KEITH JARRETT/CHARLIE HADEN - Jasmine

Any follower of Charlie Haden will tell you that his true strengths are most apparent in a duo setting, where you can hear his clear and direct accompaniment style affect whoever he is playing with. He’s been at it for years—from his criminally unavailable A&M Horizon albums in the late seventies through to a dozen or so outings with the likes of Kenny Barron, Hank Jones, Pat Metheny and Ornette Coleman.  As convention dictates, these releases are generally credited to the soloist, but for the experienced listener, the guiding force in these performances is clear. Here we find Haden serving under Keith Jarrett for the first time since the dissolution of the latter’s American quintet in the late '70s. While this recording is a far cry from the sort of stuff they were up to back then, it immediately reveals that the lines of communication developed during the pair’s nearly decade-long association haven’t been lost to the ages.

As a collection of standard ballads performed in a direct style that puts the melody above any clever reharmonizations or flashy solos, Jasmine acts as a sort of sequel to Jarrett’s 1999 solo disc The Melody At Night, With You. Where the difference lies is in the pianist’s license to get a little more outside himself thanks to the presence of Haden, whose warm and full sound describes the harmonies of the tunes in simple, strong lines that would secure even the most flighty soloist.  The sound is strikingly dry for an ECM release—just a clear and honest representation of what seems to have been fairly casual meeting of old pals in Jarrett’s home studio. Serve with pasta or sharp cheeses.