This was the first real indication to the world that Keith Jarrett was an ambitious, multi-talented threat to be reckoned with, an explosion of polystylistic music that sprawled over two LPs (now squeezed onto a single CD). Using his classic quartet (Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian) as a base, Jarrett occasionally adds the biting rock-edged electric guitar of Sam Jones and always-intriguing percussionist Airto Moreira, and indulges in some pleasant string and brass arrangements of his own, along with some grinding organ smears and acceptable soprano sax. Jarrett again turns his early rampant eclecticism loose -- from earthy gospel-tinged soul-jazz to the freewheeling atonal avant-garde -- yet this time he does it with an exuberance and expansiveness that puts his previous solo work in the shade. "Common Mama," a spicy Latin workout with brass punctuations, "Take Me Back," driving soul jazz with streaks of electric jazz-rock, and the lengthy, nearly free "Nomads" are the most invigorating tracks. - Richard S. Ginell
The track begins with a 48-second solo Jarrett piece, "Vision", in which he is accompanied by a full string section. For "Common Mama", Moreira, Haden and Motian lay down a polyrhythmic Latin beat with Jarrett and Haden soloing beautifully on top. On "The Magician In You", the little known guitarist Sam Brown is introduced for this bluesy piece. Brown had previously worked with fusioneers like Gary Burton, Jeremy Steig and Mike Mainieri, yet he never received the full respect he deserved. This re-release will solve that in justice. On " Roussillion", the band finally lets things go as Jarrett and Redman both play frenetic discordant solos on top of a tribal beat. The string section returns for the title track, which shows the soft melodic style that one associates with Jarrett’s Koln albums. With the absence of Redman and Brown as well, "Expectations" really brings out the subtle romantic playing of the traditional rhythm section lineup. Sam Brown returns for both "Take Me Back", which could easily made it somewhere on Exile on Main Street, and "The Circular Letter", which goes the other way as it could easily be found on a Pharoah Sanders/McCoy Tyner album. If these songs are not enough to not only cover the breadth of the music spectrum as well as be audibly enjoyable, Expectations is a 2 CD set. The second disk has the epic "Nomads", that runs 17+ minutes and makes excursions into both free and fusion. As always, Moreira, Motian and Haden maintain the most ambitious of rhythms. Throughout the album, you can also hear the diversity of Jarrett’s talents as he plays the organ, soprano saxophone, and tambourine.
Tracks
01. Vision
02. Common Mama
03. The Magician In You
04. Roussillion
05. Expectations
06. Take Me Back
07. The Circular Letter )For J.K.)
08. Nomads
09. Sundance
10. Bring Back The Time When (If)
11. There Is A Road (God’s River)
KEITH JARRETT piano, soprano saxophone, tambourine
CHARLIE HADEN bass
PAUL MOTIAN drums, percussion
SAM BROWN guitar
DEWEY REDMAN tenor saxophone, cowbell
AIRTO MOREIRA percussion, congas
STRING SECTION and BRASS SECTION
Music composed and arranged by Keith Jarrett
Recorded NYC in April 5, 27, 1972
Columbia – C2K 65900, Legacy – C2K 65900