Arbour Zena

Arbour Zena is an orchestral work composed by American pianist Keith Jarrett featuring saxophonist Jan Garbarek, bassist Charlie Haden and members of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mladen Gutesha which was recorded in October 1975[2] and released by ECM in 1976 [1].

Arbour Zena
Studio album by
Keith Jarrett
Released1976, May [1]
Recorded1975, October [2]
StudioTonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg, West Germany
GenreContemporary classical music
Length52:59
LabelECM Records
[ECM 1070]
ProducerManfred Eicher
Keith Jarrett chronology
Mysteries
(1975)		 Arbour Zena
(1976)		 Shades
(1975)
Keith Jarrett orchestral works chronology
Luminessence
(1974)		 Arbour Zena
(1975)		 Ritual
(1977)

In the original notes of the compilation album "Keith Jarrett Selected Recordings" [3], with music selected by Mr. Jarrett himself, he states that "I consider this one of my most richly lyrical and consistently inspired works. Of course, Jan Garbarek's contribution is irreplaceable and ecstatic. Go out and buy it."


Reception

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 3 stars and said, "although this music can be attractive in small doses, the lack of tempo or texture contrasts over long stretches of time – particularly the nearly 28-minute "Mirrors" – can be annoying if you're not in the right blissful mood".[4]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[6]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[7]
Tom HullB–[8]

Reviewing the album for the website All About Jazz, John Kelman said, "Jarrett had already released music more aligned with the classical sphere on 1974's In the Light, which contained works for string quartet and brass quintet, a fughata for harpsichord and more; but it was with Arbour Zena—reuniting the pianist with the string section Stuttgart's Südfunk Symphony Orchestra and conductor Mladen Gutesha (who'd performed In the Light's "Metamorphosis")—that Jarrett found the magic nexus between composition and improvisation, both through his own contributions on piano and with the participation of Haden and saxophonist Jan Garbarek, also making the record an even broader marriage of his European and American concerns."[9]

Track listing

All compositions by Keith Jarrett

  1. "Runes" (dedicated to the unknown) – 15:24
  2. "Solara March" (dedicated to Pablo Casals and the sun) – 9:48
  3. "Mirrors" (dedicated to my teachers) – 27:47

Personnel

Technical Personnel
  • Martin Wieland - Recording Engineer
  • Rolf Liese - Cover Graphic
  • Dieter Bonhorst - Layout
  • Manfred Eicher - Production
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References
  1. ECM Records Arbour Zena accessed May 2020
  2. Keith Jarrett discography Arbour Zena accessed May 2020
  3. ECM Records Keith Jarrett: Selected recordings April 2002, accessed May 2020
  4. Ginell, R. S. Allmusic Review accessed April 22, 2010
  5. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 771. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  7. Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 112. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  8. Hull, Tom (28 February 2018). "Streamnotes". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  9. Jazz, All About. "Keith Jarrett: Keith Jarrett: Arbour Zena". All About Jazz. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
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