Recorded in 2001 live at the
State Opera House in Munich,
Out of Towners features the
Keith Jarrett/
Gary Peacock/
Jack DeJohnette trio in the kind of performance we've come to expect from them these last 21 years: Stellar. Being one of
contemporary jazz's longest-running bands has its advantages; one of them is having nothing to prove. First and foremost, this band plays
standards like no one else. Given their individual careers, the members playing in a trio that performs classics carries a kind of freedom, as well as weight. This material is treated not as museum-piece
jazz, but as the essence of song. Check the whispered elegance of
"I Can't Believe You're in Love With Me." This
Jimmy McHugh-
Clarence Gaskill number has plenty of history being recorded definitively by singers, chronologically by
Billie Holiday and
Frank Sinatra. The trio lean into the lyric phrasing in the body of the tune and turn it gently inside out without ever losing its melodic essence. They follow it with
"You've Changed," a fine exercise in rhythmic invention with a popping, sure-footed
swing throughout. The complete re-vamp of
Cole Porter's
"I Love You" that unfolds over ten minutes digs into the lyric underbelly of the song and brings out so many subtle and shaded nuances it's like hearing the composition for the first time. The lone original on the set is the title track, written by
Jarrett. A sprightly
swing is stretched and molded over nearly 20 minutes, and one can hear everyone from
Horace Silver to
Thelonious Monk to
Hampton Hawes in
Jarrett's approach, underscored by
Peacock's strident basslines that walk the edge of
DeJohnette's cymbal-caressed beat. The big surprise is the elegant, finger-popping read of
Gerry Mulligan's
"Five Brothers." Its skipping melody is folded inside waves of harmonic interweaving by
Jarrett through the body taken in a knotty
swing that is given wings by the rhythm section. Besides the wondrous performance, the sound of this recording should be noted. Its warmth is immediate, its very close and intimate sound makes the listener feel as if she were in the middle of the stage taking this all in, not in the audience. This is an accomplishment on all fronts. ~ Thom Jurek
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