Jarrett’s trio, if it has not already achieved it, is now reaching institutional status. It is music making at the highest level, and since their first sessions in 1983, the trio have remained a benchmark of excellence in jazz, not only in the art of the piano trio but also the art of improvisation. Their musical odyssey has been scrupulously documented by ECM, so why you might ask, another CD? Jarrett himself provides the answer in the liner notes: “If jazz is about swinging, energy and personal ecstasy for the player and the listener, I can think of no other single concert by the trio that expresses these qualities so completely and comprehensively.” So there you have it from the master musician himself. And he’s right. On this two-CD set, Jarrett works out on a series of jazz standards and standards of the American popular song – just what the world needs, you might think, another version of ‘On Green Dolphin Street'. But this one is indispensable, as is this set.

Recorded live at the 2001 Montreux Jazz Festival, you sense the tension but also the joy of music making. When Jarrett first made his debut in the 1960s in his own right under the aegis of George Avakian for the Atlantic label, his second album, recorded live at Shelly’s Manne-Hole in the summer of 1968, included an unusual deviation for someone who was touted as the most forward looking young musician of his generation – two ragtime pieces, ‘Old Rag’ and ‘New Rag.’ Uniquely on My Foolish Heart he again returns to genre, and stride piano, conjuring up the ghost of Fats Waller on ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’ and ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ and on the old standard ‘You Took Advantage of Me.’ In all almost 20 minutes are spent in the ragtime zone, something this post-bop trio has never before attempted, creating a little bit of magic that the Montreux crowd will remember forever. Stuart Nicholson

This review is from Jazzwise Issue #115 to read the most extensive CD, DVD, Book and Live review section out there and receive a Free CD Subscribe Here...