Keith Jarrett European Quartet

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Keith Jarrett European Quartet · Keith Jarrett's European Quartet was a jazz quartet with the pianist Keith Jarrett, the saxophonist Jan Garbarek, bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Jon Christensen. The band came about in the 1970s, after Jarrett had left his esteemed American quartet for a new group of Norwegians and Swedes. The jazz world was surprised and a little sceptical. Even so, according to the critic Ted Gioia, this group made some of the most successful music of Jarrett's career.

Music and breakthrough

The first album was Belonging (1974) and the second My Song, recorded in November 1977 and released in June 1978 on ECM. Jarrett wrote all six pieces. According to the review site AllMusic, they are relaxed and introspective, but full of inner tension. The title track My Song became very popular and made the record the best-known collaboration between Jarrett and Garbarek. The piece The Journey Home shows how wide-ranging the music could be. It begins melancholy and free in tempo, moves into a cheerful, folk-like melody with a danceable beat and ends in a slow section in 9/8.

Influence

The quartet's sound is known as looser and more unpredictable than that of the American group. Many critics still praise that freedom today more than the tighter music of the American group.

Listening

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  My Song · Keith Jarrett European Quartet, 1977