Christensen* – Sleeper (Tokyo, April 16, 1979)

Recorded in 1979 in Japan and the last tour with the European Quartet. This was 'Sleeping' in a vault all those years but 'Personal Mountains' was issued in 1989 from the same tour and the 2 track recording from New York 'Nude Ants' was released in 1980. This is meat and drink for fans of this Jarrett band.

Somehow, this release slipped under my radar. Honestly, @Globe199's review sums it up very nicely. A 30+ year old performance that sounds like it could be from today. Excellent recording, great performances all around, and that sort of 'urgency' that a live performance of this energetic music demands.

Truly outstanding.

This album is a monumental achievement of jazz performance. Jarrett and Garbarek are at the very top of their respective games. The sound quality is stunning for being 30+ years old; one wonders why ECM waited so long to release this music. Though his piano playing is incredible, I am not always huge fan of Keith Jarrett, mostly because many of his recordings are marred by the "singing" that he does. But for whatever reason, that component of his playing is mixed very low on this album, and the music benefits like you wouldn't believe.

Jan Garbarek, who is also a phenomenal player, but can occasionally sound a bit too much like wounded waterfowl, is just a force of nature here. He plays with such power and ion when he's alongside Jarrett. Having him on tenor most of the time gives his sound the meat it deserves.

The quartet's rhythm section is simply deadlocked, firing on a perfect groove the entire time.

There is an energy and emotion in this music that contrasts strikingly with many ECM recordings. But like so many albums in the label's vast and tremendous catalog, this music is/was so well-made that it is essentially ageless. This is easily the best of the three live albums this group made.

Any fan of contemporary jazz will love this.