Staircase (album)

Staircase
Staircase
Studio album by Keith Jarrett
Released	1977
Recorded	May 1976
Studio	Davout Studios; Paris, France
Genre	Jazz
Length	74:27
Label	ECM; ECM 1090/91 ST
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Keith Jarrett chronology
Keith Jarrett solo piano chronology

Staircase is a solo double album by American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett recorded in May 1976 and released on ECM the following year.^[1]

Background[edit]

Jarrett and producer Manfred Eicher had arrived at Studio Davout in Paris to record a soundtrack to Michèle Rosier's film Mon cœur est rouge (French: "My Heart Is Red").^[2] Finishing early with several hours of studio time left and impressed by the quality of the studio's piano, they spontaneously decided to record this album.^[3]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz	^[5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	^[6]

The AllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell states, "One can always admire Jarrett's lovely tone and flexible touch, yet when he gets stuck for ideas, the repetitions finally begin to grate. Maybe he really needs the stimulus of a live audience in order to get the creative and rhythmic juices flowing when flying solo."^[4]

Jarrett biographer Wolfgang Sandner called the album "an impressive study in sound" and an "unbelievable synthesis of sonic art", and commented: "There is no other Keith Jarrett recording that comes so close to achieving the pianistic ideal of lyricism as does this astounding album."^[7]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Keith Jarrett

Side I: Staircase
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Part 1"	6:57
2.	"Part 2"	7:58
3.	"Part 3"	1:25

Side II: Hourglass
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Part 1"	4:42
2.	"Part 2"	14:03

Side III: Sundial
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Part 1"	8:57
2.	"Part 2"	4:55
3.	"Part 3"	6:27

Side IV: Sand
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Part 1"	6:54
2.	"Part 2"	8:48
3.	"Part 3"	3:21

Personnel[edit]

Musician[edit]

Keith Jarrett – piano

Technical personnel[edit]

Manfred Eicher – producer
Roger Roche – recording engineer
Barbara Wojirsch – layout, cover design
Franco Fontana – photography

References[edit]

^ Keith Jarrett - Staircase, 1977, retrieved 2023-12-10
^ Mon cœur est rouge at Internet Movie Database accessed March 28, 2016
^ Ian Carr, Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music page 93
^ ^a ^b Ginell, R. Allmusic Review accessed September 16, 2011
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 768. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 112. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
^ Sandner, Wolfgang (2020). Keith Jarrett: A Biography. Translated by Jarrett, Chris. Equinox. p. 97.

[1] Keith Jarrett - Staircase, 1977, retrieved 2023-12-10

[2] Mon cœur est rouge at Internet Movie Database accessed March 28, 2016

[3] Ian Carr, Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music page 93

[Allmusic-4] Ginell, R. Allmusic Review accessed September 16, 2011

[Penguin-5] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 768. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[RSJRG-6] Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp. 112. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.

[7] Sandner, Wolfgang (2020). Keith Jarrett: A Biography. Translated by Jarrett, Chris. Equinox. p. 97.

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v t e Keith Jarrett
Discography
Studio albums	Life Between the Exit Signs (1968) Restoration Ruin (1968) Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett (1971) The Mourning of a Star (1971) Facing You (1972) Birth (1972) Expectations (1972) Ruta and Daitya (1973) Belonging (1974) Treasure Island (1974) In the Light (1974) El Juicio (The Judgement) (1975) Back Hand (1975) Death and the Flower (1975) Mysteries (1976) Shades (1976) Arbour Zena (1976) Hymns/Spheres (1976) Staircase (1977) Byablue (1977) The Survivors' Suite (1977) My Song (1978) Bop-Be (1978) The Celestial Hawk (1980) G.I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns (1980) Invocations/The Moth and the Flame (1981) Standards, Vol. 1 (1983) Changes (1984) Standards, Vol. 2 (1985) Spirits (1986) Book of Ways (1987) Bridge of Light (1994) The Melody at Night, with You (1999) Jasmine (2010) No End (2013) Last Dance (2014)
Live albums	Somewhere Before (1969) Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne (1973) Fort Yawuh (1973) The Köln Concert (1975) Sun Bear Concerts (1978) Eyes of the Heart (1979) Nude Ants (1980) Concerts (1982) Standards Live (1986) Still Live (1988) Dark Intervals (1988) Personal Mountains (1989) Changeless (1989) Paris Concert (1990) Tribute (1990) The Cure (1991) Vienna Concert (1992) At the Deer Head Inn (1994) Standards in Norway (1995) Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note (1995) La Scala (1997) Tokyo '96 (1998) Whisper Not (2000) Inside Out (2001) Always Let Me Go (2002) Up for It (2003) The Out-of-Towners (2004) Radiance (2005) The Carnegie Hall Concert (2006) My Foolish Heart (2007) Yesterdays (2009) Paris / London: Testament (2009) Rio (2011) Sleeper (2012) Somewhere (2013) Hamburg '72 (2014) Creation (2015) A Multitude of Angels (2016) After the Fall (2018) La Fenice (2018) Munich 2016 (2019) Budapest Concert (2020) Bordeaux Concert (2022)
Compilation albums	Mysteries: The Impulse Years 1975-1976 (1996) The Impulse Years: 1973-1974 (1997)