Keith Jarrett - Standards

With musicians of the caliber of pianist Keith Jarrett, bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Jack DeJohnette, this 10-song, 105-minute performance, recorded in Tokyo in 1985, could hardly be less than outstanding. But two numbers--"Rider" and the Billie Holiday classic "God Bless the Child"--are positively transcendent. Both are reminiscent of the music Jarrett made with his so-called "Nordic quartet" on the brilliant '70s albums Belonging and My Song; gospel-based, powerful--funky, even--with wonderful solos by all three musicians, they have an element rarely found in Jarrett's music–-i.e., fun–-and are themselves worth the price of admission. Not that the other stuff isn't good, too; it is, even with the usual distractions of Jarrett's physical conniptions, his annoying tendency to hum or sing along with his playing, and so on. All in all, a good show, with "Rider" and "God Bless the Child" satisfying the search for the sublime. --Sam Graham