Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Paul Motian | The Old Country: More From The Deer Head Inn

Keith Jarrett’s recordings from the Deer Head Inn have a special place among his recordings devoted to explorations of jazz standards and the American songbook. And The Old Country is a document of particular historical significance, from several perspectives.

The Deer Head Inn, situated in Pennsylvania’s Delaware Water Gap Region, has presented live music continuously since 1950, making it one of the US’s oldest jazz clubs. In 1961, the club gave Jarrett, then 16 years old, his first gig as leader of a piano trio. When owners Bob and Fay Lehr retired, handing the reins over to their daughter Dona and son-in-law Christopher Solliday, Jarrett offered to play there again, to honour the club’s ongoing commitment to jazz.

On September 16, 1992, Jarrett, joined by Gary Peacock and Paul Motian, played to a packed house. There had been no promotion, but news of the event had spread by word of mouth. The Deer Head is an intimate venue and the Allentown Morning Call paper subsequently reported that, “of the 130 people inside the club, 30 had to stand. On the porch outside, another 50 or 60 people stood.”

The spontaneously organized performance marked the only occasion on which Jarrett, Peacock and Motian played as a trio. Peacock, at the time, was a dedicated member of the Standards trio completed by Jack DeJohnette. Motian had been drummer of Jarrett’s ‘American quartet’ (refer to The Survivors Suite and Eyes of the Heart), but hadn’t worked with Jarrett since that group’s dissolution. “Not only had I not played piano at the Deer Head for 30 years, but I hadn’t played with Paul Motian for 16 years. So it was like a reunion and a jam session at the same time”, wrote Jarrett in the liner notes to At The Deer Head Inn, the initial selection of material issued from this gig, in 1994.

Old friendships underlined the Deer Head project. The recording was initiated by Bill Goodwin, who had played drums on Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett (Atlantic) in 1970, before joining the Phil Woods Quartet, regulars at the Deer Head for many years. Goodwin proposed a documentary recording for Jarrett’s personal reference, but on listening Jarrett recognized “that this had to be released.... I think you can hear on this tape what jazz is all about.”

When At The Deer Head Inn was issued in 1994, the press agreed. “The music has the dash and the unabashed lyricism of Keith Jarrett’s best work,” wrote Stereophile. Gramophone, meanwhile, spoke of “spellbinding” playing, and the Los Angeles Times hailed “a compendium of grace.”

Thirty years later, it was time to revisit the material. Keith Jarrett and Manfred Eicher selected the eight previously unreleased pieces that comprise The Old Country, a second volume from the Deer Head performance.

Repertoire includes a double helping of Cole Porter with “Everything I Love” and “All of You,” Thelonious Monk’s “Straight No Chaser,” Jule Styne’s “I Fall In Love Too Easily,” Frank Churchill’s “Someday My Prince Will Come,” Gershwin’s “How Long Has This Been Going On,” Victor Young’s “Golden Earrings” and Nat Adderley’s “The Old Country.”