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Danny Michael’s photo of Keith Jarrett is the cover of the pianist’s 1971 ECM debut, Facing You

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…..Fifty years ago today, November 10, 1971, the pianist Keith Jarrett recorded Facing You, his now historic debut album for the nascent ECM Records.  It is an album of short piano pieces produced by ECM founder Manfred Eicher, and led to a celebrated run of solo albums that includes Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne; The Köln Concert; Sun Bear Concerts; The Melody at Night, With You and Jarrett’s latest release, Budapest Concert.

…..Jarrett remembers the session took place a day after a concert performance with the Miles Davis Septet in Oslo.   “I met Manfred around this time.  He had written me about a proposed collaboration with Chick Corea but I was set on recording solo. I thought it would be a novel idea to not prepare and was totally comfortable with my decision despite a tight afternoon schedule while strictly playing electric piano on the tour.”  Prior to the recording, Jarrett recalls attending a classical music concert with Eicher at the university in Heidelberg, in which he performed solo.  “I  improvised between a couple of standards and was encouraged by the positive reaction.”

…..Facing You was important in building Jarrett’s career, as well as being a landmark ECM release that helped shape the budding label’s artistic path.  Following the album’s release, Rolling Stone published a review that read, in part:

…..“When he plays alone, Jarrett pushes his creativity to its limits. It’s almost scary to hear someone who apparently relies so totally on the spirited, flowing, almost effusive directions of his muse, yet the muse seems to never let him down. His inspirations seem to be as prolific and varied as his compositions. […] It may well be the finest album of jazz piano solos since Art Tatum left us, and it is without a doubt the most creative and satisfying solo album of the past few years.” 

…..Facing You remains one of the most important recordings in contemporary jazz, described by Michael G. Nastos of AllMusic as being “beautifully conceived and executed… It is a hallmark recording of solo piano in any discipline, a signature piece in the early ECM label discography, a distinct departure from mainstream jazz, a breakthrough for Jarrett, and a studio prelude for his most famous solo project to follow, The Köln Concert.

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Click here to be taken to the Wikipedia page for this album.

The album can be accessed on Spotify by clicking here

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