Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette: Inside Out

This trio of master musicians has been playing together so long and with such amazing telepathy through a long series of recordings of standards that have received much acclaim and popularity.  Not so common among their work are totally improvised performances, which is interesting given that they were all young lions in the 1960s when so-called "free jazz" was ascendant.

In the case of Peacock, he was at the apex of that wild era through his work with Albert Ayler on such seminal recordings as Spiritual Unity.  DeJohnette may best be remembered for his youthful exuberance (and proficiency) with Miles Davis in the very late 60s and early 70s--part of this time working in that band with Jarrett.  The leader came up as an astounding prodigy with Charles Lloyd before striking out on his own (excepting his short stint playing electric keyboards for Davis.)

As mature musicians knowing how to use their technical virtuosity in more subtle ways, the trio has justly become famed for their interpretation of pop standards.  With Inside Out, however, which was recorded in London in late July 2000, there was a total reliance on improvisation.  But, instead of speed, dexterity, and power, the music here is filled with Jarrett's lighter touch, Peacock's uncanny way of anchoring the band with his steady pulse, and DeJohnette's understated but complete use of his kit.

There is no screaming, pounding and displays of dazzling technique.  What is present is a trio that has learned over years to listen to each other and then respond in a manner that is inventive, creative, spontaneous, yet still harmonically rich, tonally centered, and able to swing and employ melody while remaining "free."

Well, there is one fantastic exception: an encore rendition of "When I Fall in Love" that is just exquisite.  Performed with great tenderness, aplomb and feeling, this piece is an excellent way to conclude the recording.

It is also notable that this is one of many recordings where the three musicians are named singly as the artists, rather than as the Keith Jarrett Trio.  This seems to be a recognition of equity on Jarrett's part.  He is the bigger name and the record was issued by his label, ECM, but this is a shining example of true group synchronicity.  The trio issued another recording, a double disc set, of live fully improvised pieces in the excellent Always Let Me Go, as well.

Jarrett's liners are very clear: the reason for the title was to take the process of making music and turning it "inside out."  This was done when the pianist suggested to his cohorts that, if their sound check renditions of existing material did not measure up, then they would go completely improvised.  So, the two nights recorded in London turned out to be just that.

Being "attentive" and "in tune" with each other, Jarrett went on, were even more imperative than before and he takes a quick dig at Wynton Marsalis and Ken Burns (whose television series on jazz had just been issued) over what constitutes "free" playing--and it is true that Marsalis, Burns and company gave short shrift to most "free jazz".  Yet, there is plenty of harmony, melody and structure in the improvisation, so it might be seen as a more mature form of free playing.

But, as Jarrett concludes, there is a great deal of blues feeling expressed on this album and he wrote that "sometimes we live the blues even when we're free of the blues."  It might be free, but it's not absent of accessibility, even within a totally improvised format.  Inside Out is a departure from the usual body of work of this great trio, but their approach to working in synthesis is fundamentally unchanged, which makes this album so stellar.

Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman: Song X

Pat Metheny has had great success with his Pat Metheny Group, but lesser known are his occasional forays into "outside" music and he has developed quite a portfolio of collaborations as part of his obvious interest in experimental music.  His "Electric Counterpoint" with minimalist composer Steve Reich and a recent album performing some of John Zorn's Book of Angels works are examples that will be covered here eventually.

One of his more notable collaborative efforts, however, is with alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman on the amazing Song X, Metheny's first album for the newly-launched Geffen label and which was released in 1986.  Back in the early 90s, this was among the first jazz albums purchased by this blogger and it made a big impact then (along with "Electric Counterpoint").  Listening to it nearly a quarter century later does not diminish that feeling. 

Song X was an opportunity for Metheny to "stretch out" and for Coleman to "rein in."  By that, the dense and complex electric funk of the sax giant's Prime Time ensembles was stripped back, allowing Coleman and Metheny to employ the kind of harmonic interplay that stretched back to Coleman's work with Don Cherry in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Making the marriage even more harmonious was the fantastic support of bassist Charlie Haden and the dual drumming of Coleman's son Denardo, who has been an excellent ground for his father over the years, and the always-amazing Jack DeJohnette.

Metheny's decision to record the album live over three days in mid-December 1985 allowed the band to maintain a freshness, immediacy and intensity that could be lacking in something more polished and produced.  Moreover, some of Coleman's best writing is found, either on his own or with collaborative works. 

Among the more adventurous pieces are Coleman's title track and the phenomenal collaboration "Endangered Species."  "Video Games" has a cool theme, reminiscent of some of Coleman's earlier work, but with Metheny harmonizing instead of Cherry and the two go off into extended interplay that is striking.  "Trigonometry" has another one of these fine head arrangements, before Coleman launches into an excellent, exploratory solo, reaching high into the upper register of his alto.   It is also something to hear Haden roaming his bass during Coleman's solo.

Meantime, there are some very fine ballads, including Coleman's "Mob Job" and "Kathelin Gray," by him and Metheny--this latter being one of the prettiest pieces either men has likely done.  Actually, all the pieces are strong, providing for a cohesive and smoothly-flowing sequencing.

For those who want to further revel in the telepathic interplay of the two leaders, "Song X Duo" fits the bill--if anything, at just over three minutes, the piece may be a few minutes too short!  "Long Time No See" is a fine close to a remarkable record and is another piece replete with tight interplay between Metheny and Coleman.  The guitarist even manages some Latin melodic elements in his solo.  Here, as well, the dual drummers do a great job of laying down solid and complex rhythms with nice cymbal work to boot.

Metheny's obvious respect for Coleman is manifested by the fact that, though this was his album and the first for David Geffen's ambitious label, he treated the experience as a true collaboration, giving the saxophonist equal billing and equal time and space.  His guitar work is excellent and understated, not only allowing for Coleman to share plenty of the spotlight, but also for the tremendous support of Haden, Denardo Coleman and DeJohnette to be heard.

Ultimately, Song X is a generous and humble statement of respect by a younger modern musician for one of his musical heroes and it has been viewed as a classic since its release.  A 2004 remastering included six previously unreleased songs.

Pat Metheny/Ornette Coleman:  Song X (Geffen, 1986)

1.  Song X  5:36
2.  Mob Job  4:07
3.  Endangered Species  13:16
4.  Video Games  5:17
5.  Kathelin Gray  4:13
6.  Trigonometry  5:08
7.  Song X Duo  3:10
8.  Long Time No See 7:39

For Fanatics Only: Miles Davis, The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions

After the groundbreaking albums, In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew, introduced yet another phase of trumpeter Miles Davis' remarkable career by launching fully into electronic instrumentation, the next album, 1971's A Tribute to Jack Johnson, which served as a soundtrack to a little-seen documentary about the great African-American boxer from the early 20th century, was poorly promoted by Columbia Records, which chose to devote resources to pushing another Davis record, the Live at the Fillmore East set, and did not sell as well as its predecessors.

Yet, Jack Johnson has attributes to it that make it a compelling continuation in Davis' development with improvisation through jazz, funk, electronic sound, and other elements.  And, as many reviewers have noted, though the ensemble playing in the aforementioned albums was excellent and Teo Macero's distinctive editing was remarkable, Davis' playing on Jack Johnson was probably better.  As importantly, the phenomenal guitarist John McLaughlin made some searing contributions that are notable sonic counterpoints (always a crucial dynamic in Miles' career) to the leader's trumpet.  The rest of the band, including Herbie Hancock on organ (no piano playing here), Michael Henderson on electric bass, drummer Billy Cobham, and young soprano sax player Steve Grossman, performs with great style and interconnectedness.

This is all the remarkable because the recording for the album began at an April 1970 session with the leader arriving late, so McLaughlin began to improvise some riffs and Henderson and Cobham quickly jumped in to provide rhythmic support.  Hancock, who had left Davis' band some time before, happened to be at the studio carrying a bag of groceries and was asked to sit at the Farfisa organ and start playing, though he resisted at first.  Finally Miles came in and, highly impressed by the jamming, quickly got his trumpet together and joined in.  After some major editing by Macero, including lifting material recorded in late 1969 and working on several takes in the main sesion, a 27-minute track called "Right Off" was assembled.

This was followed by another composite of different takes, skillfully edited by Macero with approval from Davis, called "Yesternow" and running only slightly shorter at 25 1/2 minutes.  Riffing off the bass line of James Brown's famed "Say It Loud—I'm Black and I'm Proud", as well as recycling a small section of In a Silent Way's "Shhh/It's Peaceful,"  nearly half of the length of the track was lifted from a piece called "Willie Nelson."  This excerpt, however, featured other musicians who were not credited on the album.  These included bass clarinet player Bennie Maupin, who was so notable on Bitches Brew, electric pianist Chick Corea, bassist Dave Holland, drummer Jack deJohnette, and guitarist Sonny Sharrock.

Years later, the album was finally recognized by fans, critics and musicians for its excellent level of playing and innovative editing, as well as for the important Davis placed on recognizing Johnson as a man of black power long before the movement of that name.

When Columbia began its fantastic series of complete sessions box sets for Miles, its installment released in 2003 for the Jack Johnson period proved to be one that was revelatory because it mined the various takes that not only led to the creation of the heavily-edited albim, but cotemporaneous sessions that included much unreleased material and tracks that appeared on other records, such as the follow-up, Live-Evil, and 1974's Big Fun.

Still, it is five discs crammed with material and you'd have to be a serious Miles fan to even consider acquiring the box.  But, for those who do, there are remarkable moments throughout.  One is the pre-edited versions of "Go Ahead John," which, when it appeared on Big Fun, had been processed by Macero so that the guitar and drums were manipulated and then panned back and forth on both channels.  It likely seemed super-innovative at the time, but the original heard as recorded on this set  shows far more clearly that McLaughlin was truly unique in his playing and could deliver very powerful, heavy and blistering runs that just weren't heard before or since.  Even more killer are minutes of his performances on "Right Off" that were cut from the original album and the wailing and fuzz-box skronk elicited an admiring comment from Davis that there was "some nasty shit" that the guitarist laid down.

Another great discovery is the amazing playing of the largely-unknown Sonny Sharrock, who was likely invited because he seemed as close to Jimi Hendrix, whom Miles greatly admired and planned to work with before the rock god's death several months later, as could be found.  Actually, Sharrock was a masterful slide player and his work on "Willie Nelson" is a great example of that, though interested listeners can hear much more of that in Sharrock's later solo work and with the mind-pummeling Last Exit in the late 80s and early 90s.

Discs 3 and 4 has material that appeared in Live-Evil and features two versions of "Honky Tonk" and some short, haunting and beautiful pieces by Hermeto Pascoal, a Brazilian musician, such as "Little Church" and "Nem un Talvez" that proved to be good mood pieces to break up the intensity of other tracks.  The last disc has a two-part previously unreleased piece called "The Mask" before the album versions of "Right Off" and "Yesternow" appear.

Even though there are sometimes three, four, and even six versions of certain tracks, it is fascinating to hear the process of how Davis and Macero worked to take extended versions and different takes and then carefully edit them down to the final tracks that were released.  Any given listener could probably think of many portions that were left on the cutting room floor and which could have/should have been left in.

But, for true Miles fanatics, especially those who like his so-called "fusion" period, patience and careful listening can reveal so many amazing aspects of the recording process and elements of excellent music that, as with the unfortunate excising of Sharrock's contributions, was left behind.  The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions is a lot of music to take in, but even listening to a disc at a time over, say, a week span, is an exercise in hearing a great musician and a sympathetic producer create some of the most memorable music of the era.