercharged, and he sounds, both digitally and vocally, motivated to keep up with the 97 octane surperdrive provided by the rhythm section.
This is a concert performance, so these guys are able to stretch out to their heart’s content, a 23 minute reading of “Oasis” has some exotic flute work and percussion that takes you out into Bedouin territory, while “Prism” mixes ethereal dreamy ivories with cirrus clouds of breezy energy on bass and drums. Huzzahs to ECM for bringing this one out into the light. Enjoy!!!
ECM Records