Personal Mountains
Personal Mountains
ASIN: B000008BD6
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In the late 1970s, Keith Jarrett was leading both an American quartet and a European one, though the designations referred strictly to the makeup of the groups, not to the venues they played. These 1979 recordings by the European band were made during a tour of Japan. On five of the pianist's tunes, there's exceptional group interaction between Jarrett and Scandinavians Jan Garbarek, on tenor and soprano sax, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. That interplay shows to best advantage in the extended performances here, the turbulent title tune and the moody, dissonant "Oasis," the group's individual voices coming together in tense, vibrant dialogue. The funky "Late Night Willie" takes full advantage of Garbarek's R&B sound, while Jarrett shines on the luminous ballad "Prism" and the hymnlike simplicity of "Innocence." Personal Mountains is as well sustained as the group's studio set, My Song, or the contemporaneous Nude Ants from the Village Vanguard. --Stuart Broomer
Personal Mountains,Keith Jarrett with Jan Garbarek,Ecm Records,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Post-Bop
Average customer rating:
- Should Not Have Been Released...Maybe
- A timeless classic
- Sublime live recording
- Stormy, lyrical and luminous
- Keith and Jan on the top of the mountain !
|
Personal Mountains
Keith Jarrett with Jan Garbarek
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
 Bebop General
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Modern Postbebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
ECM Classical
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
ECM Jazz & World
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Belonging
- Nude Ants
- My Song
- The Survivor's Suite
- The Carnegie Hall Concert
ASIN: B000008BD6
Release Date: 2000-05-09 |
Tracks:
- Personal Mountains
- Prism
- Oasis
- Innocence
- Late Night Willie
Amazon.com
In the late 1970s, Keith Jarrett was leading both an American quartet and a European one, though the designations referred strictly to the makeup of the groups, not to the venues they played. These 1979 recordings by the European band were made during a tour of Japan. On five of the pianist's tunes, there's exceptional group interaction between Jarrett and Scandinavians Jan Garbarek, on tenor and soprano sax, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. That interplay shows to best advantage in the extended performances here, the turbulent title tune and the moody, dissonant "Oasis," the group's individual voices coming together in tense, vibrant dialogue. The funky "Late Night Willie" takes full advantage of Garbarek's R&B sound, while Jarrett shines on the luminous ballad "Prism" and the hymnlike simplicity of "Innocence." Personal Mountains is as well sustained as the group's studio set, My Song, or the contemporaneous Nude Ants from the Village Vanguard. --Stuart Broomer
Customer Reviews:
Should Not Have Been Released...Maybe.......2007-01-20
This cd should not have been released because it adds really nothing to this Jarrett quartet's other three releases. It's like taking a fat paint brush full of cheap house paint and making a greasy mess of what WAS a very beautiful triptych. "Belonging," "My Song," and "Nude Ants" are all virtuoso, spiritually empowered performances and should by all means be purchased and enjoyed. But, I'd go nada on this one if I were you.
I was sitting with my 88-year-old mother listening to the last track and complaining about how lame it was and she said it was "hum-drum." And she's 88, likes Lawrence Welk and it was past her bedtime. (It's past "Late Night Willie's" bedtime too, I hate to tell you.) Heck, I've heard high school jazz bands cook twice as hot as this "Keith and the Somnambulists" incarnation. Garbarek sounds like he's going to give himself a hernia trying to get out the altissimos. I can't think of one interesting drum riff in the whole 61 minutes plus. (Neither can Christensen.) Les Scandinavianes sound like they need about 10 hours sleep and then, maybe, they start thinking about picking up musical instruments. Jarrett is as wired as ever, but even he can't keep up with some of the tempos and the overall mood is disoriented, forced and cumbersome. How any reviewer can say that this release captures the quartet's tight integration, displayed amazingly well elsewhere, is beyond me.
With the exception of "Innocence," none of the compositions are very good, either. "Oasis" has an interesting, if dire, melody line, but it can't summon the required ambience because of all of the clutter and dog poop around it.
Unlike the other three releases mentioned above, this one has very little magnetism - the first track is all rambling rose jazz, where none of the musicians are feeding off each other. I don't enjoy this kind of jazz, so cliched and unintegrated. It contains that Jarrettian need to rush things and gang jump the tempo with heavy-handed neurosis peddled as jazz fusion. You feel like some nut in a BMW is suddenly sitting 10 inches off your bumper, too demented to use the passing lane. (Yes, I know Keith has mastered his scales and likes to crack knuckles with tempos and, yes, I now have a headache.) There is an interesting part at the end, however, where Garbarek cuts way back on the throttle and swaggers around in the lower and upper registers of his tenor sax in some nice ways. But the transition is contrived at best and bears no organic relation to the first part.
Only "Innocence" benefits from the fact that these guys are probably taking a red eye flight to New York soon. It is a beautiful lullabye, arguably Jarrett's best composition. True, the "Nude Ants" version is all you need really, but something happens on this version of the song that is very special. Jarrett puts in one of his best, if not his best, jazz piano performances. The composition is perfectly suited to his virtuosity and sensitivities and the somnambulists, who are still pulling a Code 9, can't screw it up even if they want to. (There is a halo around Keith Jarrett's head I bet you.) Garbarek (somnambulist #1) plays the melody with a lot of heart, but he screws up the tempo in a very brief, weak improvisation. The man is tapped, knows it and decides it's time to end the song. Palle Danielsson (somnambulist #2) misses a lot of notes (doubly bad on double bass) and goes off into an ill-conceived, top-heavy improvisation right at the beginning of the song. Like Garbarek, he knows enough to STOP and retreat, letting Jarrett take over. I can't remember a dang thing about somnambulist #3 (Christensen). But Jarrett's effort cannot be touched and he plays like a true wizard. A week later at the Village Vangard ("Nude Ants"), they'll all be playing at this level.
If anything, I'd like to see the PM version of "Innocence" included in a compilation of the best concert performances by this quartet rather than a whole release of this mediocre concert. For the most part here, we get hum-drum mountains, where many of the great riffs from the releases mentioned above are handled like a shaky old butler serving up tea, with people getting burned and tablecloths getting ruined.
In particular, Garbarek's performance on "Nude Ants" is far superior to this one and maybe the mean streets of Greenwich Village got his "Norwegian up." Maybe they weren't so sure if they were going to make it back to the hotel alive - New York USED to be like this you know - and, well, it just might be your last gig. On "Personal Mountains," it's all polite "thank yous" and Japanese clapping robotically. Not a tinkling glass of booze in the whole schmooze. Not even a bonze meditating for more. But, that Manfred Eicher, such a card, I tell you.
A timeless classic.......2001-10-13
This brilliant live recording from 1979, by one of the all-time great jazz combos, Keith Jarrett's "European Quartet", was hidden in ECM's vault for ten years before being released in 1989. This will always remain a huge mystery to me, because in my opinion this album is perhaps Jarrett's best, and certainly most underrated, album. Everything about this album is superlative. The compositions (all Jarrett originals) are, without exeption, marvellous, displaying a range of emotional expressions such as beauty ("Prism", "Innocence"), drama ("Personal Mountains"), mystery ("Oasis") and playfulness ("Late Night Willie"). But this music, distinctly timeless in nature, conveys so much more than what is possible to encapsulate in a few cliched characteristics. The solos are consistently of the highest level. Jarrett's perfectly structured piano solo on "Prism" is quite simply one of the best solos in the history of recorded jazz. A stunning example of free-flowing chromatic beauty. The understanding and inter-play between the musicians are also breathtaking, especially considering that this was not a regular working group. Although highly accessible, there is a depth and beauty to this music that demands endlessly repeated listening. Two of the compositions on the album ("Oasis" and "Innocence") were previously released on the live double-album "Nude Ants", recorded only a few weeks later than the material on "Personal Mountains". Although "Nude Ants" is a nice album, "Personal Mountains" is far superior in almost every sense. The sound quality is far better, and Jan Garbarek, who is not heard in top form on "Nude Ants", delivers one of his best ever recorded performances. This makes it even more more puzzling that the material on "Nude Ants" were chosen for release ahead of the "Personal Mountains" material. The 10-year delay in release is probably a main reason why this album never has achieved the status it richly deserves, namely that of being one of the very best small-group recordings in jazz history. No less.
Sublime live recording.......2001-05-19
Held in ECM's vaults for ten years before its release, this is one gem of a concert disc. One week before Jarrett's Scandinavian quartet went into the studio to record 'Nude Ants', they tried out some of the tracks at this magnificent concert in Tokyo.
I've owned this CD for a further ten years without giving it any special attention, and it has only been in the past few days in preparation for writing this review that I realise how wonderful it is. Side One of the LP is particularly good: in 'Personal Mountains', the band switch several times from loud to soft, and the interplay between Jarrett and Garbarek reminds me of what has been missing from Garbarek's albums over the past decade. Danielsson's bass intro to 'Prism' is sheer poetry; for the moment at least, I feel that 'Prism' is the most beautiful I have ever heard.
Jon Christensen's drumming also needs a mention, if only because it matured so much in the space between the quartet's first record and this, their penultimate. (Perhaps it's just me, but I feel that the drums on 'Belonging' could have been much better recorded.) On the 'Personal Mountains' album, Christensen achieves the variety and dexterity that Motian gave the American quartet.
The Japanese audience is quietly appreciative. Presumably, knowing Jarrett's flair in the 70s for constant improvisation, they didn't expect to recognise any of the tunes. But they could have been a little more voluble, given the genius that was on display.
This is one of the best concert records I've ever heard.
Stormy, lyrical and luminous.......2001-01-12
This is European jazz of the highest order. In the absence of a strong Afro-American input it doesn't swing or swagger but the rhythm section is beautifully supple and springy throughout and the lyricism of Jarrett and Garbarek warms the soul.
The title track is a stormer, whipping along at a furious pace and sometimes teetering on the brink of madness, yet never losing the plot. It then segues into reflectiveness, setting the tone for the beautiful Prism that follows.
Having Jarrett and Garbarek share the spotlight is great for both of them. They play off each other's lyricism and explore purposefully, but without the meandering they're apt to indulge in as solo front men.
I actually feel more five stars than four stars about this album but that's because I usually skip the throwaway "Late Night Willie", a bit of would-be bluesy fluff that doesn't fit the tone of the rest.
Keith and Jan on the top of the mountain !.......1999-03-23
I am very surprised noone has reviewed this work before :). "Personal Mountains" is a volcano, hurricane, inundation and earthquake of the sound, utterly expressive , yet amazingly lyrical ("Prism"). An absolutely breathtaking recording, which cocnludes the existence of the magnificent "Belonging" or "European Quartet"... I`ve always been saying their music is much more interesting and eloquent, than works of Keith Jarrett`s "American Quartet". "Oasis" and "Innocence" are also present on " Nude Ants" as concert versions. I think "Oasis" is great on both CDs, whereas "Innocence" is more "innocent" on "Nude Ants"
Average customer rating:
- Should Not Have Been Released...Maybe
- A timeless classic
- Sublime live recording
- Stormy, lyrical and luminous
- Keith and Jan on the top of the mountain !
|
Personal Mountains
Keith Jarrett with Jan Garbarek
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
Bebop General
| Bebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Modern Postbebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
ECM Classical
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
ECM Jazz & World
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
Similar Items:
- Belonging
- Nude Ants
- My Song
- The Survivor's Suite
- The Carnegie Hall Concert
ASIN: B0000031V0
Release Date: 1994-04-26 |
Tracks:
- Personal Mountains
- Prism
- Oasis
- Innocence
- Late Night Willie
Amazon.com
In the late 1970s, Keith Jarrett was leading both an American quartet and a European one, though the designations referred strictly to the makeup of the groups, not to the venues they played. These 1979 recordings by the European band were made during a tour of Japan. On five of the pianist's tunes, there's exceptional group interaction between Jarrett and Scandinavians Jan Garbarek, on tenor and soprano sax, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. That interplay shows to best advantage in the extended performances here, the turbulent title tune and the moody, dissonant "Oasis," the group's individual voices coming together in tense, vibrant dialogue. The funky "Late Night Willie" takes full advantage of Garbarek's R&B sound, while Jarrett shines on the luminous ballad "Prism" and the hymnlike simplicity of "Innocence." Personal Mountains is as well sustained as the group's studio set, My Song, or the contemporaneous Nude Ants from the Village Vanguard. --Stuart Broomer
Customer Reviews:
Should Not Have Been Released...Maybe.......2007-01-20
This cd should not have been released because it adds really nothing to this Jarrett quartet's other three releases. It's like taking a fat paint brush full of cheap house paint and making a greasy mess of what WAS a very beautiful triptych. "Belonging," "My Song," and "Nude Ants" are all virtuoso, spiritually empowered performances and should by all means be purchased and enjoyed. But, I'd go nada on this one if I were you.
I was sitting with my 88-year-old mother listening to the last track and complaining about how lame it was and she said it was "hum-drum." And she's 88, likes Lawrence Welk and it was past her bedtime. (It's past "Late Night Willie's" bedtime too, I hate to tell you.) Heck, I've heard high school jazz bands cook twice as hot as this "Keith and the Somnambulists" incarnation. Garbarek sounds like he's going to give himself a hernia trying to get out the altissimos. I can't think of one interesting drum riff in the whole 61 minutes plus. (Neither can Christensen.) Les Scandinavianes sound like they need about 10 hours sleep and then, maybe, they start thinking about picking up musical instruments. Jarrett is as wired as ever, but even he can't keep up with some of the tempos and the overall mood is disoriented, forced and cumbersome. How any reviewer can say that this release captures the quartet's tight integration, displayed amazingly well elsewhere, is beyond me.
With the exception of "Innocence," none of the compositions are very good, either. "Oasis" has an interesting, if dire, melody line, but it can't summon the required ambience because of all of the clutter and dog poop around it.
Unlike the other three releases mentioned above, this one has very little magnetism - the first track is all rambling rose jazz, where none of the musicians are feeding off each other. I don't enjoy this kind of jazz, so cliched and unintegrated. It contains that Jarrettian need to rush things and gang jump the tempo with heavy-handed neurosis peddled as jazz fusion. You feel like some nut in a BMW is suddenly sitting 10 inches off your bumper, too demented to use the passing lane. (Yes, I know Keith has mastered his scales and likes to crack knuckles with tempos and, yes, I now have a headache.) There is an interesting part at the end, however, where Garbarek cuts way back on the throttle and swaggers around in the lower and upper registers of his tenor sax in some nice ways. But the transition is contrived at best and bears no organic relation to the first part.
Only "Innocence" benefits from the fact that these guys are probably taking a red eye flight to New York soon. It is a beautiful lullabye, arguably Jarrett's best composition. True, the "Nude Ants" version is all you need really, but something happens on this version of the song that is very special. Jarrett puts in one of his best, if not his best, jazz piano performances. The composition is perfectly suited to his virtuosity and sensitivities and the somnambulists, who are still pulling a Code 9, can't screw it up even if they want to. (There is a halo around Keith Jarrett's head I bet you.) Garbarek (somnambulist #1) plays the melody with a lot of heart, but he screws up the tempo in a very brief, weak improvisation. The man is tapped, knows it and decides it's time to end the song. Palle Danielsson (somnambulist #2) misses a lot of notes (doubly bad on double bass) and goes off into an ill-conceived, top-heavy improvisation right at the beginning of the song. Like Garbarek, he knows enough to STOP and retreat, letting Jarrett take over. I can't remember a dang thing about somnambulist #3 (Christensen). But Jarrett's effort cannot be touched and he plays like a true wizard. A week later at the Village Vangard ("Nude Ants"), they'll all be playing at this level.
If anything, I'd like to see the PM version of "Innocence" included in a compilation of the best concert performances by this quartet rather than a whole release of this mediocre concert. For the most part here, we get hum-drum mountains, where many of the great riffs from the releases mentioned above are handled like a shaky old butler serving up tea, with people getting burned and tablecloths getting ruined.
In particular, Garbarek's performance on "Nude Ants" is far superior to this one and maybe the mean streets of Greenwich Village got his "Norwegian up." Maybe they weren't so sure if they were going to make it back to the hotel alive - New York USED to be like this you know - and, well, it just might be your last gig. On "Personal Mountains," it's all polite "thank yous" and Japanese clapping robotically. Not a tinkling glass of booze in the whole schmooze. Not even a bonze meditating for more. But, that Manfred Eicher, such a card, I tell you.
A timeless classic.......2001-10-13
This brilliant live recording from 1979, by one of the all-time great jazz combos, Keith Jarrett's "European Quartet", was hidden in ECM's vault for ten years before being released in 1989. This will always remain a huge mystery to me, because in my opinion this album is perhaps Jarrett's best, and certainly most underrated, album. Everything about this album is superlative. The compositions (all Jarrett originals) are, without exeption, marvellous, displaying a range of emotional expressions such as beauty ("Prism", "Innocence"), drama ("Personal Mountains"), mystery ("Oasis") and playfulness ("Late Night Willie"). But this music, distinctly timeless in nature, conveys so much more than what is possible to encapsulate in a few cliched characteristics. The solos are consistently of the highest level. Jarrett's perfectly structured piano solo on "Prism" is quite simply one of the best solos in the history of recorded jazz. A stunning example of free-flowing chromatic beauty. The understanding and inter-play between the musicians are also breathtaking, especially considering that this was not a regular working group. Although highly accessible, there is a depth and beauty to this music that demands endlessly repeated listening. Two of the compositions on the album ("Oasis" and "Innocence") were previously released on the live double-album "Nude Ants", recorded only a few weeks later than the material on "Personal Mountains". Although "Nude Ants" is a nice album, "Personal Mountains" is far superior in almost every sense. The sound quality is far better, and Jan Garbarek, who is not heard in top form on "Nude Ants", delivers one of his best ever recorded performances. This makes it even more more puzzling that the material on "Nude Ants" were chosen for release ahead of the "Personal Mountains" material. The 10-year delay in release is probably a main reason why this album never has achieved the status it richly deserves, namely that of being one of the very best small-group recordings in jazz history. No less.
Sublime live recording.......2001-05-19
Held in ECM's vaults for ten years before its release, this is one gem of a concert disc. One week before Jarrett's Scandinavian quartet went into the studio to record 'Nude Ants', they tried out some of the tracks at this magnificent concert in Tokyo.
I've owned this CD for a further ten years without giving it any special attention, and it has only been in the past few days in preparation for writing this review that I realise how wonderful it is. Side One of the LP is particularly good: in 'Personal Mountains', the band switch several times from loud to soft, and the interplay between Jarrett and Garbarek reminds me of what has been missing from Garbarek's albums over the past decade. Danielsson's bass intro to 'Prism' is sheer poetry; for the moment at least, I feel that 'Prism' is the most beautiful I have ever heard.
Jon Christensen's drumming also needs a mention, if only because it matured so much in the space between the quartet's first record and this, their penultimate. (Perhaps it's just me, but I feel that the drums on 'Belonging' could have been much better recorded.) On the 'Personal Mountains' album, Christensen achieves the variety and dexterity that Motian gave the American quartet.
The Japanese audience is quietly appreciative. Presumably, knowing Jarrett's flair in the 70s for constant improvisation, they didn't expect to recognise any of the tunes. But they could have been a little more voluble, given the genius that was on display.
This is one of the best concert records I've ever heard.
Stormy, lyrical and luminous.......2001-01-12
This is European jazz of the highest order. In the absence of a strong Afro-American input it doesn't swing or swagger but the rhythm section is beautifully supple and springy throughout and the lyricism of Jarrett and Garbarek warms the soul.
The title track is a stormer, whipping along at a furious pace and sometimes teetering on the brink of madness, yet never losing the plot. It then segues into reflectiveness, setting the tone for the beautiful Prism that follows.
Having Jarrett and Garbarek share the spotlight is great for both of them. They play off each other's lyricism and explore purposefully, but without the meandering they're apt to indulge in as solo front men.
I actually feel more five stars than four stars about this album but that's because I usually skip the throwaway "Late Night Willie", a bit of would-be bluesy fluff that doesn't fit the tone of the rest.
Keith and Jan on the top of the mountain !.......1999-03-23
I am very surprised noone has reviewed this work before :). "Personal Mountains" is a volcano, hurricane, inundation and earthquake of the sound, utterly expressive , yet amazingly lyrical ("Prism"). An absolutely breathtaking recording, which cocnludes the existence of the magnificent "Belonging" or "European Quartet"... I`ve always been saying their music is much more interesting and eloquent, than works of Keith Jarrett`s "American Quartet". "Oasis" and "Innocence" are also present on " Nude Ants" as concert versions. I think "Oasis" is great on both CDs, whereas "Innocence" is more "innocent" on "Nude Ants"
Average customer rating:
|
Personal Mountains
Keith Jarrett
Manufacturer: Ecm
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
Modern Postbebop
| Jazz
| Styles
| Music
ECM Classical
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
ECM Jazz & World
| ECM Records
| Amazon.com Label Stores
| Stores
| Music
Jazz
| Imports
| Stores
| Music
ASIN: B00006HB7X
Release Date: 2007-03-14 |
Tracks:
- Personal M0untains
- Prism
- Oasis
- Innocence
- Late Ngiht Willie
Album Description
Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.
Album Details
Japanese Digitally Remastered Limited Edition Gold Disc Issue of the Jarrett Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.
Jazz Music:
- Rare Requests, Vol. 4
- Rarum, Vol. 5: Selected Recordings
- Roll Call [Original recording remastered]
- Sci-Fi
- Secret [Import]
- Softly
- Solo: Improvisations for Expanded Piano
- Solo Voyage
- Songs Without Words
- Soul Shadows
Jazz Music
Jazz Music