Big Tip! ** One-time pressing, strictly limited edition ** After more than three decades of whispered reverence among jazz cognoscenti, the complete story of Keith Jarrett's transformative return to his musical birthplace can finally be told. At The Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, a sumptuous 4LP box set to be released in August 2025, captures every note from what may be the most emotionally resonant performance in the pianist's extraordinary catalog. On September 16, 1992, something extraordinary unfolded in the intimate confines of the Deer Head Inn in Pennsylvania's Delaware Water Gap. Keith Jarrett returned to the venue where, at age 16, he had received his first gig as leader of a piano trio. Thirty years had passed since he'd last played there. The world had witnessed his ascension to jazz immortality. Yet something about this tiny club—one of America's oldest jazz venues, presenting live music continuously since 1950—pulled him back.
"The music has the dash and the unabashed lyricism of Keith Jarrett's best work," wrote Stereophile when ECM first released selections from this performance in 1994. Gramophone spoke of "spellbinding" playing, and the Los Angeles Times hailed "a compendium of grace". But what critics didn't know then was that they were hearing only half the story. The personnel alone made this performance legendary. Joining Jarrett was his longtime bassist Gary Peacock, anchor of his celebrated Standards Trio. But at the drums sat Paul Motian—the first time Jarrett had played with Motian since the 1976 session that yielded Byablue and Bop-Be, the final recordings of Jarrett's American Quartet. This performance was the first and only time the Jarrett/Peacock/Motian trio played together.
As Jarrett himself reflected: "It was like a reunion and a jam session at the same time." The chemistry was immediate and undeniable. Switching out his usual go-to, Jack DeJohnette, for Paul Motian (no stranger to Jarrett, with whom he'd worked in the 70s), the trio works wonders with the new colors the latter provides. When At The Deer Head Inn was released in 1994, it instantly became a touchstone recording. "This has long been a favorite Keith Jarrett recording for a couple of reasons. First, it is an unusually intimate live recording from the venerable old Deer Head Inn in PA. Secondly it is the ONLY Jarrett trio recording with Paul Motian on drums", noted one longtime fan. But the complete concert remained tantalizingly out of reach—until 2024, when ECM released The Old Country, featuring eight previously unreleased performances from the same evening. The Guardian's John Fordham called it "song-based jazz-imagining at its best", while critics marveled at the discovery of such treasures hidden in the vaults for three decades.
The "standards" explored on Country all come to life and are shaped anew, from the champagne opening and rolling closing on Cole Porter's "Everything I Love" to the bluesy repose of the title cut. Jarrett's touch is distinct... It can glide, dance, or bounce, but regardless of the technique deployed, there is a singing quality to it. Motian actually is a deciding factor of the sound, with his impeccably light, metallic work on the cymbals. The musical focus is not on sharp contrasts or battling solos, on the contrary: this is mostly about absolute balance in volume and prominence of each instrument. The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and states: "The inventive interpretations give listeners plenty of surprises and variety, making this a very enjoyable outing". This deluxe 4LP edition represents the first time both albums have appeared on vinyl, spread across four LPs housed in two tip-on gatefold jackets and presented in a luxurious slipcase. Most remarkably, this will be a strictly limited, one-time pressing—there will be no second print run. The timing feels poignant. As Jarrett has largely withdrawn from public performance due to health issues, these recordings take on added significance as documents of one of jazz's greatest living masters at the peak of his interpretive powers. By ending with "It's Easy To Remember," the trio saves its finest translucent china for last.
What makes these recordings so special transcends technical excellence. "This live recording specializes in intimacy. Close your eyes and listen to this album; you'd swear you were at the Deer Head Inn, sipping on scotch, holding hands with your special friend, and sniffing the humid foggy air". Perhaps most tellingly, this performance represents everything that makes jazz a living, breathing art form. As one reviewer noted, "The enchantment of jazz is that some nights have special, almost indefinable qualities; other nights are almost routine. Jarrett and Peacock have always striven to outlaw the commonplace nights". At The Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings captures one of those transcendent nights—a reminder of why Keith Jarrett remains jazz's most compelling living voice, and why some musical moments are too precious to remain incomplete.
