by Richard S. Ginell
This is the Keith Jarrett Trio's -- featuring bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette -- elegy for their former employer Miles Davis, recorded only 13 days after the maestro's death. The lonely figure in shadow with a horn on the cover contrasts with the joyous spirit of many of the tracks on this CD, yet there is still a ghostly presence to deal with -- and in keeping with Miles' credo, Jarrett's choice of notes is often more purposefully spare than usual. There is symmetry in the organization of the album, with &Bye Bye Blackbird& opening and the trio's equally jaunty &Blackbird, Bye Bye& closing the album, and the interior tracks immediately following the former and preceding the latter are &You Won't Forget Me& and &I Thought About You.& The centerpiece of the CD is an 18-and-a-half-minute group improvisation, &For Miles,& which after some DeJohnette tumbling around becomes a dirge sometimes reminiscent of Miles' own elegy for Duke Ellington, &He Loved Him Madly.& As an immediate response to a traumatic event, Jarrett and his colleagues strike the right emotional balance to create one of their more meaningful albums.