Setting Standards (Standards I+II, Changes)

In 1983, Keith Jarrett, who had become a jazz star in the 1970s with solo piano albums such as Solo Concerts: Bremen and Lausanne and The Koln Concert, headed into the studio to record standards with a topflight trio. (Joining him for the occasion was the bassist Gary Peacock and the drummer Jack DeJohnette.) The fruitful session resulted in three albums: Standards, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and Changes, all three of which are being reissued here as Setting Standards: New York Sessions. The trio digs deep into the classics, reimagining them while honoring their great melodies. “All The Things You Are” receives a reading that is by turns delicate and hard-swinging; it’s one of the great instrumental versions of the song. DeJohnette, who absolutely takes off at a number of points on this collection, shows he can keep it delightfully simple on the rousing “God Bless the Child.” The bassist in a piano trio often plays the role of unobtrusive anchor, but Peacock can sound downright fierce here. The third album, Changes, features two cuts, both Jarrett originals: the half-hour long exploration, “Flying,” and “Prism,” a version of which appeared on 1974’s Personal Mountains.