''Facing You'' is the first solo piano album recorded by 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 ...

, the first of his voluminous collection to be produced by Manfred Eicher and his first work to be released by

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

. It features eight solo piano pieces (improvised and/or composed by himself) and it was recorded in the studio. It marked the beginning of Jarrett's innovative and successful career in spontaneous and improvised performance on solo piano, and it constitutes a landmark in his fruitful association with ECM Records. The album was recorded in Oslo (Norway) on November 10, 1971, one day after a concert performance with the Miles Davis Septet in the same city.''keithjarrett.org'
Miles Davis Septet in Oslo (Norway), November 9, 1971
accessed May 2020. It was released in 1972 and has been reissued many times in different formats, including vinyl.Audiophile Audition (August 2018
Keith Jarrett – Facing You – ECM Records
accessed May 2020

Critical reception

In a 1972 review for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', Bob Palmer called the album "perhaps the best solo piano recording since Art Tatum left us." The album won the ''Grand Prix des Festivals'' at Montreux in 1973. The

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 ...

review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 4½ stars, stating, "A remarkable effort that reveals more and more with each listen, this recording has stood the test of time, and is unquestionably a Top Three recording in Keith Jarrett's long and storied career.".Nastos, M
Allmusic Review
accessed September 9, 2011 The review also states that: In October 2007 writing for jazz.com, Ted Gioia gave the track ''In Front'' a 100/100 rating and praised it:Gioia, Ted (October 2007
The Dozens: Essential Keith Jarrett by Ted Gioia at Jazz.com
accessed September 2020 Regarding ''In Front'' and writing for JazzTimes, in 2011 pianist

Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young a ...

stated that:Werner, Kenny (August 2011, updated April 2019
Artist's Choice: Kenny Werner on Keith Jarrett at Jazztimes.com
accessed September 2020 Moreover, when it comes to the whole album, he adds:

Aftermath and legacy

In 2000, in an interview with Terry Gross, Keith Jarrett explained how the idea of long solo piano concerts began: In a

DownBeat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

interview with Bob Palmer, Jarrett expressed his gratitude to Eicher for the opportunity to record for ECM: "If I hadn't found him there would be no solo albums, no ''Facing You'', let alone a successful triple album. I would have a desk full of scores that have never been rehearsed, not to mention played or recorded. There's no way I can repay that possibility having come to me so early and at such a good time except to produce more music for ECM. They took the risk and the expense, or Manfred did."

Track listing

:''All compositions by Keith Jarrett'' # "In Front" – 10:09 # "Ritooria" – 5:57 # "Lalene" – 8:39 # "My Lady, My Child" – 7:24 # "Landscape for Future Earth" – 3:36 # "Starbright" – 5:07 # "Vapallia" – 3:57 # "Semblence" – 3:02

Personnel

* Keith Jarrett – piano Production * Manfred Eicher - producer * Jan Erik Kongshaug - recording engineer * Danny Michael - photography * Barbara and Burkhart Wojirsch - cover design and layout

References

{{Authority control Keith Jarrett albums ECM Records albums 1972 albums Albums produced by Manfred Eicher Instrumental albums Solo piano jazz albums