Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette@UCLA Royce Hall03.05.08
By George W. Harris

Like any marriage that lasts 25 years, the Keith Jarrett trio celebrated it’s silver anniversary tour by displaying the qualities that make a long term relationship work. While never using verbal dialogue, the three all star musicians were able to use nuance, anticipation and empathetic division of labor to get their musical points across to one another in order to create a unity and camaraderie of spirit and direction.

Opening with the achingly slow “Masquerade is Over”, and continuing until the final encore of “Poinciana”, Jarrett achingly coerced his thoughtful selection of notes, viscerally drawing out each tone to DeJohnette’s steady pulsating drums and Peacock’s intuitive bass. On the dreary and dreamy “Meaning of the Blues”, Jarrett showed a telepathic sense of when to change and shift moods, grooving from the ethereal and moody to the exotic and Middle Eastern. “Someday My Prince Will Come” featured dancing and buoyant piano work, shifting turns with Peacock’s nursery rhymish strummings. The band was able to also turn up the heat, as on the incendiary “Straight No Chaser” and “Green Dolphin Street”, the former featuring some flashy drumwork by DeJohnette. By the evening’s end, it was crystal clear that commitment, trust and communication are the key ingredients for this partnership that has lasted longer than most Hollywood marriages.