What appeared at first to be simply a continuation of the hugely successful 2010 ECM album, ‘Jasmine‘, the new album, ‘Last Dance’, turned out to be the swan song for the jazz duo, Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden. Charlie Haden died four weeks after its release, on July 11, 2014. The death of the bassist was a huge loss to the international jazz community, and certainly a deep loss for Keith Jarrett, who had met Charlie Haden for the first time at a recording session in the 1970s. Charlie wasn’t there to record alone at the time, but as a member of Jarrett’s newly formed quartet. It wasn’t until thirty years after the quartet’s dissolution, in the midst of a documentary film project dedicated to Charlie Haden, that there was a re-uniting of the two jazz greats. The duo then collaborated on unrehearsed recordings in the relaxed atmosphere of Jarrett’s private studio. The first part of what was recorded at the time can be heard on ‘Jasmine’; and – perhaps as an omen – the second part on the ‘The Last Dance.’ Not only does this herald the end of their musical love affair and the severance of their professional association, but the earthly end to the older of the two musicians.
Free of the rhythmic shackles of a driving drum set, the pianist and bassist immerse themselves in the world of familiar jazz standards; they bring forward their own compositional expressiveness, and record in a relaxed and sympathetic setting for days. And they do so wi thout get t ing lost in lengthy improvisations that often characterize Keith Jarrett in his highly acclaimed worldwide solo performances – perhaps the inevitable result of playing alone as a solitary improviser. Under the obvious influence of Charlie Haden, to whom excess talkativeness was foreign, the twosome played music as pianist and bassist in a recording session – no doubt with Keith Jarrett in its blood, but where Jarrett proved he was fully capable of being brief and to the point. As already with ‘Jasmine’, there’s a constant give and take, a consonance, a coming together of the two musicians in a way that allows the underlying improvisation to be heard in the best possible light. Few interpret and feel the fundamental and deeply touching music like Jarrett and Haden. The unpretentious way in which they listen to each other, their mutual attentiveness – these things were required over and over again in the interface with Sergui Celibidache and the hundred member Munich Philharmonic.These things were tirelessly given, and in moments of ecstasy, well received. So, great things can happen even in the form of a small duo.
Just as with ‘Jasmine‘, ‘Last Dance’ benefits from the typically excellent ECM sound quality; also the conditions that allowed it to become a jazz classic; and for Charlie Haden to receive the posthumous honors so well deserved. Goodbye Charlie.
We listened to this 96 kHz 24-bit FLAC download in an acoustically optimized listening room, through Revel Gem2/B15a loudspeakers, driven by a custommade PWM digital amplifier; with its SPDIF input connected directly to a dedicated audio computer for the downloaded data.
Spectrogram
Sampling rate 96 kHz: verified Bit depth 24 bit: approved
Commentary
What at first glance, because of the limited overtone spectrum of the of the piano, looked more like a recording in the CD format, on closer examination proved to be fullfledged 96 kHz recording.