Keith Jarrett — "The European Quartet" (i.e. Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson, Jon Christensen) albums

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One of the nearly forgotten aspects of Keith Jarrett's prolific 70s work is his output with his so-called "European" quartet: Jan Garbarek (saxes), Palle Danielsson (bass), Jon Christensen (drums), and Keith Jarrett (piano). These albums are really nice and all over the place; ranging anywhere from Keith's pseudo-soul jazzy inflections to Garbarek's borderline free-for-all squawking.

What say you: worthy side project or rightfully forgotten self-indulgence?

Poll Results

Option	Votes
My Song (1977)	4
Nude Ants (1979)	3
Belonging (1974)	2
Personal Mountains (recorded 1979; released 1989)	0
Sleeper (recorded 1979; released 2012)	0

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 23 September 2019 16:44 (four years ago) link

i really need to dive back in to the live albums to properly vote in this one.

but, my preliminary knee-jerk vote is belonging. not to say that they didn't have good things to say after it, but that first one is pretty potent.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Monday, 23 September 2019 16:47 (four years ago) link

voting my song because i find something new in it with every listen.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Friday, 4 October 2019 16:57 (four years ago) link

nude ants is so great. i always loved that it only has three sides. back in the vinyl days. personal mountains was a great discovery when it was released many years after the recording. sleeper i have never heard.

― je est un autre, l'enfer c'est les autres (alex in mainhattan), Friday, 4 October 2019 17:08 (four years ago) link

It's been a while, but I seem to recall enjoying Belonging the most.

― pomenitul, Friday, 4 October 2019 17:14 (four years ago) link

Off the top of my head, I'd rank them like this: Belonging > Personal Mountains > Sleeper > Nude Ants > My Song.

― pomenitul, Friday, 4 October 2019 17:31 (four years ago) link

Partly because pre-1975 Garbarek is unfuckwithable.

― pomenitul, Friday, 4 October 2019 17:32 (four years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

― System, Thursday, 24 October 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link

this era of Jarrett produces some of his most enjoyable music - I think the knock on it is kind of that it feels "unserious," and I think Jarrett internalizes that going forward -- but man. "Belonging" is just gorgeous, and I love "My Song." The pick is between these two for me but it's a tough pick

― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Thursday, 24 October 2019 01:33 (four years ago) link

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

― System, Friday, 25 October 2019 00:01 (four years ago) link

wow, i'm actually kind of surprised at these results, even though my pick ended up winning.

― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Tuesday, 29 October 2019 17:10 (four years ago) link

personal mountains is very good and deserves more than zero votes.

― walking towards the sun since 2007 (alex in mainhattan), Tuesday, 29 October 2019 18:32 (four years ago) link

three months pass...

RIP Jon Christensen. Absolute titan around my parts.

― Mule, Tuesday, 18 February 2020 12:09 (four years ago) link

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