By the 1980s, virtuoso pianist Keith Jarrett was considered by many to be the world’s greatest contemporary jazz pianist, and a huge influence on performers all over the world. Known best for his jazz work, Jarrett also proved that he was a formidable classical musician. He was famed for his truly inspired improvisations, which drew on jazz, classical, and rock traditions, as well as exploring other avenues, such as various “ethnic” styles, gospel, and blues. Jarrett showed astounding staying power, progressing from his years as a child prodigy to an adult career marked by increasing accolades from the public and professionals alike.
Jarrett was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on May 8, 1945. He began studying piano at the age of three, and spent his childhood and adolescence composing, touring, and giving solo piano recitals. After a year at the Berklee School of Music, Jarrett made his way to New York, where, in 1966, he joined jazz flautist Charles Lloyd’s group. This brought the remarkable young performer to the attention of the international jazz world and beyond, since Lloyd was also popular at the time with rock audiences.
After forming his own quartet in 1969, Jarrett joined pioneering trumpeter Miles DAVIS for a year. Davis, too, was “crossing over” into the rock market with his fusion of experimental jazz and amplified rock music. In 1972, Jarrett moved on again, playing concerts consisting of solo improvisations performed on an acoustic piano, in contrast to the electronic keyboards he had previously been using. Performances consisted typically of two pieces, each lasting between 30 and 45 minutes. Jarrett would introduce a musical idea, explore it at length if it seemed fruitful, and move on to another idea if it did not.
Jarrett’s style was highly distinctive—economical, and retaining a logical unity within his improvisations, however far they happened to develop. He moved from periods of tension to relaxation, developing the music to a climax and then allowing it to fall away. He was known to sing quietly to himself, make small cries, or even dance at the keyboard, indicating just how far he “internalised” his music. Jarrett’s work was part of a long and distinguished tradition of keyboard improvisation, from Frescobaldi and Couperin, on the organ and harpsichord respec-tively, during the 17th century, to the later improvised performances of Bach and Mozart. In the late 1980s, Jarrett recorded both Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book I and his Goldberg Variations.
Jarrett’s own music avoids simple categorisation. He makes distinctive use of ostinati—persistently repeated phrases or rhythms—and his melodies are often unlike conventional jazz tunes, being more abstract and ethereal in nature.
Although Jarrett often worked in a group setting over the years, it is his solo improvisations that yielded his best and most original work. An outstanding example is his 1977 album, Staircase, which contains a particularly good illustration of his musical fusion entitled “Hourglass.” The first part of this piece is around four-and-a-half minutes long and is based on a driving, rhythmic ostinato. Part two lasts almost 14 minutes, and falls into two sections, with a brief transitional period between them. The first section is in 4/4 time, and presents a distinctive rhythmic figure; the second offers a broad, majestic melody, the simple beauty of which recalls the work of MAHLER.
The 1980s and 1990s saw Jarrett broadening his musical base much further, from playing Bach’s work to creating his multi-tracked album, Spirits (1985), in which he played a variety of instruments. He also made a recording of his masterful Vienna Concert in 1991, a solo piano excursion with which this perfectionist performer felt he had truly arrived.
Richard Trombley
SEE ALSO:
BLUES; GOSPEL; JAZZ.
FURTHER READING
Carr, Ian. Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music (London: Paladin, 1992).
SUGGESTED LISTENING
At the Blue Note, In the Light; The Koln Concert; Spirits; Staircase, Standards.