Always Let Me Go / Live in Tokyo
In the liner notes of 2001'sInside Out, Keith Jarrett told us that he and his long-running standards trio would be doing more unscripted free music in the future. Recorded live in Japan, this double-CD is everything this world-class trio is capable of when they are mining pure inspiration to improvise. While in the past this group has taken standards and radically reworked them, here Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette begin with the leap of improvisation: short cells of tuneful melody pop up and fade; a soloist pulls the music in new directions; ideas and interplay reach epic proportions (with two tunes passing the half-hour mark). All in all, this is a fine representation of the band, working at each member's highest creative level. Whereas many groups travel the same old paths after years of working together, this trio rightly chooses new branches, using that long-running trust and familiarity to set off in search of the new and revel in its vibrancy. Bravo.--Tad Hendrickson