Life's Backward Glances

Steve Kuhn

3-CD29,90 out of print
Box Set from the "Old & New Masters" Series.
 
This collection brings together three much sought-after recordings by Steve Kuhn: the solo piano album “Ecstasy” (recorded 1974), and two quartet albums. “Motility” (1977) features the band of the same name with saxophonist Steve Slagle in the front line, while “Playground” (1979) is the album that introduced the Steve Kuhn-Sheila Jordan Quartet. Singer Jordan is of course one of the great jazz vocalists, and this was an inspired teaming. Kuhn himself is a superlative pianist of vast gifts; each of these recordings illuminates another aspect of his work. Of these three discs only “Ecstasy” was previously available on compact disc, and then only in Japan. “Motility” and “Playground” here receive their first CD releases.
Featured Artists Recorded

1974-1979

Original Release Date

14.11.2008

  • CD 1
  • 1The Rain Forest
    (Steve Kuhn)
    06:20
  • 2Oceans In The Sky
    (Steve Kuhn)
    05:07
  • 3Catherine
    (Harvie Swartz)
    05:33
  • 4Bittersweet Passages
    (Steve Kuhn)
    04:55
  • 5Deep Tango
    (Steve Kuhn)
    07:28
  • 6Motility / The Child Is Gone
    (Steve Kuhn)
    07:21
  • 7A Danse For One
    (Steve Kuhn)
    03:00
  • 8Places I've Never Been
    (Harvie Swartz)
    04:53
  • CD 2
  • 1Tomorrow's Son
    (Steve Kuhn)
    06:02
  • 2Gentle Thoughts
    (Steve Kuhn)
    07:22
  • 3Poem For No. 15
    (Steve Kuhn)
    07:08
  • 4The Zoo
    (Steve Kuhn)
    04:32
  • 5Deep Tango
    (Steve Kuhn)
    10:40
  • 6Life's Backward Glance
    (Steve Kuhn)
    05:36
  • CD 3
  • 1Silver
    (Steve Kuhn)
    08:53
  • 2Prelude In G
    (Steve Kuhn)
    04:26
  • 3Ulla
    (Steve Kuhn)
    07:23
  • 4Thoughts Of A Gentleman - The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers
    (Steve Kuhn)
    12:16
  • 5Life's Backward Glance
    (Steve Kuhn)
    04:50
Kuhn gehört mit Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley, Chick Corea und Richie Beirach zur Garde der Jazzpianisten, die mit ihren ECM-Aufnahmen in den siebziger Jahren dem Jazzpiano völlig neue Wege eröffneten. Nun hat ECM drei LP von Kuhn in einer 3-CD-Box zusammengefasst. … Besonders willkommen ist die Wiederveröffentlichung von „Playground“, einer Aufnahme von 1979 im Quartett mit Sängerin Sheila Jordan. Auf dieser Aufnahme, die ebenfalls aus Stücken aus Kuhns Feder besteht, wird nicht eine Sängerin von einem Klaviertrio begleitet, sondern die Stimmen von Sheila Jordan und Kuhns Klavier verweben sich zu einem elegischen, berührenden Ganzen voll herbstlich-trauriger Zwischentöne.
Jürg Meier, Neue Zürcher Zeitung
 
With two very different quartet contexts augmenting the solo disc – both featuring a traditional piano-bass-drums foundation, but one featuring woodwind multi-instrumentalist Steve Slagle, and the other with Jordan bring a lyrical interpretation to Kuhn’s writing – Life’s Backward Glances refracts Kuhn’s music through three very different prisms, each with its own set of colours and undeniable charm.
John Kelman, all about Jazz