Music Notes – Tribute (Keith Jarrett Trio)

Keith Jarrett just has to do things differently. And so when he and his band mates (bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette) make a tribute album, it just can't be for one person or even a composer. Here they pay tribute to the great performances of several people doing other people's great tunes. Now I am not familiar enough with the original recordings, so I can only focus on the music itself, which, as usual, is fine.
I can say these standards sound much more like the kind of thing people go to when they want to hear fresh versions of the Great American Songbook, and there are not so many of the usual "extensions" Keith Jarrett Trio is known for. But if you love piano jazz, you won't get this recording confused with any other trio. You may have heard many renditions of "Lover Man," "Solar," "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" and “All The Things You Are.” But a few notes into the melody, and you know you are listening to Jarrett, Peacock, and DeJohnette.
A couple original tunes can also be found on Tribute, each of which close the respective discs on the project: "Sun Prayer" on the first disc and "U Dance" and side two. I'm not sure why they are here, but I didn't find their inclusion jarring in the least. They are also two of the catchier and perhaps most accessible pieces in the project.