The Mourning of a Star


The Mourning of a Star is an album by Keith Jarrett recorded in 1971 with his regular working trio and released that same year by Atlantic Records. On five dates in July and August 1971 Jarrett went into the studio with Haden and Motian and, along with Dewey Redman on tenor saxophone, produced enough material for three albums, The Mourning of a Star, El Juicio (The Judgement) and Birth. 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 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, it had not been until Restoration Ruin 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 review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars, stating "These trio performances are impressive for the period, but the best was yet to come.".
Writing in 2011 for JazzTimes à propos of Jarrett's The Mourning of a Star, Kenny Werner highlights two of its tunes stating that:

Track listing

  1. "Follow the Crooked Path " - 6:15
  2. "Interlude No. 3" - 1:15
  3. "Standing Outside" - 3:22
  4. "Everything That Lives Laments" - 2:16
  5. "Interlude No. 1" - 1:40
  6. "Trust" - 6:56
  7. "All I Want" - 2:22
  8. "Traces of You" - 5:08
  9. "The Mourning of a Star" - 9:24
  10. "Interlude No. 2" - 0:55
  11. "Sympathy" - 4:32

Personnel