Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
Kandace Springs Sings Billie Holiday
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
Keith Jarrett
(Photo: Rose Anne Colavito)Just in time for the holidays comes a perfect gift for Keith Jarrett fans. On Nov. 18, ECM will release A Multitude Of Angels, a previously unissued set of recordings chronicling a series of solo concerts held in Italy in October 1996. The four-CD set documents four nights of performances from Modena, Ferrara, Turin and Genoa.
Part of a string of live solo recordings he made after La Scala (recorded in 1995 in Milan), A Multitude of Angels marks the end of Jarrett’s self-described “first period” of the solo concerts, a phase documented on ECM recordings from the Bremen-Lausanne set to Sun Bear Concerts.
The box set also marks a significant moment in the development of Jarrett’s artistic process, denoting the conclusion of the pianist’s experiments with extremely long-form improvisation, in which concerts consisted of two continuous sets. As he explains in the album’s liner notes, “These were the last concerts I played having no breaks within each set.”
After these concerts, two years would elapse before Jarrett played in public again, a result of his diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. At home, he recorded The Melody At Night With You in 1997, a solo meditation on pure melody, and returned to the stage with his “Standards” trio—featuring Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums—at the end of 1998.
By the time he had reintegrated solo performances into his repertoire—recording the live album Radiance in 2002—Jarrett’s format had changed, with sets now composed primarily of sequenced improvised pieces.
For collectors of Jarret’s work, A Multitude of Angels is therefore an essential addition, as it signifies the closing of an important chapter in the pianist’s career. The recordings, which were captured by Jarrett himself on a DAT machine, boast a pristine audio quality, making for a clean and immersive listening experience.
“Jazz is ever present here, alongside my deep closeness with classical music (modern and ancient, Ives and Bach),” Jarrett said. “I can only hope you can have the extraordinary experience I had upon re-discovery of this music.”
“There’s nothing quite like it,” Springs says of working with an orchestra. “It’s 60 people working in harmony in the moment. Singing with them is kind of empowering but also humbling at the same time.”
Jun 17, 2025 11:12 AM
When it came time to pose for the cover of her new album, Lady In Satin — a tribute to Billie Holiday’s 1958…
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
Jul 17, 2025 12:44 PM
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
Galper was often regarded as an underrated master of his craft.
Jul 22, 2025 10:58 AM
Hal Galper, a pianist, composer and arranger who enjoyed a substantial performing career but made perhaps a deeper…
Chuck Mangione on the cover of the May 8, 1975, edition of DownBeat.
Jul 29, 2025 1:00 PM
Chuck Mangione, one of the most popular trumpeters in jazz history, passed away on July 24 at home in Rochester, New…
“Hamiet was one of the most underrated musicians ever,” says Whitaker of baritone saxophonist Hamiet Bluiett.
Jul 8, 2025 7:30 AM
At 56, Rodney Whitaker, professor of jazz bass and director of jazz studies at Michigan State University, is equally…
