''The Mourning of a Star'' is an album by

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 ...

recorded in 1971 with his regular working trio (bass player

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 drummer

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 l ...

) and released that same year by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. On five dates in July and August 1971 Jarrett went into the studio with Haden and Motian and, along with

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 ...

on tenor saxophone, produced enough material for three albums, ''The Mourning of a Star'', ''

El Juicio (The Judgement) ''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 and Paul Motian) ...

'' (released in 1975) 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). Although Dewey Redman does not appear on this album, the July and August 1971 sessions marked the metamorphosis of Jarrett's first trio into what would be his future quartet. The album mostly contains tunes conceptualized in the "traditional" avantgarde piano trio approach heard in ''

Life Between the Exit Signs ''Life Between the Exit Signs'' is the first jazz album by pianist Keith Jarrett as a leader. It was recorded on May 4, 1967 at Atlantic Recording Studios, in New York City and released on April 1, 1968, under the record label Vortex, a subsidiar ...

'' (recorded in 1967) but also expands to a much richer and colourful soundscape where Jarrett can be heard on different instruments, paving the way to what was to come later with the addition of Dewey Redman on reeds.

Jarrett on soprano saxophone

Even though Jarrett had already been recording on soprano saxophone since at least 1967 while with Charles Lloyd ('' Journey Within: Charles Lloyd Quartet at the Fillmore Auditorium''), it had not been until ''

Restoration Ruin ''Restoration Ruin'' is an album by Keith Jarrett on which he performs multiple instruments (including piano, organ, guitar, soprano saxophone, harmonica, recorder, bass guitar, drums, tambourine and sistrum), and sings his own lyrics. Recorded ...

'' (1968) that he featured that instrument on one of his own albums. His formal presentation as an accomplished soprano saxophone soloist can be heard on "Traces of You" and snippets of his flute playing also appear here and there throughout the album.

Critical reception

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

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

awarded the album 3 stars, stating "These trio performances (with bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Paul Motian) are impressive for the period, but the best was yet to come.".Yanow, S
Allmusic Review
accessed September 17, 2011 Writing in 2011 for

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

à propos of Jarrett's ''The Mourning of a Star'',

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 ...

highlights two of its tunes stating that:Werner, Kenny (August 2011, updated April 2019
Artist's Choice: Kenny Werner on Keith Jarrett at Jazztimes.com
accessed September 2020

Track listing

:''All compositions by Keith Jarrett except as indicated'' # "Follow the Crooked Path (Though It Be Longer)" - 6:15 # "Interlude No. 3" - 1:15 # "Standing Outside" - 3:22 # "Everything That Lives Laments" - 2:16 # "Interlude No. 1" - 1:40 # "Trust" - 6:56 # "All I Want" (

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

) - 2:22 # "Traces of You" - 5:08 # "The Mourning of a Star" - 9:24 # "Interlude No. 2" - 0:55 # "Sympathy" - 4:32

Personnel

- piano, soprano saxophone, recorder, steel & conga drums *

- acoustic bass, steel drums *

- drums & percussion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mourning Of A Star, The Keith Jarrett albums 1971 albums Albums produced by George Avakian Atlantic Records albums