Keith Jarrett > When I Fall In Love
Composed by Victor Young & Edward Heyman

It’s no surprise to Keith fans that he’s a sentimentalist (no surprise to my closest listeners that I am either), so I was going to feature something from his tribute to Miles’ life. I chose one of his trio’s spontaneous interpretations of one of my favorite Miles tracks instead.

Fitting to end the week on a standard, given the decades he’s dedicated to them. This one is traditionally jazz than my the album from the beginning of the week, but, just as satisfying.

Keith Jarrett Week #5
Legends of the Piano #2
Ballad #41
Standards #9

Keith Jarrett > My Wild Irish Rose
Composed by Chauncey Olcott

Never in a hundred years (OK, maybe 40) would it have occurred to me that I’d build our first artist week around Keith Jarrett. Hank Jones, Cecil Taylor, maybe Herbie Hancock? Them, I might have predicted. But year after year I keep pulling Keith albums out.

Particularly this one. (In fact, I featured it a year ago.) Not jazz in any traditional sense (no soloing), but I can’t imagine anyone but a jazzman interpreting melodies this way.

To me, this song was just an international cliche until I couldn’t dislodge Keith’s version from my head. He nails the melody so deeply…

Keith Jarrett Week #1
Legends of the Piano #2
Ballad #40 
Standards #8

Miles Davis > ‘Round Midnight
Composed by Thelonious Monk

There are 25 different versions of ‘Round Midnight on my iTunes (11 by Monk) and it’s really hard to pick the best one to end Thelonious Week. So, funnily enough I picked my favorite.

Miles had a more famous recording from the same year (1955) and at least seven more from other sessions over the years. But here the whole band (Miles - trumpet, John Coltrane - tenor saxophone , Red Garland - piano, Paul Chambers - bass, Philly Joe Jones - drums) was looser (they were squeezing a contractually demanded last album for Prestige) and just played the thing.

Thelonious Week #4 
Legends of the Trumpet #2
Ballads #9
Standards #7
Covers #32

Thelonious Monk > Ruby My Dear
Composed by Thelonious Monk

In honor of next week’s Jazz at Lincoln Center program, Kathleen Loves Music is rocking the house with a week of Monk compositions. First up, maybe his most romantic ballad, in its first recording by the man himself. It’s got all his usual twists and turns, but you can’t help but sing along with the gorgeous melody.

Thelonious Week #1 
Legends of the Piano #5 
Ballads #8
Standards #6

Ballads #7
Legends of the Trumpet #2
Standards #5 

Miles Davis > When I Fall in Love

Composed by Victor Young & Edward Heyman

Miles made his penchant and talent for muted ballads clear early in his career, so I thought it was fitting to end our informal Ballads Week with his masterful 1956 version of a hit popularized by Doris Day and, beautifully, by Nat “King” Cole.

Ballads #6 
Legends of the Saxophone #3
Standards #4

Ben Webster > TIme After Time

Written by Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne

There’s nothing like the sound of a tenor for a romantic tune, is there? And there was no one who could play it like Ellington alum, swing master Ben Webster.

Ballads #5 
Legends of the Guitar #1 
Legends of the Vibes #1 
Standards #4

Ralph Towner & Gary Burton > Some Other Time

Composed by Leonard Bernstein

Ballads Week continues with not a typical jazz ballad, but I’m not really sure you could call it anything else. A wonderful (out of print) rendition of one of Lennie’s crystalline standards from On The Town. (For whatever it’s worth, it was Towner who introduced me to the idea of jazz intepretations of the American musical theatre standards.)

Ballads #3 
Legends of the Big Band #1
Standards #3

Count Basie > Li’l Darlin’

Composed & arranged by Neal Hefti

Basie went through a postwar reinvention and came out all the more popular. This live version of the Neal Hefti tune might be one of my favorite latter day jazz standards.

Ballads #2 
Legends of the Piano #2
Standards #2

Keith Jarrett > Someone to Watch Over Me

Written by George & Ira Gershwin

Keith has become so overknown for his lengthy, free, improvisations one can forget his dedication to music of all kinds. Here’s a track from an album devoted solely to ballad melody, and it highlights the breathtaking beauty of the great American popular music of the 20th century.

Ballads #1 
Legends of the Saxophone #1
Standards #1

John Coltrane > Say It (Over and Over Again)

Ballads meant less than nothing to me when I started listening to jazz at 18. Having just made the discovery of life after rock, energy was everything. Then one night four or five years later under, uh, intimate circumstances I heard Coltrane’s performance of a standard composed by Jimmy McHugh. I was never the same again and probably have bought a dozen copies of this album since. Jazz ballads became one of my primary staples.