'Slowly: Song for Keith Jarrett' was recorded at the end of 2020, a watershed year for pianist Noah Haidu. As critical accolades streamed in for his innovative multi-media release 'Doctone', Haidu realised another ambitious project: recording a trio album with one of the greatest bass and drum combinations in jazz: Billy Hart and Buster Williams.
The decision to focus the album's material around the great Keith Jarrett crystallized when news broke of Keith Jarrett's retirement due to a pair of debilitating strokes. "When I heard about Keith," says Haidu. "I was profoundly moved, and I started to envision the recording with Billy and Buster as a kind of musical response to these events and Keith's body of work."
The music on 'Slowly' flowed organically with Hart, Haidu, and Williams all contributing compositions, but the project was not without its challenges. A planned west coast tour/record date in August 2020 was postponed due to the pandemic. The recording was eventually rescheduled for late November, with Covid's second surge threatening to interfere again.
The trio approached the thematic aspect of the music by maintaining a respectful distance, and a commitment to playing the music their own way rather than recreating performances of the past. "Everyone in the band has such a clearly defined voice," says Haidu. "There was never a possibility of taking an imitative approach."
