Keith Jarrett
Death and the Flower

STILL EXCELLENT TODAY HIS MUSIC: a bit dated (and pretentious) the philosophy

Of Keith Jarrett – among many things - it's impressive to see, despite the vastness of his discography, the extreme prolificacy of recordings made in the seventies: evidently a particular period of creative grace where he operated in different and parallel contexts, alternating recordings for ECM solo or with the “European” quartet (Garbarek, Danielsson, Christensen, and himself) with those under the Impulse! label with the so-called “American” quartet, to which we owe this DEATH AND THE FLOWER from 1975. Composed of only three pieces (his own compositions), at the time of its release, it was highly praised by critics and considered a masterpiece, not only for the individual phrases of the sound material but also for the surprising ability to evoke a certain “atmosphere” very in line with the times. Those were times filled with spiritualism (see in KJ's own folder the poem «The illusion of death / The illusion of life» from which the album takes its title) as well as scented with exoticism. In addition, good Keith added his chamber touch and the depth of the partners chosen for this group: Dewey Redman on sax, Charlie Haden on double bass, and Paul Motian on drums, who each had the opportunity to shine. And obviously support each other in mutual dialogue (the duet of KJ and DR in the opening track or that with CH in «Prayer») and in ensemble pieces, which also do not lack tough moments, like the collective improvisation in the central part of «Great Bird» (after all, we are under the Impulse! label, so to speak, one of the “mothers” of free jazz). A musician added for the occasion to the quartet was Brazilian percussionist Guilherme Franco, to give some spicy notes of color. Above all, of course, dominates the personality and grand piano of the leader: no electric keyboards (remarkably so at the time given the drift in this direction of the other two young piano talents, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea). Keith Jarrett's piano, therefore, well anchored in the “modern academic tradition” of Debussy, open to the minimalist influences of Steve Reich and from these towards certain world-music calls, yet undoubtedly loaded with jazz groove: worth it for all in the title track with the riff - as captivating as few - that at the end of the long introduction breaks and changes the flow of sound. All these elements have withstood the passage of time and trends well, and even today, a contemporary listening of Death and The Flower stands up well, and one can close eyes to the pretentious setup of the poetry and the somewhat gaudy cover. In other words, retrospectively, Jarrett is always excellent as a musician, but negligible as a philosopher.