Standards, Volume 2 and Changes, both recorded at the same session in New York, followed soon after. The success of these albums and the group's ensuing tour, which came as traditional acoustic post-bop was enjoying an upswing in the early 1980s, led to this new "Standards Trio" becoming one of the premier working groups in jazz, and certainly one of the most enduring, continuing to record and perform live over more than twenty years.
The Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette trio has also produced recordings that consist largely of challenging original material, most notably 1987's Changeless. (These recordings are noted above.) Several of the standards albums contain an original track or two, some attributed to Jarrett but mostly group improvisations. The live recordings Inside Out and Always Let Me Go (both released in 2001) marked a renewed interest by the trio in wholly improvised free jazz. By this point in their history, the musical communication between these three men had become all but telepathic, and their group improvisations frequently take on a complexity that sounds almost composed. The Standards Trio undertakes frequent world tours of recital halls (the only venues in which Jarrett, a notorious stickler for acoustic sound, will play these days) and is one of the few truly lucrative jazz groups to play both "straight-ahead" (as opposed to smooth) and free jazz.
Round Midnight
Keith Jarrett Trio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Round midnight, midnight
I do pretty well, till after sundown
Suppertime I'm feelin' sad
But it really gets bad
'Round midnight
Memories always start 'round midnight
When my heart is still with you
And ol' midnight knows it, too
When a quarrel we had needs mending
Does it mean that our love is ending
Darlin' I need you, lately I find
You're out of my heart
And I'm out of my mind
Let our hearts take wings'
'Round midnight, midnight
Let the angels sing
For your returning
Till our love is safe and sound
And old midnight comes around
Feelin' sad
Really gets bad
Round, Round, Round Midnight
The song "Round Midnight" by Keith Jarrett Trio is a jazz standard that was written by Thelonious Monk, Cootie Williams, and Bernie Hanighen. The lyrics of the song express the nostalgic and melancholic feelings that take over the singer at midnight, when memories of past love affairs and past mistakes start to appear. The first stanza describes how the singer can manage to live his life well until sunset, but then he starts feeling sad, and it gets worse around midnight. The following stanza highlights how memories of past affairs always come around midnight, making him feel even sadder. The singer understands that his heart is still with his past lover, and he wonders whether their quarrel means their love is ending. He then pleads with his beloved to return so that they can mend what is broken and make their love safe and sound.
Line by Line Meaning
It begins to tell
The story that is about to unfold
'Round midnight, midnight
It all starts 'round midnight
I do pretty well, till after sundown
I can manage my feelings until the sun sets
Suppertime I'm feelin' sad
Once it's suppertime, I start to feel down
But it really gets bad
But then things get much worse
'Round midnight
When it's midnight
Memories always start 'round midnight
That's when my memories begin to surface
Haven't got the heart to stand those memories
I can't bear the thought of those memories
When my heart is still with you
When my heart still belongs to you
And ol' midnight knows it, too
And even midnight is aware
When a quarrel we had needs mending
When we need to make amends after a fight
Does it mean that our love is ending
Does this signify the end of our love?
Darlin' I need you, lately I find
My darling, I need you; lately, I've realized that
You're out of my heart
That I've fallen out of love with you
And I'm out of my mind
And that it's driving me crazy
Let our hearts take wings'
Let our hearts soar
'Round midnight, midnight
When it's midnight
Let the angels sing
Let the angels rejoice
For your returning
For when you come back to me
Till our love is safe and sound
Until our love is secure and happy
And old midnight comes around
And when midnight rolls back around
Feelin' sad
I will be feeling down
Really gets bad
And things will get much worse
Round, Round, Round Midnight
All around midnight
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cootie Williams, Bernard D Hanighen, Theolonious S Monk
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anand Pandya
Round Midnight can bring tears to one’s eyes at its great beauty. This rendition is right up there with Wes Montgomery, Bill Evans and, of course, the incomparable Monk himself.
Naoaki Motobayashi
Then, I'll add Petrucciani.
Barba Negra
Corea
Alan Corbett
Keith hangs suspended fourths and ninths giving the whole thing another layer. Superb arpeggios bounced between a railing theme. The Cm 7 drops into place after a flurry of... never mind just enjoy.
PugilisticFront
f**k theory
Gustavo Lonegro
Incredible music and what a sound he has - as if he had studied Beethoven :). This take has everything from swing to sound to creativeness - the end oh man! And he missed no single note. We are very lucky to have experienced this genius. Jarrett at his best in one of his best concerts ever.
Wyndym Equine
That touch..!! Choruses are melodic,lyrical, such even 16th note runs (somebody played a LOT of Bach)-the polar opposite of Monk's stabs and angular twists- neither is better than the other- the winner is the composition.
Ed Zielinski
Amazing. It's thrilling how he transforms the song into something completely new, but honors the original spirit of the song. You can't do this with a Van Gogh or a Da Vinci!
DLSmith93
Keith has always been a master. He plays as though he is making love to his instrument. There is a majestic virtuosity that follows his every note and chord choice. Thank you so much for adding to my exploration of this masterpiece.
Joe K
What a breathtaking ending to a wonderful interpretation of Round Midnight. Exquisite