Keith Jarrett - At the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings (ECM, 1994)

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

Recorded June 3-5, 1994

Blue Note Jazz Club, NYC

Engineer: Jan Erik Kongshaug

Keith Jarrett's At the Blue Note: The Complete Recordings comprises six complete sets spread across VI (6) CDs. Because his recordings are so numerous, Jarrett is often unfairly regarded as self-indulgent or excessive. Since all performing artists are self-indulgent (otherwise, why perform?), Jarrett's recordings are more accurately a demonstration of his artistic fecundity, and not many are as prolific as Jarrett. 

I am normally not one to snap up a 6-CD box set when I already have nice vinyl versions of the same trio playing live. However, after acquiring the Blue Note sets, I found that I could play any one of them and experience different facets of the trio's art. The collection of sets in The Complete Recordings is worth the entire 7 hours, 3 minutes, and 38 seconds of play time across 41 tracks.

The moniker, "Standards Trio," is commonly applied to the group, yet every set includes a Jarrett original along with a mix of jazz standards and show tunes. A few of the tunes are played more than once over the three nights, but repetition matters little because the trio never plays anything the same way twice. I am constantly amazed at how many interesting ideas are expressed on practically every track. Many of the most familiar standards become barely recognizable after a few choruses. 

At the Blue Note is all the more impressive because it is a live recording. Studio recordings are safer territory for artists because takes can be repeated until the final take is "perfected." Since the core of jazz as an artform is improvisation, live performance is the ideal testing ground. Jarrett and company obviously thrive on the opportunity to perform "without a net." Remarkable!

It helps that engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug came from Norway to record these New York sessions. The sound is warm, intimate, and carefully balanced. The audience's presence is more felt than heard during the playing; Blue Note customers are well-mannered, respectful and appreciative. Jarrett also curtails his tendency to vocalize while playing except for an occasional ecstatic groan or sigh. 

Kongshaug died in 2019. He receives engineering credit for 7 of my favorites in this blog, trailing only Jim Anderson's 11. 

For my review of Keith Jarrett's Standards Live album, go to:

Post: Edit Standards Live