Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Keith Jarrett: Budapest Concert

19

Keith Jarrett: Budapest Concert

By

Sign in to view read count
Keith Jarrett: Budapest Concert
Burdened as it is by the news that, due to two strokes suffered in 2018, Keith Jarrett's glorious art of live composition is all but over, Budapest Concert has some serious heavy lifting to do. Triumphant and transcendent, it rises to the grand occasion and leaves the listener marveling at how any artist, of any age, of any discipline, can still capture the moment and the imagination so singularly as Jarrett does sixty years down the line.

Recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall during his last tour in 2016, the double disc Budapest Concert finds Jarrett in full form two weeks earlier than the still remarkable Munich Concert (ECM, 2019). Part punk and part Prokofiev, "Part I" is a frenzied opening salvo, a stop-start fusillade tumble of time, tempo, and suggested theory which would exhaust most younger players and leaves the listener playing catch-up. It is the longest piece of the evening raging just under fifteen minutes and tears the veil off without hesitancy. But though each piece has its own quixotic flash of inspiration, the rest of the first half of the concert, "Part II," "Part III," and "Part IV" respectively, posits Jarrett in an extremely pensive if not unsettled state of mind. As if he has yet to find what he is looking for or in doubt that maybe, on this particular night, in front of this particular audience, he won't find it.

"Part V," an all engaging lyrical lullaby, opens the second half with the instant sense that Jarrett has found his way and indeed he has. "Part VI" is a loquacious roadhouse rout, one of those pure Jarrett moments, as are the subsequent, meditative rhapsodies "Part VII" and "Part VIII." Coming from the quiet as we were "Part IX" is a brief flash pot. "Part X," a left hand dominant exercise, may be a brief stumble from the preceding heights, but it only serves to amplify the magnetism grace of "Part XI" and the bouncing and fanciful "Part XII," one of those blues revelries every audience since The Koln Concert (ECM, 1975) waits for with baited breath. As has become traditional in his late years, Jarrett closes with two extremely wistful renderings of "It's A Lonesome Old Town" and "Answer Me," making the Budapest Concert a one night stand of long lasting beauty.

Track Listing

Part I; Part II; Part III; Part IV; Part V; Part VI; Part VII; Part VIII; Part IX; Part X; Part XI; Part XII Blues; It's A Lonesome Old Town; Answer Me.

Personnel

Album information

Title: Budapest Concert | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: ECM Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.