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Customer Reviews of Arbour Zena

Restrained Artistry for a Refined Taste
Ever in the mood for something a little more soothing? This is a recording made for just those occasions. Less frenetic than "Backhand", more accessible than "Fort Yawuh", "Arbour Zena" is Jarrett at his most measured and thoughtful. There are no drums, so the music doesn't really swing, let alone rock, but that doesn't mean there isn't something moving about these three long compositions for piano, bass, sax, and strings.

"Runes" has Jarrett framing chords for the strings, while sax master Jan Garbarek adds sinuous glissandos and Charlie Haden provides drive with the high "chattering" bass assault that he has used to great effect on some of Jarrett's gamelan pieces. The effect is that of an ancient spirit of the veldt speaking to us in fervid, almost menacing tones. "Solara March" wanders through some gentle, delicate themes for while, until Jarrett picks out a solid rhythm and the music starts to move. "Mirrors" is the longest track, the strings starting with a hymn-like, almost fugal structure. There's a more strongly rhythmic passage toward the middle, and a section where piano, sax, and strings are all putting out lines at a more urgent pace, but the overall effect, while beautiful, is more relaxing than exciting.

Jarrett says that the music on this album was composed rather than improvised, although much of it certainly has an improvised feel. One by-product of this is that the sometimes annoying, (and even off-key) accompaniment of Jarrett's thin, squeaky voice is wholly absent here, a fact that some listeners may consider a godsend. Overall, this material is stately, graceful, lyrical, and somehow very reassuring. If you've stayed away from Jarrett because you found him too raucous, this could be the CD that changes your mind. Restrained artistry for a more refined taste.

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Visionary Jarrett Masterpiece
Wynton Marsalis, the current Stalin of the Jazz world has systematically disparged jazz of the 1970's, Jazz that opened new vistas, or used non-traditional instrumentation. Would that Marsalis had the same breadth of vision as Keith Jarrett. Arbour Zena, an orchestral work released in 1976, embodies the aesthetic that Jarrett was to carry forward in the decades to come; cool but not disengaged, experimental, but not inaccessible, complex, but not eschewing lyricism. There is a masterful talent and a visionary mind behind this work; the coupling of Garbarek's artic saxophone with the warmer strings, Jarrett's stunning piano work place it among the better works of the time.

From the first statement of quivering strings on Runes, to the nearly triumphant Solara March, Arbour Zena is a sustained and cohesive vision that nourishes the mind and replenishes idealism. If this is bad Jazz, then I am a fool.

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Captivating
I first heard this album in the mid 70's during a particularly lonely period of my life. I was introduced to it by a friend that knew I liked various forms of jazz. I had little knowledge of Keith Jarrett and his style. Jarrett's music mirrored my mood and became a part of me. So much so, that I searched for this particular piece of music for twenty five years, until I stumbled upon it recently, by accident, listening to a vast number of titles by this artist. I was instantly transported back to that era through the music of Arbour Zena. I find that point in time has meaning that I cannot describe. I have a sizeable collection of music from that period, but this album is among my favorites.