Today I received a review copy of the newest Keith Jarrett Trio release, My Foolish Heart – Live at Montreux (ECM), recorded back in 2001 in a concert that Jarrett himself describes as “completely and comprehensively” reflecting “swinging, energy and personal ecstacy for the player and listener…” Why so long between concert and recording release? Explains Jarrett in the liner notes, “This… was a concert containing so much of the breadth of what we have been doing with ‘Standards’ these almost twenty-five years that now is the time to hear it.” It seems that any time would be the right time to hear this music.

The press accompanying the CD notes that this was the first time that Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette chose to play (three) jazz tunes in a “ragtime style.” OK, now I have to rethink my notions of ragtime. Through most of the two-CD set, we’re treated to hard swinging post bop magic and beautiful 21st century interpretations of classic ballads, not the formulaic (if virtuosic) Joplin or Johnson—I went through that ragtime phase, too.

Miles Davis’ “Four” opens the set in the well-established vein of Jarrett and company, with a strong bass pulse, swinging percussion and intricately woven keyboard figures, each partner acutely aware of the temporal and harmonic locations of his bandmates and how to best respond to each statement. The title track is given a fresh rendering as Jarrett starts from a personally interpretative mode, a bit of darkness tinting his explorations while the inherently swinging interplay among the trio keeps the overall feel bright. The theme emerges, more or less intact, only in the final minutes, an elongated, filigree closing.

Sonny Rollins’ bop classic “Oleo” gets a rousing blast from all, and Peacock’s bass solo as well as supporting lines on “What’s New” give the Burke/Haggard standard a facelift, while DeJohnette’s soft percussive thrust pushes Jarrett’s gentle phrasing ever forward. Also ever moving forward is the Hammerstein & Kern chestnut, “The Song Is You,” DeJohnette here “creating whirlwinds and traffic jams” as Jarrett aptly describes in the liner notes. Jarrett himself sprays a barrage of swirling notes as he moves through the traffic created by his partners.

But then there’s the trio of rags placed midway in the set, with the ghost of Fats Waller rising in Jarrett’s takes on “Ain’t Misbehavin,” “Honeysuckle Rose,” and “You Took Advantage of Me,” although I don’t recall any ragtime bassists or drummers displaying the inventive chops of Peacock or DeJohnette or the stop-time antics of Jarrett’s improvisations. Here Jarrett sounds as modern as ever in his conceptions of time and harmony, and yet simultaneously the lineage from the rag, stride and swing traditions is transparent, perhaps most notably on Hart & Rodgers’ “You Took Advantage of Me.” Peacock’s ferocious walking bass keeps rollicking swing at the forefront while his solo reminds us that a new century stands between then and now.

Fractured time places “Straight No Chaser” in the modern era, as does Peacock’s early solo that dances circles around the chord changes. Jarrett follows with slippery triplet arpeggios and off-kilter runs as he deconstructs the Monk classic. (And true to form, the pianist’s vocal comping is clearly audible.) A bluesy interlude is buoyed by DeJohnette’s continuous, if laid-back onslaught on the snare, broken by bass knocks and a chanting hi-hat, before Jarrett’s serial triplets dissolve into a closing cadenza. Gerry Mulligan’s “Five Brothers” swings mightily, Jarrett pulling out those dozen or so extra digits that he always keeps on hand, while the Styne/Cahn “Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry” flows sweetly in the tradition of Bill Evans and, well, Keith Jarrett, as the trio leisurely works its way through eleven minutes of gorgeous phrases and subtle conversation. “On Green Dolphin Street” finds Jarrett doubling time and trading tall tales with DeJohnette. What appears to be an encore, the Cahn/Van Heusen “Only the Lonely,” is highlighted by a songful bass solo, majestic lines from Jarrett, and an exquisite last touch.

I’ve always thought Jarrett and company tended to swing hard on standards, in stark comparison to Jarrett’s introspective meanderings on his solo and original work. But I’ll agree with the master here, the trio has never sounded as high spirited and joyful. Which of course was one of the hallmarks of ragtime.

In January, the threesome celebrates 25 years of collaboration. Of the great trios in jazz history—think Cole, Evans, Peterson, Jamal—the Keith Jarrett Trio tops the charts in longevity. And they aren’t done yet. As Jarrett says at the end of his liner notes, “Foolish Hearts, indeed! Something to celebrate!”