| Book of Ways | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1987 [1] | |||
| Recorded | July 1986 | |||
| Studio | Tonstudio Bauer Ludwigsburg, W. Germany | |||
| Genre | Improvised music | |||
| Length | 1:41:02 | |||
| Label | ECM ECM 1344/45 | |||
| Producer | Manfred Eicher | |||
| Keith Jarrett chronology | ||||
| ||||
Book of Ways: The Feeling of Strings is a solo double album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded over four hours in July 1986 and released on ECM September the following year, comprising nineteen clavichord improvisations. [1]
As Jarrett stated in an interview with pianist Ted Rosenthal appeared in the Jan-Feb 1997 issue of "Piano and Keyboard magazine":
"That whole recording was done in one afternoon and everything was a first take and nothing was coming from any pre-ordained thing. I had no material.... I think Book of Ways is one of the recordings I wish more people would know. I think it has more of what I hear on it than a lot of things (I do) on piano because piano is piano. These two clavichords together made a different instrument. You could use vibrato on one of them and not the other one, and play unison. I was playing two at the same time as you probably could tell. [2]
In the original liner notes for the compilation album "Keith Jarrett Selected Recordings", [3] with music selected by Mr. Jarrett himself, he states that:
A Note on Book of Ways: To my knowledge, this recording is unique in several ways. We had three clavichords in the studio, two of which were angled together so that I could play them both simultaneously, and the third off to the side. Also we miked the instruments very closely so that the full range of dynamics could be used (clavichords are very quiet and cannot be heard more than a few feet away). The two CDs were made on an off day between concerts with my Trio, and no material was organized beforehand. Everything was spontaneous. The recording was done in four hours.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [5] |
The AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 3 stars, stating:
Jarrett occasionally tries to stretch the instrument's limited possibilities, hammering percussively on the close-miked strings. Yet for the most part, Jarrett reins in his world-class technique in order to make unpretentiously minimal music on this ancient keyboard. Some of it sounds like folk music, some like new age contemplation, there are convincing neo-baroque musings, and a few of these untitled though numbered selections kick into a higher gear. Sometimes this music is charming; a lot of the time, it gets wearisome. But hey, they also laughed when Keith started putting out massive sets of solo piano... [4]
For his 2002 "Keith Jarrett Selected Recordings" album review (which contains "Book of Ways" #12, #14 and #18), [3] Peter Marsh at BBC calls it "extraordinary" and that "the results echo back to Baroque's original role as context for improvisation and simultaneously (through the use of unconventional techniques) rockets it forward a few hundred years." [6]
Disc one
Disc two
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a group leader and solo performer in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music. His improvisations draw from the traditions of jazz and other genres, including Western classical music, gospel, blues, and ethnic folk music.
The Köln Concert is a live solo double album by pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at the Opera House in Köln, Germany on 24 January 1975 and released on ECM later that year.
Paris Concert is a live solo album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, recorded at the Salle Pleyel in Paris on October 17, 1988 and released on ECM in April 1990.
Sun Bear Concerts is a live box set by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett compiling five solo piano concerts performed over two weeks during his November 1976 tour in Japan and originally released by ECM as a ten-LP set in January 1978 and re-released in 1989 as a six-CD box set restoring encores from three of the concerts.
Vienna Concert is a live solo album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded on July 13, 1991 at the Vienna State Opera in Vienna, Austria, and released by ECM September the following year.
Dark Intervals is a live solo album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo on April 11, 1987 and released on ECM the following year.
Changeless is a live album by the Keith Jarrett Trio recorded at various venues over a week in October 1987 and released on ECM two years later. The trio—Jarrett's "Standards Trio"—features rhythm section Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette.
Still Live is a live double album by the Keith Jarrett Trio recorded on July 13, 1986, at the Philharmonic Hall in Munich, Germany, and released on ECM in March 1988. Jarrett's Standards trio features rhythm section Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette.
Tokyo '96 is a live album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at the Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo on March 30, 1996 and released on ECM in April 1998. The trio—Jarrett's "Standards Trio"—features rhythm section Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette.
Whisper Not is a live double-album by Keith Jarrett, recorded at the Palais des congrès de Paris on July 5, 1999 and released on ECM October the following year. The trio—Jarrett's "Standards Trio"—features rhythm section Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette.
Over the years, Keith Jarrett has recorded in many different settings: jazz piano trio, classical and baroque music, improvised contemporary music, solo piano, etc. Well known for his tremendous impact on the piano and jazz scene, as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and first class improviser, Keith Jarrett's original output embraces many different musical styles and spans a period of almost 50 years, comprising a generous production of more than 100 albums.
The Melody at Night, with You is a solo album by American pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at his home studio in 1998 and released on ECM October the following year.
Concerts is a live solo triple album of by American pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at the Festspielhaus in Bregenz, Austria on May 28, 1981 and the Herkulessaal in Munich, West Germany on June 2, 1981 and released on ECM September the following year.
Hymns/Spheres is a solo double album by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded on the Karl Joseph Riepp "Trinity" Baroque pipe organ at the Benedictine Abbey in Ottobeuren in September 1976 and released on ECM later that year.
Spirits is a solo double album by Keith Jarrett recorded at his home studio over May–June 1985 in New Jersey and released on ECM September the following year, featuring Jarrett performing on various instruments he had on hand: two flutes, three sets of tablas, a shaker, six recorders, his voice, a soprano saxophone, a piano, a guitar, a glockenspiel, a tambourine, a cowbell, and a bağlama.
In the Light is a double album of contemporary classical music composed by Keith Jarrett, recorded in February 1973 and released on ECM April the following year—his fourth release for the label.
Ritual is an album of contemporary classical music written by Keith Jarrett and performed by Dennis Russell Davies on solo piano in June 1977 and released on ECM in February 1982.
Invocations/The Moth and the Flame is a solo double album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded in October 1980 and November 1979 respectively and released on ECM in May 1981.
G.I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns is an album by pianist Keith Jarrett recorded March 1980 and released on ECM September that year, featuring solo piano performances of the sacred hymns of George Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann.
Bridge of Light is a contemporary classical album composed by American jazz pianist and composer Keith Jarrett recorded in March 1993 and released on the ECM New Series April the following year, featuring the Fairfield Orchestra conducted by Thomas Crawford.
