Somewhere

JARRETT / PEACOCK / DEJOHNETTE: Somewhere
ECM, 2013

MODERN JAZZ – 30 years after their first recording, one of the most highly acclaimed groups in jazz history returns with a live set from 2009. As always, they turn old standards on their head with a fluid, exploratory interplay that sounds so organic it’s easy to forget they aren’t making up those tunes on the spot. Jarrett’s trademark grunts and groans are mercifully downplayed in the recording mix, but still loud enough to distract at times. Watch out for applause at the end of tracks.

Keith Jarrett : piano
Gary Peacock : bass
Jack DeJohnette : drums

All marvelous. Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 4

1. 15:07 – meditative/spaced-out solo piano improvisation drifts into bluesy Miles Davis classic; the trio dances around the melody… so great!
2. 7:27 – ballad, slow and romantic, played straight with lovely piano
3. 10:03 – jaunty swing standard has a Monkish playfulness, warped rhythm
4. 19:37 – starts with ballad from “West Side Story,” very serene and pretty, but after 8 or 9 minutes it begins sliding into an upbeat tribal groove that just keeps rolling with a great, optimistic, lighter-than-air feel
5. 6:49 – more “West Side Story,” bright and cheerful, piano solo grooves hard
6. 6:30 – relaxed and just a bit wistful: nice trio interplay, lengthy applause

[ Fo ] - 13 June 2013