Piano star Jarrett hasn't recorded with bassist Charlie Haden in 30 years – so this duo album of classic standards and ballads, recorded by the pair at the pianist's home studio in 2007 after Jarrett had contributed to a documentary on Haden, has a special resonance. It also has distinctly low-lights feel (Jarrett rarely accelerates beyond a wistful ripple, as Haden gravely marks out the defining notes of the slow-changing chords), but its inner energies glow on closer listening. On For All We Know (opening the set at a pulsing murmur that turns bluesy) and Where Can I Go Without You, Jarrett has rarely conjured fresh motifs on a standard with more nonchalance. No Moon At All playfully unfolds as a quiet jostle of notes, and speeds up into elegantly contrapuntal, initially baroque and then jazzily tumbling melodies over Haden's plummy walking line. Body and Soul is a radical rebuild from the first theme-statement, and the poignant Goodbye and Don't Ever Leave Me are telling examples of Jarrett's clear intention to explore the improv possibilities in these classic themes without disturbing their meditative stillness. Even his famous self-accompanying humming is rigorously kept in check.
John Fordham
The GuardianTramp
