There is nothing quite like a Keith Jarrett live performance. Miles away from the image we normally associate with piano players, his upright posture, heavy handling of the keys, and his humming along to melodies have all become essential elements in jazz iconography. Here, at the Estival Jazz event in 1986, he is joined by the eminent and versatile Jack DeJohnette (who collaborated with Miles Davis, Bill Evans and John Coltrane) and the sensitive, harmonically-minded Gary Peacock, a veteran who worked alongside Paul Motion, Bill Evans and Roland Kirk among many others.
Together they form the Standards Trio, a stellar line-up and one of the most celebrated in jazz history (25 recordings demonstrate their enduring legacy). Jarrett toes the line between sweetness and melancholy on the keys, melting together chord voicings that speak to life in all its beauty and pain. He only needs a few bars to transport the audience into a realm where love is king and its edicts serve to bring us all closer together. For a clue as to the concert’s invisible themes, just look at the song titles: “All The Things That I Love,” “Everything That I Love,” “I Fall In Love Too Easily.”