Jasmine
(ECM Records)

Virtuoso pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Charlie Haden last recorded together some 30 years ago, but their new release sounds as if they’ve been playing together forever. Jasmine, a duo take on standard ballads, was recorded in Jarrett’s New Jersey-based home studio on an old Steinway that he uses mostly for practice.Though each of the eight tunes have been interpreted a million times, Haden and Jarrett bring something invigorating to their rendering of the music. The sound is clean and perfect for the sparseness of instrumentation and what’s heard is a beautiful musical conversation between two old friends and masters of their respective crafts.