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MUSIC
©Photo by Reto Caduff
Things move slowly here. Both Jarrett
and Haden are quite comfortable with sullen
tempos (head back to their sublime “Ellen
David” from the bassist’s 1976 Closeness
to hear the roots of their rapport), and as
they wind their way around the melodies
of “My Ship” and “Everything Happens To
Me,” their appreciation of nuance stands
in the foreground. Throughout, the pianist
refrains from rapturous runs and the bassist
pares down his already minimal approach.
Last Dance isn’t a place to turn for effusive
improv (which isn’t to say that Jarrett’s right
hand doesn’t knock off a pithy string of trills
every now and then). Rather, it’s a spot that
seduces with the deep grace of unity.
Regardless of how they saunter through
these reflections, a deliberate nature stays
in play. At certain moments it seems as if
“Every Time We Say Goodbye” is taking
a breather—it’s just the pair’s way of
giving silence its due. “My Old Flame”
may introduce the album’s dreamy program
at a creep, but there’s a glide inherent
in the duo’s moves, and the tactile
way they align themselves sustains the
action. The sole uptempo track, Bud Powell’s
“Dance of the Infidels,” is strategically
placed and infuses the program with the
ardor of bop.
Recorded during a 2007 meeting at
Jarrett’s home studio in the Jersey countryside,
these sessions have already given
us 2009’s Jasmine, an album with a similar
personality. And while this is formally part
two of the work done seven years ago, it’s
more fetching than its predecessor, whose
candlelit character occasionally brokered a
snoozy vibe.
Yes, it may inch along in some spots,
but Last Dance comes on as a rumination
on romance that simply chooses to make
every note count. Its sentiment is fetching.
—Jim Macnie
132 TONE AUDIO NO.64
July 2014 133