An early list of Christmas gift suggestions for the jazz pianist in your life: Five new albums from legendary ivories player Keith Jarrett have or will come out during 2013. Here's a breakdown of what to expect from each (if it helps you choose which works best for your personal pianist).
1. Hymns/Spheres
This is a rerelease from Jarrett's back catalogue, but a split from his typical tinkering on the grand piano. The performer tackles 11 original tracks on a Baroque pipe organ at the Benedictine Abbey in Ottobeuren, Germany. This is the first time the record will be available on CD.
2. J.S. Bach: Six Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Jarrett announced 15 years ago that he planned on removing classical music from his repertoire. However, following some nudging from friend and violinist Michelle Makarski, the master has jumped bach, ahem, back into the game, playing six sonatas by his reportedly favorite composer, Bach.
3. Somewhere
This is the first recording to come from Jarrett's Standards Trio since 2009, and those albums were all recorded during 2001. Somewhere features the trio of Jarrett, double-bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Jack DeJohnette tackle classic such as West Side Story's "Somewhere" and Miles Davis's "Solar."
4. Concerts-Bregenz/München
Much of Jarrett's renown as a pianist comes from his live performances, where he frequently blurred the lines between jazz and classical (including the multi-platinum Köln Concert). Although the Munich concert was previously available on vinyl, This set marks the first time that these 1981 German shows will be available on CD.
5. No End
Jarrett tended to record with as little accompaniment as possible, but this 1986 recording was a radical departure. The pianist multi-tracked his playing, adding guitars, bass, drums and other instruments. According to the performer, every instrument was improvised.
