— Last month, ECM released an unusual album from jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. “No End,” recorded in the artist’s home studio in 1986, is unlike anything he’s recorded before or since. The album shows Jarrett playing drums, electric guitar, electric bass, and more, resulting is something close to free-jazz. “Somehow something happened during these days in the 80s that won’t ever be repeated,” Jarrett writes in the liner notes, which is putting it mildly. [ECM, $23]
— Jem Cohen’s “Museum Hours,” a meta-fictional film about the Kunsthistorisches Art Museum in Vienna and one of ARTINFO critic Graham Fuller’s top films of the year, is out in a splendid Blu-Ray release. [Cinema Guild, $20.99]
— Fan of photography and music? Then you can’t go wrong with “Houston Rap,” a deep-dive portrait of the local Texas hip-hop community. The images, by photographer Peter Beste, are complemented by the text of writer Lance Scott Walker. [Sinecure Books, $50]
— Do you have too many books piling on a shelf unread? Feel like you spend too much time in front of a screen? May we suggest the Dam Drum 3, a pocket-sized drum machine featuring original sounds selected by the artist Dam-Funk. This one of a kind item was hand crafted Bleep Labs in Austin TX. [Stones Throw, $110]
