Keith Jarrett - Facing You (1972/2015) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/192kHz]

The stunning ECM debut that unleashed one of the greatest piano players of our time. Using jazz as an excuse, Jarrett initiated and indoctrinated us with improvised solo piano, something to which listeners would become used to over the next three decades. Facing You is boogie-woogie, country hoedown, blues, folk, rock 'n' roll-flavoured jazz, and is still an astonishing album. The music press at the time of issue were bereft of ideas about how to categorize him; it would have been much simpler just to wallow in the music. Much of Jarrett's and Manfred Eicher's future musical philosophy started out with this important record.

Facing You is one of the most important recordings in contemporary jazz for several reasons, aside from being beautifully conceived and executed by pianist Keith Jarrett. It is a hallmark recording of solo piano in any discipline, a signature piece in the early ECM label discography, a distinct departure from mainstream jazz, a breakthrough for Jarrett, and a studio prelude for his most famous solo project to follow, The Köln Concert. Often meditative, richly melodic, inventive, and introspective beyond compare, Jarrett expresses his soul in tailored tones that set standards for not only this kind of jazz, but music that would serve him and his fans in good stead onward. In this program of all originals, which sound spontaneously improvised with certain pretexts and motifs as springboards, the rhapsodic "Ritooria," 4/4 love/spirit song "Lalene," and song for family and life "My Lady; My Child" firmly establish Jarrett's heartfelt and thoughtful approach. "Vapallia" cements the thematic, seemingly effortless, lighter – but never tame – aesthetic. "Starbright" is an easy-paced two-step tune signifying fully Jarrett's personalized stance. Straddling a more jagged, angular, and free edge, the pianist evokes the influence of Paul Bley during "Semblence" (sic). But it is the opening selection, an extended ten-minute opus titled "In Front," that truly showcases Jarrett at his playful best – a timeless, modal, direct, and bright delight. A remarkable effort that reveals more and more with each listen, this recording has stood the test of time, and is unquestionably a Top Three recording in Keith Jarrett's long and storied career.

Tracklist:

01 - In Front
02 - Ritooria
03 - Lalene
04 - My Lady, My Child
05 - Landscape For Future Earth
06 - Starbright
07 - Vapallia
08 - Semblence

Produced by Manfred Eicher. Engineered by Jan Erik Kongshaug.
Recorded on November 10, 1971 at Arne Bendiksen Studio, Oslo, Norway.


Thanks to the Original customer!