A Multitude of Angels
| A Multitude of Angels | ||||
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| Live album by Keith Jarrett | ||||
| Released | November 4, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | October 23–30, 1996 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 4:57:06 | |||
| Label | ECM | |||
| Producer | Keith Jarrett | |||
| Keith Jarrett chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Down Beat |  |
| The Guardian |  |
| The Irish Times | |
| Allmusic | |
| Financial Times | |
| PopMatters |   |
A Multitude of Angels is a four-CD collection of solo piano recordings by Keith Jarrett, released on November 4, 2016, by ECM Records.
The music comes from four concerts recorded in Italy: in Modena, Ferrara, Torino, and Genova, on October 23, 25, 28, and 30, 1996 respectively. Jarrett recorded the concerts himself on a DAT machine. Each consists of one performance without breaks; these were among the last times that Jarrett took this approach to performance. After the concerts, he withdrew from playing in public, because of chronic fatigue syndrome.
John Fordham of The Guardian commented that "Jarrett has always favoured exhaustive documentation, but the intensity, variety, and astonishing technical command of these performances might well persuade devoted fans and intrigued improv enthusiasts alike of his view that these were landmark moments". John Garratt of PopMatters noted that "The four-disc box set A Multitude of Angels is the new turning point in Jarrett’s career where he pushed himself too hard. His temporary illness is our gain. If marathon performances like The Köln Concert, La Scala, or Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne were your gold standard for inspiration, you’ll be glad to know that this box piles on nearly five extra hours of it. The CD tracks are not divvied up for a vinyl format, either. With the exceptions of encores and covers of “Danny Boy” and “Over the Rainbow”, these untitled improvisations range from 30 minutes to 43 minutes in length. The shortest CD is 70-plus minutes. Once you press play, you really need to hang in there....A Multitude of Angels tells the music world what Keith Jarrett fans already knew—that the man could be an endless fountain of music, a one-man jam-band that only needed 88 keys to balance the Law of Fate with the Law of Accident (according to his liner notes). Since that’s the case, this box will not alter anyone’s perception of Jarrett or change his reputation overall."
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Wikipedia