| Staircase | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg.webp) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Recorded | May 1976 | |||
| Studio | Davout Studios Paris, France | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 74:27 | |||
| Label | ECM 1090/91 ST | |||
| Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
| Keith Jarrett chronology | ||||
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| Keith Jarrett solo piano chronology | ||||
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Staircase is a solo double album by 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
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz |  [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide | [6] |
The AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4 stars, stating, "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
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Part 1" | 6:57 |
| 2. | "Part 2" | 7:58 |
| 3. | "Part 3" | 1:25 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Part 1" | 4:42 |
| 2. | "Part 2" | 14:03 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Part 1" | 8:57 |
| 2. | "Part 2" | 4:55 |
| 3. | "Part 3" | 6:27 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Part 1" | 6:54 |
| 2. | "Part 2" | 8:48 |
| 3. | "Part 3" | 3:21 |
Personnel
Technical personnel
- Manfred Eicher – producer
- Roger Roche – recording engineer
- Barbara Wojirsch – cover design and layout
- Franco Fontana/IKS s.p.a., Modena – photography
References
- ↑ Keith Jarrett - Staircase, 1977, retrieved 2023-12-10
- ↑ Mon cœur est rouge at Internet Movie Database accessed March 28, 2016
- ↑ Ian Carr, Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music page 93
- 1 2 Ginell, R. Allmusic Review accessed September 16, 2011
- ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 768. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 112. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- ↑ Sandner, Wolfgang (2020). Keith Jarrett: A Biography. Translated by Jarrett, Chris. Equinox. p. 97.