La Scala CD

Solo performer: Keith Jarrett (piano).
Recorded live at Teatro Alla Scala, Milan, Italy on February 13, 1995. Includes liner notes by Keith Jarrett.
Personnel: Keith Jarrett (soprano saxophone, piano).
Audio Remixers: Jan Erik Kongshaug; Manfred Eicher.
Liner Note Author: Keith Jarrett.
Recording information: Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy (02/13/1995).
Photographer: Judith Joy Ross.
For this live solo concert (recorded at the Teatro alla Scala in Milano, Italy and released in 1997), pianist Keith Jarrett performs two lengthy improvisations simply titled "La Scala, Parts I and II." Most of the music is quite lyrical and romantic. The first part (which lasted nearly 45 minutes) does have a section using a droning rhythm reminiscent of American Indian music before resolving back into a ballad. The second section (a mere 27« minutes) starts out dissonant, gradually evolves into a peaceful section, and then concludes with the original dissonant ideas. As an encore, Jarrett performs a melodic and very beautiful six-minute rendition of "Over the Rainbow," receiving a well-deserved thunderous ovation at its conclusion. The music overall develops slowly but always holds one's interest, reinforcing one's viewpoint of Keith Jarrett as one of the top pianists of the 1980s and '90s. ~ Scott Yanow
As if Jarrett's music weren't complex, mysterious and beautiful enough, the fact that it is entirely improvised-- that is, that its composition evolves in the real time of the concert, make it a revelation. Music for Jarrett is the process of creativity itself, with all of its attendant delight, frustration and surprises, and LA SCALA is no exception. Recorded live in Milan in 1997 and consisting of three parts, LA SCALA seems to lean more toward classical structures and meters than Jarrett's work that is more readily catagorized as jazz.
The concert shifts from gorgeous, lilting clouds of melody to challenging percussive segments based around a droning bass chord; from frenetic runs over the keyboard to reinventions of familiar melody (as in the third part "Over The Rainbow"); between which Jarrett can be heard searching for direction, piecing ideas together, groaning and crying as if overcome by the power flowing through him. As always, Jarrett's inventions lull, surprise, stimulate and astound and LA SCALA, taken as a whole, is certainly one of his finest recordings.
For this live solo concert (recorded at the Teatro alla Scala in Milano, Italy, and released in 1997), pianist Keith Jarrett performs two lengthy improvisations simply titled "La Scala, Pt. 1" and "La Scala, Pt. 2." Most of the music is quite lyrical and romantic. The first part (which lasted nearly 45 minutes) does have a section using a droning rhythm reminiscent of American Indian music before resolving back into a ballad. The second section (a mere 27 and a half minutes) starts out dissonant, gradually evolves into a peaceful section, and then concludes with the original dissonant ideas. As an encore, Jarrett performs a melodic and very beautiful six-minute rendition of "Over the Rainbow," receiving a well-deserved thunderous ovation at its conclusion. The music overall develops slowly but always holds the listener's interest, reinforcing one's viewpoint of Keith Jarrett as one of the top pianists of the 1980s and '90s. ~ Scott YanowDown Beat (10/97, pp.54-55) - 4 1/2 stars (out of 5) - "...these long improvisations reflect jazz and classical influences without falling into any single category....LA SCALA can be heard as a sonic Rorschach test, allowing the litener to freely associate along with the artist..."
JazzTimes (10/97, pp.124-125) - "...Jarrett's sense of drama and musical contrast is still acute, and his pianism remarkable..."