The Melody at Night, with You

The Melody at Night, with You is a solo album by American pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at his home studio in 1998 and released by ECM Records in 1999.[1] It was recorded during his bout with chronic fatigue syndrome and was dedicated to Jarrett's second and then-wife, Rose Anne: "For Rose Anne, who heard the music, then gave it back to me".[2]

The Melody at Night, With You
Studio album by
Keith Jarrett
Released1999, October [1]
Recorded1998
StudioCavelight Studio, New Jersey (USA)
GenreJazz
Length55:13
LabelECM Records
[ECM 1675]
ProducerManfred Eicher, Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett chronology
W.A. Mozart: Piano Concertos, Adagio And Fugue
(1996)		 The Melody at Night, With You
(1999)		 Whisper Not
(1999)
Keith Jarrett solo piano chronology
A Multitude of Angels
(1996)		 The Melody at Night, with You
(1998)		 Radiance
(2002)

In an interview in Time magazine in November 1999, he explained

"I started taping it in December 1997, as a Christmas present for my wife. I'd just had my Hamburg Steinway overhauled and wanted to try it out, and I have my studio right next to the house, so if I woke up and had a half-decent day, I would turn on the tape recorder and play for a few minutes. I was too fatigued to do more. Then something started to click with the mike placement, the new action of the instrument,... I could play so soft,... and the internal dynamics of the melodies... of the songs... It was one of those little miracles that you have to be ready for, though part of it was that I just didn't have the energy to be clever."[3]

The album contains eight jazz standards, two traditional songs, and, uncharacteristically for Jarrett, only one improvisation ("Meditation", the second half of track six).

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz[5]

The album was very successful commercially, becoming one of the best-selling jazz instrumental albums of the 2000s, and winning a number of awards;[6] The second track, "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)", was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

The critical reception was more mixed, however, with some critics praising its intimacy, while others criticized its simplicity. On the negative side, the Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 2½ stars (out of 5) and states, "these performances lack color, contrast and life; and while you pull for Jarrett to summon the energy to make music again, the results are touching for a while but soon pall".[4] On the positive side, it was ranked the #2 Jazz album in the Down Beat "Critics Poll 2000",[7] and Entertainment Weekly rated it an "A".[8][9][10]

Track listing
All tracks are jazz standards or traditional songs (5 & 9), by other composers, except the second half of track 6 ("Meditation"), which is an improvisation by Jarrett:
  1. "I Loves You, Porgy" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Dubose Heyward) - 5:50
  2. "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" (Duke Ellington, Paul Francis Webster) - 7:10
  3. "Don't Ever Leave Me" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) - 2:47
  4. "Someone to Watch over Me" (Gershwin, Gershwin) - 5:05
  5. "My Wild Irish Rose" (Traditional) - 5:21
  6. "Blame It on My Youth/Meditation" (Edward Heyman, Oscar Levant/Jarrett) - 7:19
  7. "Something to Remember You By" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) - 7:15
  8. "Be My Love" (Nicholas Brodszky, Sammy Cahn) - 5:38
  9. "Shenandoah" (Traditional) - 5:52
  10. "I'm Through With Love" (Gus Kahn, Fud Livingston, Matty Malneck) - 2:56

Personnel

Technical Personnel
  • Daniela Nowitzki – Cover Photo
  • Rose Anne Jarrett - Liner Photo
  • Sascha Kleis - Design
  • Manfred Eicher - Production
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References
  1. ECM Records Keith Jarrett: The Melody at Night, With You accessed May 2020
  2. Jarrett's foreword in the album's booklet
  3. Terry Teachout (November 1999) Music: Directly from the Heart Time (subscribers only)
  4. Ginell, R. S. Allmusic Review accessed July 6, 2020
  5. Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 770. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. Keith Jarrett Biography Archived 2010-06-15 at the Wayback Machine, All About Jazz accessed April 6, 2010
  7. Down Beat (8/00, p.27), losing by 1 vote to Soul on Soul by (Dave Douglas)
  8. Entertainment Weekly, issue #512, Nov 12, 1999, p. 83
  9. See Keith Jarrett Melody At Night, With You CD for a selection of reviews.
  10. Further reviews: Q (2/00, p.90), 4 stars out of 5; Down Beat (8/00, p.27); JazzTimes (1-2/00, pp. 95–6)
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