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Staircase
Studio album by
Keith Jarrett
Released1977 (1977)
RecordedMay 1976 (1976-05)
Studio Davout Studios
Paris, France
Genre Jazz
Length74:27
Label ECM
ECM 1090/91 ST
Producer Manfred Eicher
Keith Jarrett chronology
The Survivors' Suite
(1977) 		Staircase
(1977) 		Byablue
(1977)
Keith Jarrett solo piano chronology
The Köln Concert
(1975) 		Staircase
(1977) 		Sun Bear Concerts
(1978)

Staircase is a solo double album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded in May 1976 and released on ECM the following year. [1]

Background

Jarrett and producer Manfred Eicher had arrived at Studio Davout in Paris to record a soundtrack to Michèle Rosier's film Mon cœur est rouge (French: "My Heart Is Red"). [2] Finishing early with several hours of studio time left and impressed by the quality of the studio's piano, they spontaneously decided to record this album. [3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz [5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide [6]

The AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell states, "One can always admire Jarrett's lovely tone and flexible touch, yet when he gets stuck for ideas, the repetitions finally begin to grate. Maybe he really needs the stimulus of a live audience in order to get the creative and rhythmic juices flowing when flying solo." [4]

Jarrett biographer Wolfgang Sandner called the album "an impressive study in sound" and an "unbelievable synthesis of sonic art", and commented: "There is no other Keith Jarrett recording that comes so close to achieving the pianistic ideal of lyricism as does this astounding album." [7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Keith Jarrett

Side I: Staircase
No.TitleLength
1."Part 1"6:57
2."Part 2"7:58
3."Part 3"1:25
Side II: Hourglass
No.TitleLength
1."Part 1"4:42
2."Part 2"14:03
Side III: Sundial
No.TitleLength
1."Part 1"8:57
2."Part 2"4:55
3."Part 3"6:27
Side IV: Sand
No.TitleLength
1."Part 1"6:54
2."Part 2"8:48
3."Part 3"3:21

Personnel

Musician

Technical personnel

References

  1. ^ Keith Jarrett - Staircase, 1977, retrieved 2023-12-10
  2. ^ Mon cœur est rouge at Internet Movie Database accessed March 28, 2016
  3. ^ Ian Carr, Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music page 93
  4. ^ a b Ginell, R. Allmusic Review accessed September 16, 2011
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 768. ISBN  978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp.  112. ISBN  0-394-72643-X.
  7. ^ Sandner, Wolfgang (2020). Keith Jarrett: A Biography. Translated by Jarrett, Chris. Equinox. p. 97.
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