Changeless (album)

Changeless is a live album by the Keith Jarrett Trio recorded at various venues over a week in October 1987 and released on ECM two years later. The trio—Jarrett's "Standards Trio"—features rhythm section Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette.

October 1987 tour

Changeless is a compilation of tracks recorded during the "Standards trio" October 1987 North American tour in which, according to www.keithjarrett.org, offered 14 recitals in 28 days:

October 3 – Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, FL, USA
October 8 – Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
October 9 – Lexington, KY, USA "Lifeline"
October 11 – Convention Center, Dallas, TX, USA "Endless"
October 12 – Wortham Center, Houston, TX, USA "Ecstasy"
October 14 – Paramount Theater, Denver, CO, USA "Dancing"
October 16 – Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
October 19 – Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
October 21 – Flynn Theater, Burlington, VT, USA
October 23 – Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY, USA
October 25 – Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, OT, Canada
October 27 – Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis, MN, USA
October 29 – Eastman Theater, Rochester, NY, USA
October 31 – Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
November 1 – Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Reception

The AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4 stars and states, "This is a triumph, for Jarrett has successfully brought the organically evolving patterns of his solo concerts into the group format... a genuine collective musical experience."
The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz wrote that Changeless contains "original material which is deeply subversive of the whole tradition of jazz as a system of improvisation on 'the changes'... On Changeless, there are no chord progressions at all; the trio improvises each section in a single key, somewhat in the manner of an Indian raga. The results are impressive and thought-provoking, like everything Jarrett has attempted."
Jarrett biographer Wolfgang Sandner comment of Changeless: "Jarrett had, at last, combined his free-playing techniques with his trio style."

Track listing

All music by Keith Jarrett

"Dancing" – 9:01
"Endless" – 15:32
"Lifeline" – 11:32
"Ecstacy" – 12:59

Personnel

Keith Jarrett Trio

Keith Jarrett – piano
Gary Peacock – bass
Jack DeJohnette – drums

Technical personnel

Manfred Eicher – producer
Jan Erik Kongshaug – remixing engineer
Tom McKenney – recording engineer
Dieter Rehm – design
Gyokusei Jikihara – painting