''El Juicio (The Judgement)'' is an album by pianist Keith Jarrett recorded in 1971 and released in 1975. On four days in July and one in August 1971 Jarrett went into the Atlantic Recording Studios with his trio (

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

and

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the ...

) plus

Dewey Redman Walter Dewey Redman (May 17, 1931 – September 2, 2006) was an American saxophonist who performed free jazz as a bandleader and with Ornette Coleman and Keith Jarrett. Redman mainly played tenor saxophone, though he occasionally also played al ...

on tenor saxophone and produced enough music for three albums ''

The Mourning of a Star ''The Mourning of a Star'' is an album by Keith Jarrett recorded in 1971 with his regular working trio (bass player Charlie Haden and drummer Paul Motian) and released that same year by Atlantic Records. On five dates in July and August 1971 Ja ...

'' (released in 1971), ''El Juicio (The Judgement)'' and ''

Birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

'' (released in 1972). Accordingly, the 1971 sessions mark the emergence of what would be later called Jarrett's "American quartet." Redman would not join the working group as a full member until 1972, and the new quartet’s first album to make it to the public would be ''

''. When Atlantic Records released ''El Juicio'' in 1975 the group had already signed with Impulse! and was steadily recording under that label.

Reception

The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz wrote: "for us ''El Juicio'' remains a high-point... The joyous countrified swing of 'Gypsy Moth' and 'Toll Road' could hardly be more infectious, or more loosely structured, at an opposite remove to the dour atmosphere of 'El Juicio' itself, a strange, brooding tone-poem which if the cover art is anything by way of confirmation conjures up first and last things, a musical eschatology. Also very different... is the experimental melodism of 'Piece for Ornette'. It exists in two forms, one at nine and a quarter minutes, the other at 12 seconds! It isn't a long record... but it has a freshness of approach and depth of musical intelligence that has never tarnished." Pianist

Ethan Iverson Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King. Biography Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. ...

singled out the track "Pardon My Rags" for praise, calling it "almost silly, certainly joyous", and commenting: "While the 'rags' on ''Somewhere Before'' might stump a long-time Jarrett listener who doesn't know the early years, 'Pardon My Rags' is obviously Jarrett. The flow, especially at this speed, is unique. Amazing to think that Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, Mary Lou Williams, Thelonious Monk and Eubie Blake were all still alive at this moment."

Track listing

:''All compositions by Keith Jarrett'' # "Gypsy Moth" - 8:18 # "Toll Road" - 5:44 # "Pardon My Rags" - 2:43 # "Pre-Judgement Atmosphere" - 2:35 # "El Juicio" - 10:22 # "Piece for Ornette (L.V.)" - 9:16 # "Piece for Ornette (S.V.)" - 0:12

Personnel

* Keith Jarrett - piano, soprano saxophone, steel drums, percussion *

- tenor saxophone, alto saxophone (on "Gypsy Moth"), steel drums, percussion *

- double bass, steel drums, percussion *

- drums, steel drums, percussion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juicio 1971 albums Keith Jarrett albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by George Avakian