''Belonging'' is an album by American pianist

Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music 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 ...

which was released on the ECM label in 1974. It is the first album by Jarrett's so-called 'European Quartet' featuring

Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...

Palle Danielsson Nils Paul "Palle" Danielsson (born 15 October 1946) is a Swedish jazz double bassist born in Stockholm, Sweden. From 1974 to 1979, he was a member of Keith Jarrett's quartet. He is the brother of pianist Monica Dominique. Career Danielsson's ...

and

Jon Christensen Jon Christensen may refer to: * Jon Christensen (musician) Jon Ivar Christensen (20 March 1943 – 18 February 2020) was a Norwegian jazz drummer. He was married to actress, minister, and theater director Ellen Horn, Store Norske Leksikon (in ...

. Because Jarrett's contract with ABC/Impulse! prevented him from performing with the quartet under his own name, the group became known as the "Belonging" quartet. Jarrett was known for valuing spontaneity over technical perfection, and, according to producer

Manfred Eicher Manfred Eicher (born 9 July 1943) is a German record producer and the founder of ECM Records. Life and career Eicher was born in Lindau, Germany. He studied music at the Academy of Music in Berlin. He started as a double-bass player of classic ...

, refused to record more than one take of the title piece, thus goading the musicians to a high level of concentration. Garbarek later recalled that he had never recorded a piece so quickly, and with such minimal rehearsal.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4½ stars, stating, "The record operates at its strongest level when Jarrett locks the quartet into his winning gospel mode on "'Long as You Know You're Living Yours" and the tense drive of "Spiral Dance"; the reflective numbers are less compelling. Still, this LP-turned-CD successfully bucked the powerful electric trends of its time and holds up well today."Ginell, R
AllMusic Review
accessed September 12, 2011 The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' awarded the album 4 stars, and wrote: "''Belonging''... is a superb album, characterized by some of the pianist's most open and joyous playing on record; his double-time solo on 'The Windup' is almost Tatum-like in its exuberance and fluency. The country-blues feel of 'Long At You Know You're Living Yours' is a confident reflection of his music roots. The ballads 'Blossom', 'Solstice' and the title-piece... are remarkable by any standards; Garbarek's slightly out-of-tune opening statement on 'Solstice' and Danielsson's subsequent solo are masterful, while Jarrett's own split chords accentuate the mystery and ambiguity of the piece."

Controversy and legal dispute

The tune "Long As You Know You're Living Yours" was the subject of a lawsuit between Jarrett and jazz-rock group

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

: Jarrett alleged that the duo's title track from their 1980 album ''

Gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...

'' had stolen from the song. Co-writer

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

later admitted he'd loved the track and was strongly influenced by it. Jarrett sued for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

and was then added as a co-author of the song. "Long As You Know You're Living Yours" serves as the theme song for

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's Writers and Company program.

Track listing

:''All music composed by Keith Jarrett'' # "Spiral Dance" – 4:11 # "Blossom" – 12:15 # "'Long as You Know You're Living Yours" – 6:14 # "Belonging" – 2:15 # "The Windup" – 8:27 # "Solstice" – 13:13

Personnel

* Keith Jarrett – piano *

– tenor and soprano saxophones *

– bass *

– drums Production *

– production *

Jan Erik Kongshaug Jan Erik Kongshaug (4 July 1944 – 5 November 2019) was a Norwegian sound engineer, jazz guitarist, and composer. Career Kongshaug was born in Trondheim, the son of guitarist John Kongshaug. Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) During his chi ...

– recording engineer *

Tadayuki Naitoh is a Japanese photographer known for his photographs of jazz musicians and of Africa. Naitoh was born in Asakusa, Tokyo in 1941. He graduated from a photography course at in 1964. In 1970 he set up his own company, Photohouse OM. From an early ...

– cover design and layout

References

{{Authority control Keith Jarrett albums Jan Garbarek albums 1974 albums ECM Records albums Albums produced by Manfred Eicher