As someone who is autistic and plays piano, I ADORE Mr. Jarrett's explanation of why he makes his sounds when he is playing. So often when I am playing I feel like I can't get the full sound out and in my mind it almost too much and it just overflows out of my mouth. It feel so great to know that a master does the same things that I do makes me really happy. This was a fantastic video Aimee!!!
Thank you Aimee for this video about Keith Jarrett. Thank you also for tuning your Hallet & Davis piano before making this video so we can hear both harmony and melody more clearly in your demonstrations. I've been playing jazz piano for over seven decades, and I've studied Keith's playing for many of those decades. I've met him numerous times after concerts and discussed music with him. Keith, Jack and Gary all signed my "Standards in Norway" C.D. which I've all but memorized after countless plays. You have done a great job in analyzing Keith's playing, especially his improvisations. One of Keith's most praised abilities has always been his skill in playing improvised right hand lines. But in recent years, I've concentrated less on his lines and more on his piano sound, since I am constantly drawn to it as a romantic is drawn to the scent of fragrant flowers. Three of the most prominent things about Keith's playing are His Harmony, His Piano Sound, and His Solo Piano Intros, especially on ballads. First, his piano sound is unique. It has an exquisite elegant, polished sound, which emanates from his left hand chording. His chord voicings are delicious, touching, and gorgeous. His harmonies are a wonderful evolution of Bill Evans harmony, and although Bill's harmony often evoked different degrees of melancholy in the listener, Keith's harmony evoke a far greater range of emotion. The concept of "creating the listener's moods through many different harmonies" is a goal which is rarely considered. Harmonies which instill mystery, sadness, beautiful joy, exquisite richness, wonderful sensuousness, and often intrigue in the listener. Unfortunately, I'm using words to describe these feelings, and they are a poor substitute for the higher art form of music, but suffice to say that Keith's harmonies are highly evolved, and are almost always moving and delicious in one way or another. After years of studying his harmonic technique, which is mixed into his piano sound, I've finally discovered how he creates it. First, since he is a signed Steinway & Sons artist, Steinway provides him with his choice of model "D" concert grand pianos. After Keith has chosen the piano for his performance, the piano is delivered to the concert venue and it is freshly tuned, then retouched with a fine tuning minutes before the performance. Second, Keith plays within a vary narrow range of the keyboard, not extending much more than an octave above or below middle C. He tries to keep the harmony notes of his left hand and as many melody notes in his right hand within that narrow range around middle C, because that particular range of frequencies are most conducive to avoiding harmonic overtones, while also sounding most pleasing to the human ear. Third, Keith often comps with his left hand in a very staccato, peppery way, playing very sparsely. Finally, he uses very little sustain pedal. Often, he uses no sustain pedal at all. This approach dampens all the unused strings, while eliminating overtones and harmonics. It also projects a far clearer harmonic sound, much cleaner, which translates to a much more beautiful sound. Playing without using sustain pedal is very difficult, and it requires a far greater amount of muscle control and effort. I suggest you try playing any of your favorite tunes without the use of sustain pedal, and you will quickly discover that your fingers have to work much harder to get the sound out, but the cleaner sound can be worth it. If you watch Keith's feet during his concerts on You-Tube, you will notice his reluctance to use much sustain pedal. Also, his body movements while he is standing, gyrating, and dancing as he plays, is another physical feat which makes playing even more difficult. Exactly how he gets such a beautiful sound out of the piano, and plays such strong improvised melody lines while standing, dancing and gyrating....with his eyes closed, is truly remarkable. If you try doing all of this, you will quickly realize what an incredible piano athlete Keith was. The third outstanding attribute Keith has shared with listeners, is his incredible, deep, intimate, and often heart-breaking solo piano intros to tunes, especially ballads. While Jack and Gary sit, waiting for their cues to join in the tune, Keith will play the most personal and touching piano introductions. It's as if you were the only person listening to him play, and he was playing it just for you because you are the love of his life. Rich, sensuous, tender, gorgeous piano introductions. And, he often uses very few notes. He knows how to play spaces, just as Miles Davis could play spaces as well as notes, Keith knows how to phrase, and use bits of silence as effectively as he uses notes. Listen to his piano introductions on his You-Tube recordings of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", "Danny Boy", "I Fall In Love Too Easily" "With A Song In My Heart", and so many more tunes. Exquisite !! A pianist's greatest temptation, after seeing the piano's 88 keys, is to play as many keys as possible, and as fast as possible. Liszt, Chopin, and other composers would write piano music to challenge pianists to play impossible mountains of notes at fast tempos. The instrument itself presents all of its notes to you as soon as you sit on the bench, and your natural inclination is to play them. Keith, using mostly that small portion of the keyboard, playing in a simple, spartan uncluttered way, with no sustain pedal, has managed to achieve one of the greatest goals that any pianist can accomplish. That is to have the ability to make this 88-note percussion instrument sound like a wind instrument. Part of this technique is the ability to quickly gliss into and out of chords and melody notes, while playing other distracting notes in the left hand. Magicians call this "misdirection" meaning to get the viewer to look at one hand, while the other hand is doing something else. After years of studying Keith, and discovering the secrets of how he accomplishes his elegant, polished liquid sound, I've tried to copy it, but with little success at times. It all seems so simple and easy, not highly technical, yet it has taken Keith years to perfect his rich, polished piano sound, and for the most part, the listener is not even aware of it. However, the listener does indeed feel the effects of it emotionally. I realize you have concentrated mostly on Keith's right hand improvised lines, and many people have transcribed his playing note for note, as have you. He has played some amazing stuff, and not necessarily to satisfy his ego, but rather to be creative in service of the music But, I urge you to listen to the other, deeper, more emotionally expressive aspects of Keith's playing as well. His left hand harmonies, his comping, his ability to play without sustain pedal, his overall gorgeous piano sound, and his deeply intimate piano introductions.......especially on ballads, as well as his solo piano recordings....especially ballads. One other thing I've noticed about Keith's playing is a kind of musical maturity. His ability to play simple, beautiful things without the need to impress the listener with lots of notes and indulgent showing off. If you compare his playing to other top Jazz pianists, you will notice it is not ornamented much. Keith rarely uses any extra notes for effect. Even though he can play fast and complex improvised lines, they are all full of musical nutrition. No superfluous runs, grace notes, trills or gimmicks. Unlike many famous Jazz pianists, (mostly men) Keith rose to a point where he didn't feel he had to prove he could play lots of notes and fast tempos just to impress listeners. When he does play that way, its because the music calls for it, not his ego, or his insecurities. I could write for hours about Keith's moaning, singing, caterwauling and grunting, as well as the love/hate relationship he developed with audiences over the years. I've attended those concerts where Keith and the audiences got into shouting matches, and near fist fights, but that is a subject for another time. I've discovered that the best teachers are those who inspire you, who move you. I've studied a handful of great Jazz and Classical pianists who inspire me deeply, and those people seem to be the ones from whom I've learned the most. Fortunately, I've been lucky enough to study privately with a couple of them. As pianists, we are all lucky that Keith has left a rich piano legacy for us to enjoy and to study. I'm so glad he has inspired you, and I'm sure he would be happy to know that he has become part of your creativity and your playing. I wish you all the best in your rich musical journey.
I’m so lucky to be a fly in the wall of your badass musings. One of The coolest jazz moms. Imagine a reality tv show in the vein of “dance moms” with you in it. Lol! The scandals and trials of Jazz moms. Lmao “FOLLOW YOUR MOTIF TO THE END”
Keith Jarrett was (until his recent troubles) the greatest musician on the planet. Bar none. Given his composing, performance, collaborations. THIS IS WHY I LOVE AIMEE! She not only has made me a great guitar player in terms of voicings, but also in terms of listening. Thank you for teaching me my ears are the most important part of a musician. I've seen Keith 5 or so times (I live in New Jersey) and had tickets to his last cancelled CarnHall concert. Thank you Aimee for this. A gift.
" There's not enough space for the input and output at the same time, " says Keith as he refers to his penchant for vocalization of his lines. I love that. Jarrett's music is in a class of one, inhabiting a space that includes Jazz while simultaneously transcending it.
My favourite Jarrett moment is probably the tune "Old Folks" on his trio album "The Cure". I also love the intro to "Bye Bye Blackbird" on the "At The Deer Head Inn" album. And I love the whole "The Melody At Night With You" album, which never fails to calm me down.
Thanks for the video Aimee. Keith has been my favorite also for the past 30 years. Hearing somebody say “go listen to ‘At the Deer Head Inn’ made me happy. 😃
I'm sure you're familiar w/ the live version of 'The Days Of Wine and Roses', from the Keith Jarrett Trio 's 'Complete Live At Blue Note' album. That intro can only be described as 'sonic poetry'. His touch, dynamics, the tone he gets from the piano and the improvised intro itself, where he takes the main theme and does digressions on motifs, going into these little detours, while never leaving the core of the melody...its' brilliant and they go off into the tune and Keith goes into one of the most incredible piano solos I've heard him play, spontaneously picking melodic patterns/motifs and imitating w/ the correct accidentals to fit the next change, many great masters, but Keith is unique in the way he builds it on the fly to a climax...it's supreme and Jack and Gary are right there w/ him. Top shelf.
Wow Aimee, what a great vid. I have long said Standards in Norway is possibly my favorite jazz album of all time and it's great to see someone else recognize how great this work is. An underrated Jarrett recording for sure.
Been in love since Personal Mountains. Also, I love this channel! I love the slow pace, normal voice, intelligent digging through ... Perfect for an old fart like me
BRAVO! Keith Jarrett performances can still bring tears to my eyes these 45 years after my first discovery of him! Your theory analysis coupled with your personal joy brought greater meaning for me of his standards. Thanks for all that you do and sharing your enthusiasm, it is infectious.
'Standards In Norway' has always been my favourite Jarrett trio album. Thanks for explaining it to well, and bringing it to the attention of the people. Not enough musicians give it the credit it deserves. Melody, motivic development and lyricism is the key!
Keith Jarrett is out of this world. Simply Everything he did is miraculous, but the standards are just stellar. And out of all these stellar gems, the one that will never stop blowing my mind - literally - is The Song Is You from "Still Live" (1986). And to be precise, the incredible vamp that starts somewhere around 8:45. It also starts with a too-good-to-be-so-simple motif and then develops and develops until he exhausts it and leads it to yet another, very close motif that also develops into one of the most exciting, sensational, breathtaking and any other superlative I'll ever come up with. This is definitely, without a shade of a doubt my favorite 5 minute of Jazz ever. Forget it, of any kind of music.
Great video. Thank you Aimee. Keith Jarrett is the greatest pianist of our time. His playing is Jazz for me! I like his recent concert albums the most. My favourite album of his (in addition to perhaps Koln Concert) is “The Melody at Night, With You”. He does not have to swing to play great jazz!
By chance I saw him live once and towards the end of the concert he was standing up in front of the piano playing percussion and leaning over the keyboard plucking on the strings inside the grand piano grunting and sighing extracting every possibility out of the instrument. When the concert was over I felt like a little kid who had just seen and heard a piano being played for the first time and was totally enthrawlled.
I was in the process of making something. I had to stop. I had to cut it short. I had to cut your ticket price short. And when I prepare for solo tours (If I prepare at all) I'm in there and no one's coughing, and I can do things! I can actually play things! This reminds me of a tour I did in Europe. They hated Americans there.
I love all incarnations of Keith Jarrett, but the Standards Trio I listen to the most. "My Foolish Heart" is maybe my favorite, the ballads are very special on that occasion and the rest swings incredibly hard & goes deep. Even a spectacular ragtime section. Great setlist and very restrained when it comes to the screaming.
I got into Keith back in the 70's when Koln Concert album came out. I was a guitarist and didn't listen to a lot of solo piano but that album really drew me in. Over the decades I've listened to Keith off and on and did go to hear him live once. I went with my business partner whose degrees was in classical piano performance. It was funny watch my friend squirm watch Keith girations and standing when he played. She finally calmed and and got into the music. She told me later she just closed her eyes so she couldn't see Keith and just listened. Now I'm trying to learn to play piano and listening to Keith especially the Standard albums. They album that really grabbed me recently and I can't stop listening to is Bye Bye Blackbird something about that album really does it for me.
Excellent take on Keith Jarrett, his sense of harmony is out of this world, there’s no one like him! I have a recording of Glenn Gould doing some Bach inventions on vinyl and he vocally goes along with it too, sometimes you can hear him. On digital cd format, you can’t.
Thanks for this posting. Keith has easily become my favorite jazz pianist. I certainly love McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and so on. But What I noticed about Keith is that he seems to have an endless vocabulary. He's recognizable in a blindfold test but never really plays the same licks if you will that can often be used to identify a musician. I could do without some of the grunting heard in many of his recordings but that's Keith and part of his musical exploration. I'm a guitarist and wish I had that facility. Anyway, I own all of his trio recordings with Gary and Jack as well as several solo recordings. He's phenomenal.
My favorite KJ solo (and all-time favorite improvisation, period) is on “Too Young To Go Steady” from Standards Live. A slow-building, lyrical, logical but unpredictable masterpiece over an unstoppable groove from Peacock & DeJohnette. Also, I was in the audience for Disc 4 of the Live at the Blue Note set. I got to shake Keith’s hand afterward (I was nervous as hell). An evening I’ll never forget.
Hi again, while listening just now to the Norway recordings that Keith Jarrett made with his band, I noticed a lot of swing happening. I would like to request that someday you make a video on techniques of swing. I would like to learn how to do this better myself. Thanks as always!
@@AimeeNolte I knew that you had at least one video on Swing because I saw it at one point recently but haven't seen it yet. I thought it was more about swing appreciation than technique, but I am happy to know you have several videos on swing. I will be sure to check them out. I will also see about your class at Nebula. I benefitted from a Yo-Yo Ma Masterclass recently, though I only play keys. But because you said your class is for people of all sorts, I will visit it. Also, what you said and wrote about Jarrett's emphasis on melody rings very true to me and my own particular style of playing. Thanks again Aimee.
Great discussion on Keith Jarrett Aimee. Now I want to hear the Mariam McPartland interview with him and the Jazz Standards album he made. You open up so many ideas for me...thank you so much!
I think the music such as Keith Jarrett's don't make you only a better musician, but a better human. Most of us are not musicians. But we all need to have good inspirations. This music is like light and love. And, thank you Aimee for your gentle and inspirational analysis and examples!
Lovely video! Keith has been such an immense inspiration on my playing and felt such a deep relation to the way you expressed the magic in Keith's musicality.
Hi Aimee, This is such a rich and positive analysis of these tracks and Keith Jarrett's playing - there are so many great observations to think about, and the transcription is really helpful as a way for us to 'see' the things you speak about - the use of bebop vocabulary and so on... This is great! I am working my way through your videos and getting so much from them - thank you!
'At the Blue Note' is my go to album when I'm writing - it's rare to find such virtuosity mixed with such musicality, served up so effortlessly. Keith truly is the living embodiment of the piano.
I think of many others more as embodiment of the piano. Hawes, Garland, Evans, Kelly, Jamal, Parlan, hancock many others. imo Jarrett emphasises playing lines like a horn player. He doesnt rely on hand memory scales and licks. He seems to be intensely trying to make lines emotional, original, truly improvised, tasteful. I admire that he was gutsy to go a different path than most.
@@brucesmith3740 that's actually a really interesting way to think about it, almost as if he's using the piano as an altered instrument, that might be why he stands out from other pianists, and why he vocalises as much as he does. He's a clarinetist who plays the piano instead...
Hi Aimee! I don’t often watch your videos because they’re a bit long, but I think in this one really emerges the love that you have for the Music. Thank you!
Luuiiv KJ so much! Was first exposed to the Standards trio on PBS and I had to get all his trio albums and DVDs! KJ is the most powerful musical sorcerer of the 20th century!
I used to play in a trio like this, and god do I miss it. At first it was really thrown together because we were all in different bands and every once in a while one of us would get a gig and someone in the band would have something else, so we'd put the trio together instead. We trusted each other enough to call out tunes and just jam. It got to the point that we'd have 45 minutes sets with three songs. Unfortunately I had to move away for work and haven't had a gig since, but I'm actually moving back soon, and this is something I'm really looking forward to.
I love your deconstruction of Jarrett's music. It opens up the complexity of the process within his improvisations and how he constructs the music. Fascinating.
Great transcribing !! What a broad thinker Keith Jarrett is.. such swing to.. idea developed one after leading to another.. Don’t get around Much in there.. Thanks Aimee this is great !!
I find it super interesting and cool that Keith Jarrett hears a ton of stuff going on in his head, but can't quite express some of what he hears due to the limitations of the keyboard, or the sheer volume of the idea itself. Keith Jarrett also plays lots of other instruments such as drums, saxophone, organ, guitar, harmonica, bass guitar, and other percussion instruments (Check out his album "Restoration Ruin", he plays almost all the instruments on these and sings.) Maybe he plays all these instruments to express himself in different voices, and to give us an idea of what's going on in his mind, his inner ear. Side note: There's a great 1970's video of Mr. Jarrett playing soprano saxophone with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian. He loves singing into the sax too, and it gives so much character into its sound! Loved the video Aimee!! 😁
Thank you Aimee - Keith Jarrett is one of my top favourites. ‘God Bless the Child’ has to be one of my most played tracks as well as the Standards in Norway LP. Thanks for this very informative video - more of these please. Chick or Herbie next?
The other album i love absolutely is ‘Live at the Blue Note -Complete Recordings’ - CD 1 Song: ‘How long Has This Been Going On?’ The Trio are superb throughout the whole gig but this one song is one of my absolute favourites.
Just found you looking for music notation/ manuscript tips and saw this vid on Jarrett's Norway standards album. OMG, I've never heard it. It's astoundingly good. Cadenza on I Hear a Rhapsody knocked me out of my chair. So glad i found your channel
Thanks for posting. I confess, I'm a defect. Jarret's performance (lyrical ideas, execution, delivery, etc) is as good as it gets in my opinion. If I was a kid just starting to learn the genre (or music in general), I'd be trying to get as much of Keith Jarret's music in my ears as possible. I'm not exactly sure how to articulate it, but is just so pure and musical; like it breathes life on its own. Its so perfectly good...
Keith Jarrett is amazing and Standars in Norway is my favorite album, ...those songs, playing, sound. And as a bass player just love A Little Girl Blue...Gary`s bass solo is just unbelieveble😮😊
Wonderful episode here. And I love Keith’s reflection on ‘The Good America’ on extracurricular sounds (squeal) made in striving for that full expression that isn’t quite attainable! Thanks for all of this Aimee!
Hi, Aimee.Thank you for mentioning that album. I got the exact same feeling as you when I heard that version of “All of you”. This is one of the greatest and less known albums by the trio. I also appreciate the way you take your time to really explain in depth and show on the piano in your videos. It makes it a lot easier for us to learn. Keep up the good work👍
Yea it’s hard to argue that Standards in Norway is one of the top but there are a few that get there. The Blue Note box for instance is something I’ve heard many times and never sounds old…
I love Keith Jarrett. Standards in Norway and the Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note box set are my favorite albums in the jazz trio genre of his remarkable career. Standards in Norway was recorded six years after his original Standards studio albums, and the playing reached another level of perfection. I enjoyed Aimee Nolte's analysis, enthusiasm, and insight into Jarrett's playing.
Merci for this about Keith. I've never been a musician but have loved Keith. I don't know if you read my message about doing a self treatment video for piano players. It covers the low back, hands, wrists, forearms and shoulders and neck. My daughter is going to film it soon since I don't have to worry about the cameras, like you said with Nebula. And I don't want to start my own channel, but would let you use it to help other pianists. I'll e-mail you to discuss any details.
Great video Aimee. Keith is one of my favorites players. He’s also a great classical musician, just listen to his Mozart and Shostakovich. Probably he is motif driven because of his strong classical music background.
After listening most of his recordings and playing some of his transcriptions I came back to Over the Rainbow. The version recorded in London, 91. I hope he will be playing again.
Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and energy. Like others have already mentioned I find Keith’s Koln concert 2B a fav. The story line of that particular performance moved me. Keith’s willingness to work with what was made available to him even though it wasn’t up to his usual standard. IMHO, he showcased a musical version of the idea “ when all you’re given is lemons, go out and make lemonade “. The best tasting lemonade. He also speaks volumes for embracing life as an adventure.
Love this! (BTW, now for a pedagogical pedantic comment. Melancholy Baby in this key would have landed on the high F, not the G as Keith plays it) But the point of using a motif that is reminiscent of the tune is well taken anyway.
Kieth and the trio were never doing "their" thing. They were doing THE thing; and doing it the best. Such a really great dive into what Kieth does to the ears of those who are really listening! Thanks so much!
people knows jarrett for koln concerts but there is more and more, I've heard all his records, could be 100 ,jazz and classical, and he playin fantastic standards made me cry. (dont cry often) .the touch lyrical ,and fantastic tecnical skills, remember montreaux concert .and Tribute, and japanese concerts,bear concerts,thanks to the fantastic interaction with j de johnette, and gary peacock, thanks to jarrett for givin light to the world!! ciao from italy.
Seeing Keith in solo mode, improv mode, group mode, whatever mode, is a singularly enjoyable experience and no one has enthralled me as Keith does. I’ve seen them all.. Chick and Gary, McCoy Tyner, Joe Z, I could go on because if they were alive and they were good at playing jazz….I saw them
Hi Aimee and thanks for the post. I am a 67 year old guy recently retired and pulled out an electric keyboard I purchased some years back as an alternative to Ululele because been using that and become more like a job. The keyboard though was unused and in need of some attention; after watching a presentation on another channel decided to make it my hoby to focus on improvisation using it because it is small easy to pull out and put away in a minute. I learned a lot this weekend from your channel. Needed something to improvise to and the Genius app you mentioned fitted. Need a list of standards and your list fitted perfect. Got a lot from this particular tute; the fact of no arrangement had never heard that before although I remember a long time back I was playing autumn leaves on an accoustic guitar at the freinds place with some others listening and although I was pretty much just improvising and focused more on the chords and making them sing she said "Autumn Leaves" and had recognised the pattern and I must have been anchored in the melody much more than I realised. So I remembered that exprience, had stuck, it came to mind just now as being exactly what you are sayingl takes a lot of strife out of the game. Makes so much sense, I don't want to be remembering an arrangement like the approach I used to take to arranging a standard. Just start to play and invent something. So blessed to hear what you said of Keith Jarrets approach. It really does make so much sense ( wanted to tell you I am very blessed by this). Wish I had of heard that back in the day but probably if I had would not be taking up keyboard and improv as a hoby right now. This has given me a new lease on life and to be honest all that focus on arranging a pattern wore me out. This makes double sense because of that experience but really learning music theory while learning to arrange and running my own business and all is a lot of strife. Jazz and improv is supposed to be fun, I get it now. Thanks for the post very much appreciated hearing what you had to say on this. I never actually listened or paid attention to Keith Jarret before now or that approach to playing standards. It really is a timely blessing to learn this from you. Hope I can put some people onto the content of your channel. God bless you.
Thanks very much for this. 🎹♥️. I don't know if you've kept up with what's going on in Keith's life but it's really tough Me/CFS pretty much destroyed his life and he's now had 3 strokes after that. I'm a CFS survivor but I was lucky enough to find a doctor who has me on the right track and even playing My piano again. There are over two and a half million people in the United States suffering from some level of CFS. And it is not just feeling tired it's like feeling like you have an advanced flu all the time. But with neurological deficit and the loss of control of your ability to regulate the temperature in your body and control stroke like symptoms. I was so lucky to find an answer because I searched across the United States for a year and I have a medical career I'm retired from as a critical care nurse in one of my specialties was research. That's how I found help. Most of these people in the United States have doctors that do not have a clue. On to the music do you happen to have your transcription of how about you ? Thanks much.
Nice to see this, and I think it's true to say that Keith is in a class of his own. Even though the focus of this video is his fantastic lines (which I've always loved because they have bebop roots but also reference a more free aesthetic, all under the umbrella of his ecstatic lyricism), they're only one part of what he does. You also have his incredible left hand, his beautiful touch and voicings, his deep contrapuntal sense, his mind boggling ability to improvise breathtakingly fast lines, and his ability to create complete structures on the spot. Then you have all the legit classical recordings, the music of his 2 quartets, and other varied projects. What a musician.
In one of his liner notes (I believe from the album "My Foolish Heart"), he said that the only 'standards' worth-sharing are the highest ones! In many ways, that statement is true. I wish you would talk more about the "Little Girl Blue" from the "Standards in Norway" album. What a gorgeous solo in a splendid ballad.
Watch this video for free (and without ads) over on Nebula! nebula.tv/videos/aimeenoltemusic-why-keith-jarrett-blows-my-mind/
As someone who is autistic and plays piano, I ADORE Mr. Jarrett's explanation of why he makes his sounds when he is playing. So often when I am playing I feel like I can't get the full sound out and in my mind it almost too much and it just overflows out of my mouth. It feel so great to know that a master does the same things that I do makes me really happy. This was a fantastic video Aimee!!!
Thank you Aimee for this video about Keith Jarrett. Thank you also for tuning your Hallet & Davis piano before making this video so we can hear both harmony and melody more clearly in your demonstrations. I've been playing jazz piano for over seven decades, and I've studied Keith's playing for many of those decades. I've met him numerous times after concerts and discussed music with him. Keith, Jack and Gary all signed my "Standards in Norway" C.D. which I've all but memorized after
countless plays. You have done a great job in analyzing Keith's playing, especially his improvisations. One of Keith's most praised abilities has always been his skill in playing improvised right hand lines. But in recent years, I've concentrated less on his lines and more on his piano sound, since I am constantly drawn to it as a romantic is drawn to the scent of fragrant flowers.
Three of the most prominent things about Keith's playing are His Harmony, His Piano Sound, and His Solo Piano Intros, especially on ballads. First, his piano sound is unique. It has an exquisite elegant, polished sound, which emanates from his left hand chording. His chord voicings are delicious, touching, and gorgeous. His harmonies are a wonderful evolution of Bill Evans harmony, and although Bill's harmony often evoked different degrees of melancholy in the listener, Keith's harmony evoke a far greater range of emotion. The concept of "creating the listener's moods through many different harmonies" is a goal which is rarely considered.
Harmonies which instill mystery, sadness, beautiful joy, exquisite richness, wonderful sensuousness, and often intrigue in the listener. Unfortunately, I'm using words to describe these feelings, and they are a poor substitute for the higher art form of music, but suffice to say that Keith's harmonies are highly evolved, and are almost always moving and delicious in one way or another. After years of studying his harmonic technique, which is mixed into his piano sound, I've finally discovered how he creates it.
First, since he is a signed Steinway & Sons artist, Steinway provides him with his choice of model "D" concert grand pianos. After Keith has chosen the piano for his performance, the piano is delivered to the concert venue and it is freshly tuned, then retouched with a fine tuning minutes before the performance.
Second, Keith plays within a vary narrow range of the keyboard, not extending much more than an octave above or below middle C. He tries to keep the harmony notes of his left hand and as many melody notes in his right hand within that narrow range around middle C, because that particular range of frequencies are most conducive to avoiding harmonic overtones, while also sounding most pleasing to the human ear.
Third, Keith often comps with his left hand in a very staccato, peppery way, playing very sparsely.
Finally, he uses very little sustain pedal. Often, he uses no sustain pedal at all. This approach dampens all the unused strings, while eliminating overtones and harmonics. It also projects a far clearer harmonic sound, much cleaner, which translates to a much more beautiful sound. Playing without using sustain pedal is very difficult, and it requires a far greater amount of muscle control and effort. I suggest you try playing any of your favorite tunes without the use of sustain pedal, and you will quickly discover that your fingers have to work much harder to get the sound out, but the cleaner sound can be worth it.
If you watch Keith's feet during his concerts on You-Tube, you will notice his reluctance to use much sustain pedal. Also, his body movements while he is standing, gyrating, and dancing as he plays, is another physical feat which makes playing even more difficult. Exactly how he gets such a beautiful sound out of the piano, and plays such strong improvised melody lines while standing, dancing and gyrating....with his eyes closed, is truly remarkable. If you try doing all of this, you will quickly realize what an incredible piano athlete Keith was.
The third outstanding attribute Keith has shared with listeners, is his incredible, deep, intimate, and often heart-breaking solo piano intros to tunes, especially ballads. While Jack and Gary sit, waiting for their cues to join in the tune, Keith will play the most personal and touching piano introductions. It's as if you were the only person listening to him play, and he was playing it just for you because you are the love of his life.
Rich, sensuous, tender, gorgeous piano introductions. And, he often uses very few notes. He knows how to play spaces, just as Miles Davis could play spaces as well as notes, Keith knows how to phrase, and use bits of silence as effectively as he uses notes. Listen to his piano introductions on his You-Tube recordings of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", "Danny Boy", "I Fall In Love Too Easily" "With A Song In My Heart", and so many more tunes. Exquisite !!
A pianist's greatest temptation, after seeing the piano's 88 keys, is to play as many keys as possible, and as fast as possible. Liszt, Chopin, and other composers would write piano music to challenge pianists to play impossible mountains of notes at fast tempos. The instrument itself presents all of its notes to you as soon as you sit on the bench, and your natural inclination is to play them. Keith, using mostly that small portion of the keyboard, playing in a simple, spartan uncluttered way, with no sustain pedal, has managed to achieve one of the greatest goals that any pianist can accomplish. That is to have the ability to make this 88-note percussion instrument sound like a wind instrument.
Part of this technique is the ability to quickly gliss into and out of chords and melody notes, while playing other distracting notes in the left hand. Magicians call this "misdirection" meaning to get the viewer to look at one hand, while the other hand is doing something else.
After years of studying Keith, and discovering the secrets of how he accomplishes his elegant, polished liquid sound, I've tried to copy it, but with little success at times. It all seems so simple and easy, not highly technical, yet it has taken Keith years to perfect his rich, polished piano sound, and for the most part, the listener is not even aware of it. However, the listener does indeed feel the effects of it emotionally.
I realize you have concentrated mostly on Keith's right hand improvised lines, and many people have transcribed his playing note for note, as have you. He has played some amazing stuff, and not necessarily to satisfy his ego, but rather to be creative in service of the music But, I urge you to listen to the other, deeper, more emotionally expressive aspects of Keith's playing as well. His left hand harmonies, his comping, his ability to play without sustain pedal, his overall gorgeous piano sound, and his deeply intimate piano introductions.......especially on ballads, as well as his solo piano recordings....especially ballads.
One other thing I've noticed about Keith's playing is a kind of musical maturity. His ability to play simple, beautiful things without the need to impress the listener with lots of notes and indulgent showing off. If you compare his playing to other top Jazz pianists, you will notice it is not ornamented much. Keith rarely uses any extra notes for effect. Even though he can play fast and complex improvised lines, they are all full of musical nutrition. No superfluous runs, grace notes, trills or gimmicks. Unlike many famous Jazz pianists, (mostly men) Keith rose to a point where he didn't feel he had to prove he could play lots of notes and fast tempos just to impress listeners. When he does play that way, its because the music calls for it, not his ego, or his insecurities.
I could write for hours about Keith's moaning, singing, caterwauling and grunting, as well as the love/hate relationship he developed with audiences over the years. I've attended those concerts where Keith and the audiences got into shouting matches, and near fist fights, but that is a subject for another time.
I've discovered that the best teachers are those who inspire you, who move you. I've studied a handful of great Jazz and Classical pianists who inspire me deeply, and those people seem to be the ones from whom I've learned the most. Fortunately, I've been lucky enough to study privately with a couple of them. As pianists, we are all lucky that Keith has left a rich piano legacy for us to enjoy and to study. I'm so glad he has inspired you, and I'm sure he would be happy to know that he has become part of your creativity and your playing. I wish you all the best in your rich musical journey.
I’m so lucky to be a fly in the wall of your badass musings. One of The coolest jazz moms. Imagine a reality tv show in the vein of “dance moms” with you in it. Lol! The scandals and trials of Jazz moms. Lmao “FOLLOW YOUR MOTIF TO THE END”
I've been in love with the Koln Concert for over a decade, absolutely majestic and to think it's all improvised.
👍💞
That record changed my life.
You don’t cease to find fascinating subjects, and you present them better and better.
It's nice to hear him not being snide or arrogant presumably because of Marian. Lovely vid, your enthusiasm is contagious.
Keith Jarrett was (until his recent troubles) the greatest musician on the planet. Bar none. Given his composing, performance, collaborations. THIS IS WHY I LOVE AIMEE! She not only has made me a great guitar player in terms of voicings, but also in terms of listening. Thank you for teaching me my ears are the most important part of a musician. I've seen Keith 5 or so times (I live in New Jersey) and had tickets to his last cancelled CarnHall concert. Thank you Aimee for this. A gift.
It is funny to me you should write this for i cant stand his music at all. :D
@@tckgkljgfl7958 It's never too late.
@@tckgkljgfl7958 Because?
@@tckgkljgfl7958 Glad to hear that. That in itself is punishment enough!
" There's not enough space for the input and output at the same time, " says Keith as he refers to his penchant for vocalization of his lines. I love that. Jarrett's music is in a class of one, inhabiting a space that includes Jazz while simultaneously transcending it.
That describes him neatly as you can describe someone that complex and interesting. He really is unclassifiable.
Amen, brother. Keith Jarrett music is uniquely his
My favourite Jarrett moment is probably the tune "Old Folks" on his trio album "The Cure". I also love the intro to "Bye Bye Blackbird" on the "At The Deer Head Inn" album. And I love the whole "The Melody At Night With You" album, which never fails to calm me down.
Keith Jarrett is absolutely masterful. Encore in Tokyo is so powerful and moving. One of my favorites of all time. Great video Aimee.
I remember playing The Köln Concert when I was on WRUW-FM (college radio) back in the 70s. He has had an amazing career!
Very thoughtful, insightful and respectful discussion of Jarrett's playing, thank you. Will check out the Nebula class !
Much thanks David!
Thanks for the video Aimee. Keith has been my favorite also for the past 30 years. Hearing somebody say “go listen to ‘At the Deer Head Inn’ made me happy. 😃
I'm sure you're familiar w/ the live version of 'The Days Of Wine and Roses', from the Keith Jarrett Trio 's 'Complete Live At Blue Note' album. That intro can only be described as 'sonic poetry'. His touch, dynamics, the tone he gets from the piano and the improvised intro itself, where he takes the main theme and does digressions on motifs, going into these little detours, while never leaving the core of the melody...its' brilliant and they go off into the tune and Keith goes into one of the most incredible piano solos I've heard him play, spontaneously picking melodic patterns/motifs and imitating w/ the correct accidentals to fit the next change, many great masters, but Keith is unique in the way he builds it on the fly to a climax...it's supreme and Jack and Gary are right there w/ him. Top shelf.
Great video, Aimee. Love the examples. I discovered Keith Jarrett from watching Rick Beato’s channel and now I love him.
Very interesting, thanks for this
Wow Aimee, what a great vid. I have long said Standards in Norway is possibly my favorite jazz album of all time and it's great to see someone else recognize how great this work is. An underrated Jarrett recording for sure.
Thanks Amy. Been watching Keith perform since 1973. I miss him on the stage but he's always raised the bar for me as a pianist.
Keith Jarrett is fearless. That is why there is never any hesitation in the music. Just pure power.
Loved this! I've long been entranced by Keith Jarrett's music, but your enthusiasm was still infectious and delightful. Thank you.
Thank you Aimee!! He is a great influence not only for the jazz players but also for us classical pianists!! One of the giants❤
Been in love since Personal Mountains.
Also, I love this channel! I love the slow pace, normal voice, intelligent digging through ... Perfect for an old fart like me
BRAVO! Keith Jarrett performances can still bring tears to my eyes these 45 years after my first discovery of him! Your theory analysis coupled with your personal joy brought greater meaning for me of his standards. Thanks for all that you do and sharing your enthusiasm, it is infectious.
'Standards In Norway' has always been my favourite Jarrett trio album. Thanks for explaining it to well, and bringing it to the attention of the people. Not enough musicians give it the credit it deserves. Melody, motivic development and lyricism is the key!
Great video. Absolutely fascinating from so many angles, including seeing your transcription: fabulous.
Keith Jarrett is out of this world. Simply Everything he did is miraculous, but the standards are just stellar. And out of all these stellar gems, the one that will never stop blowing my mind - literally - is The Song Is You from "Still Live" (1986). And to be precise, the incredible vamp that starts somewhere around 8:45. It also starts with a too-good-to-be-so-simple motif and then develops and develops until he exhausts it and leads it to yet another, very close motif that also develops into one of the most exciting, sensational, breathtaking and any other superlative I'll ever come up with. This is definitely, without a shade of a doubt my favorite 5 minute of Jazz ever. Forget it, of any kind of music.
Great video. Thank you Aimee. Keith Jarrett is the greatest pianist of our time. His playing is Jazz for me! I like his recent concert albums the most. My favourite album of his (in addition to perhaps Koln Concert) is “The Melody at Night, With You”. He does not have to swing to play great jazz!
I love the 2 duo albums he did with Charlie Haden. It's mostly ballads and some of his most lyrical playing.
Me too!!
By chance I saw him live once and towards the end of the concert he was standing up in front of the piano playing percussion and leaning over the keyboard plucking on the strings inside the grand piano grunting and sighing extracting every possibility out of the instrument. When the concert was over I felt like a little kid who had just seen and heard a piano being played for the first time and was totally enthrawlled.
I was in the process of making something. I had to stop. I had to cut it short. I had to cut your ticket price short. And when I prepare for solo tours (If I prepare at all) I'm in there and no one's coughing, and I can do things! I can actually play things! This reminds me of a tour I did in Europe. They hated Americans there.
I love all incarnations of Keith Jarrett, but the Standards Trio I listen to the most. "My Foolish Heart" is maybe my favorite, the ballads are very special on that occasion and the rest swings incredibly hard & goes deep. Even a spectacular ragtime section. Great setlist and very restrained when it comes to the screaming.
I got into Keith back in the 70's when Koln Concert album came out. I was a guitarist and didn't listen to a lot of solo piano but that album really drew me in. Over the decades I've listened to Keith off and on and did go to hear him live once. I went with my business partner whose degrees was in classical piano performance. It was funny watch my friend squirm watch Keith girations and standing when he played. She finally calmed and and got into the music. She told me later she just closed her eyes so she couldn't see Keith and just listened. Now I'm trying to learn to play piano and listening to Keith especially the Standard albums. They album that really grabbed me recently and I can't stop listening to is Bye Bye Blackbird something about that album really does it for me.
Excellent take on Keith Jarrett, his sense of harmony is out of this world, there’s no one like him!
I have a recording of Glenn Gould doing some Bach inventions on vinyl and he vocally goes along with it too, sometimes you can hear him. On digital cd format, you can’t.
Re edited , sorry about that!
Thanks for this posting. Keith has easily become my favorite jazz pianist. I certainly love McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and so on. But What I noticed about Keith is that he seems to have an endless vocabulary. He's recognizable in a blindfold test but never really plays the same licks if you will that can often be used to identify a musician. I could do without some of the grunting heard in many of his recordings but that's Keith and part of his musical exploration. I'm a guitarist and wish I had that facility. Anyway, I own all of his trio recordings with Gary and Jack as well as several solo recordings. He's phenomenal.
As a pianist myself who believes Keith to be the greatest to ever do it, this comment section makes me really happy
Petrucciani
Great video. Thank you so much
I agree completely. Keith is the greatest to ever do it!
My favorite KJ solo (and all-time favorite improvisation, period) is on “Too Young To Go Steady” from Standards Live. A slow-building, lyrical, logical but unpredictable masterpiece over an unstoppable groove from Peacock & DeJohnette. Also, I was in the audience for Disc 4 of the Live at the Blue Note set. I got to shake Keith’s hand afterward (I was nervous as hell). An evening I’ll never forget.
yes that one is amazing!
I've always been a fan of the channel, so calming and informative
When I play, the audience makes that sound!
My brother introduced me to Keith Jarrett this year, and I love him.
Hi again, while listening just now to the Norway recordings that Keith Jarrett made with his band, I noticed a lot of swing happening. I would like to request that someday you make a video on techniques of swing. I would like to learn how to do this better myself. Thanks as always!
I have several! Thank you Billy.
@@AimeeNolte I knew that you had at least one video on Swing because I saw it at one point recently but haven't seen it yet. I thought it was more about swing appreciation than technique, but I am happy to know you have several videos on swing. I will be sure to check them out. I will also see about your class at Nebula. I benefitted from a Yo-Yo Ma Masterclass recently, though I only play keys. But because you said your class is for people of all sorts, I will visit it. Also, what you said and wrote about Jarrett's emphasis on melody rings very true to me and my own particular style of playing. Thanks again Aimee.
The The Köln Concert is my sanctuary of peace.
Great discussion on Keith Jarrett Aimee. Now I want to hear the Mariam McPartland interview with him and the Jazz Standards album he made. You open up so many ideas for me...thank you so much!
Koln changed how I look at music as well as Facing You. Wow. I even own the Sun Bear Concerts
I think the music such as Keith Jarrett's don't make you only a better musician, but a better human. Most of us are not musicians. But we all need to have good inspirations. This music is like light and love. And, thank you Aimee for your gentle and inspirational analysis and examples!
Lovely video! Keith has been such an immense inspiration on my playing and felt such a deep relation to the way you expressed the magic in Keith's musicality.
and now this..... (news voice)....thx Aimee great episode as per usual...yay
The “Facing you” album is probably my favorite. Particularly the song “Lalene”. So beautiful
Yes yes yes! … gives me chills and un upwelling of primordial emotion.
Amazing album
Me too
Damn right
That was great Aimee, Keith had a way of achieving a strong flow state that just takes the listener on a voyage if they are receptive and willing.
What a stellar video for a stellar pianist. Well done Aime
Hi Aimee, This is such a rich and positive analysis of these tracks and Keith Jarrett's playing - there are so many great observations to think about, and the transcription is really helpful as a way for us to 'see' the things you speak about - the use of bebop vocabulary and so on... This is great! I am working my way through your videos and getting so much from them - thank you!
I love his rendition of "I got it bad (and that ain't good)". It amazes me every time I hear it!
One of the best ever
The riff at the end of Tokyo live version from the 80’s is so good
'At the Blue Note' is my go to album when I'm writing - it's rare to find such virtuosity mixed with such musicality, served up so effortlessly. Keith truly is the living embodiment of the piano.
Best version of green dolphin ever. Number 2 and 3 are probably him as well.
I think of many others more as embodiment of the piano. Hawes, Garland, Evans, Kelly, Jamal, Parlan, hancock many others. imo Jarrett emphasises playing lines like a horn player. He doesnt rely on hand memory scales and licks. He seems to be intensely trying to make lines emotional, original, truly improvised, tasteful. I admire that he was gutsy to go a different path than most.
@@brucesmith3740 that's actually a really interesting way to think about it, almost as if he's using the piano as an altered instrument, that might be why he stands out from other pianists, and why he vocalises as much as he does. He's a clarinetist who plays the piano instead...
@@brucesmith3740 So, in other words, he is less pianistic, especially with respect to playing lines? I might agree with that.
My fave thing about that album is the guy in the audience who yells “woo!” at the end of every song. 😂 Ok not my fave thing really, but I love that.
Hi Aimee! I don’t often watch your videos because they’re a bit long, but I think in this one really emerges the love that you have for the Music. Thank you!
Thank you.. as a jazz pianist and longtime Keith Jarrett fan, I'm loving this!
Love your insight, analysis and appreciation of one of my favorite artists.
My favorite pianist of all time... His rendition of Old Man River from Tokyo 2002 is incredible, and it was an encore.
Luuiiv KJ so much! Was first exposed to the Standards trio on PBS and I had to get all his trio albums and DVDs! KJ is the most powerful musical sorcerer of the 20th century!
i love how johnette is on every other concept jam album. sure i got time, i play with your student project. well i guess its what keeps him young.
I used to play in a trio like this, and god do I miss it. At first it was really thrown together because we were all in different bands and every once in a while one of us would get a gig and someone in the band would have something else, so we'd put the trio together instead. We trusted each other enough to call out tunes and just jam. It got to the point that we'd have 45 minutes sets with three songs.
Unfortunately I had to move away for work and haven't had a gig since, but I'm actually moving back soon, and this is something I'm really looking forward to.
I love your deconstruction of Jarrett's music. It opens up the complexity of the process within his improvisations and how he constructs the music. Fascinating.
I know he's going through a lot right now, but what I would give to see him play some day
Great transcribing !! What a broad thinker Keith Jarrett is.. such swing to.. idea developed one after leading to another.. Don’t get around Much in there..
Thanks Aimee this is great !!
I find it super interesting and cool that Keith Jarrett hears a ton of stuff going on in his head, but can't quite express some of what he hears due to the limitations of the keyboard, or the sheer volume of the idea itself.
Keith Jarrett also plays lots of other instruments such as drums, saxophone, organ, guitar, harmonica, bass guitar, and other percussion instruments (Check out his album "Restoration Ruin", he plays almost all the instruments on these and sings.) Maybe he plays all these instruments to express himself in different voices, and to give us an idea of what's going on in his mind, his inner ear.
Side note: There's a great 1970's video of Mr. Jarrett playing soprano saxophone with Charlie Haden and Paul Motian. He loves singing into the sax too, and it gives so much character into its sound!
Loved the video Aimee!! 😁
Thank you Aimee - Keith Jarrett is one of my top favourites. ‘God Bless the Child’ has to be one of my most played tracks as well as the Standards in Norway LP.
Thanks for this very informative video - more of these please.
Chick or Herbie next?
The other album i love absolutely is ‘Live at the Blue Note -Complete Recordings’ - CD 1 Song: ‘How long Has This Been Going On?’
The Trio are superb throughout the whole gig but this one song is one of my absolute favourites.
Danke!
Yeah, Standars In Norway, in my favorites...Love is a many splendored thing.. OMG
Just found you looking for music notation/ manuscript tips and saw this vid on Jarrett's Norway standards album. OMG, I've never heard it. It's astoundingly good. Cadenza on I Hear a Rhapsody knocked me out of my chair. So glad i found your channel
Thanks for posting. I confess, I'm a defect. Jarret's performance (lyrical ideas, execution, delivery, etc) is as good as it gets in my opinion. If I was a kid just starting to learn the genre (or music in general), I'd be trying to get as much of Keith Jarret's music in my ears as possible. I'm not exactly sure how to articulate it, but is just so pure and musical; like it breathes life on its own. Its so perfectly good...
Keith Jarrett is amazing and Standars in Norway is my favorite album,
...those songs, playing, sound. And as a bass player just love A Little Girl Blue...Gary`s bass solo is just unbelieveble😮😊
As I hear it, Jarrett’s improvising is more diatonic than “bebop”. There is a sing-song quality to it.
Very nice. Kieth Jarrett is so special. It’s hard to overstate how musical his playing is or how much a pianist can learn from him. Thanks.
Wonderful episode here. And I love Keith’s reflection on ‘The Good America’ on extracurricular sounds (squeal) made in striving for that full expression that isn’t quite attainable! Thanks for all of this Aimee!
talking about a genius... great vid!
Hi, Aimee.Thank you for mentioning that album. I got the exact same feeling as you when I heard that version of “All of you”. This is one of the greatest and less known albums by the trio. I also appreciate the way you take your time to really explain in depth and show on the piano in your videos. It makes it a lot easier for us to learn. Keep up the good work👍
Yea it’s hard to argue that Standards in Norway is one of the top but there are a few that get there. The Blue Note box for instance is something I’ve heard many times and never sounds old…
I love Keith Jarrett. Standards in Norway and the Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note box set are my favorite albums in the jazz trio genre of his remarkable career. Standards in Norway was recorded six years after his original Standards studio albums, and the playing reached another level of perfection. I enjoyed Aimee Nolte's analysis, enthusiasm, and insight into Jarrett's playing.
A girl told me once, " How can you listen to Jazz ? " Sometimes, I miss her...
That was wonderful. Thank you! (And you’re right - that album is insanely good. Probably my favorite.)
Thanks for leading me to new vistas Aimee.
You're right he's a genius !
I always heard that KJ was grouchy. He seems very friendly in most interviews on youtube. He also seems more happy on stage than most jazz players.
Thanks!
Merci for this about Keith. I've never been a musician but have loved Keith.
I don't know if you read my message about doing a self treatment video for piano players. It covers the low back, hands, wrists, forearms and shoulders and neck. My daughter is going to film it soon since I don't have to worry about the cameras, like you said with Nebula. And I don't want to start my own channel, but would let you use it to help other pianists. I'll e-mail you to discuss any details.
Near the top of my fav Keith Jarrett albums! Thanks for this video!
My favorite melody is "Danny Boy" - and Keith played it in a way, that blows my mind.
Great video Aimee. Keith is one of my favorites players. He’s also a great classical musician, just listen to his Mozart and Shostakovich. Probably he is motif driven because of his strong classical music background.
After listening most of his recordings and playing some of his transcriptions I came back to Over the Rainbow. The version recorded in London, 91. I hope he will be playing again.
Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and energy. Like others have already mentioned I find Keith’s Koln concert 2B a fav.
The story line of that particular performance moved me. Keith’s willingness to work with what was made available to him even though it wasn’t up to his usual standard. IMHO, he showcased a musical version of the idea “ when all you’re given is lemons, go out and make lemonade “. The best tasting lemonade. He also speaks volumes for embracing life as an adventure.
Love this!
(BTW, now for a pedagogical pedantic comment.
Melancholy Baby in this key would have landed on the high F, not the G as Keith plays it)
But the point of using a motif that is reminiscent of the tune is well taken anyway.
Kieth and the trio were never doing "their" thing. They were doing THE thing; and doing it the best.
Such a really great dive into what Kieth does to the ears of those who are really listening! Thanks so much!
people knows jarrett for koln concerts but there is more and more, I've heard all his records, could be 100 ,jazz and classical, and he playin fantastic standards made me cry. (dont cry often) .the touch lyrical ,and fantastic tecnical skills, remember montreaux concert .and Tribute, and japanese concerts,bear concerts,thanks to the fantastic interaction with j de johnette, and gary peacock, thanks to jarrett for givin light to the world!! ciao from italy.
Seeing Keith in solo mode, improv mode, group mode, whatever mode, is a singularly enjoyable experience and no one has enthralled me as Keith does. I’ve seen them all.. Chick and Gary, McCoy Tyner, Joe Z, I could go on because if they were alive and they were good at playing jazz….I saw them
It would be great this transcription was on the "pdf to purchase" section of your site.
Love it! I love it! Thank you sis.
Welcome Aimee!
Hi Aimee and thanks for the post. I am a 67 year old guy recently retired and pulled out an electric keyboard I purchased some years back as an alternative to Ululele because been using that and become more like a job. The keyboard though was unused and in need of some attention; after watching a presentation on another channel decided to make it my hoby to focus on improvisation using it because it is small easy to pull out and put away in a minute. I learned a lot this weekend from your channel. Needed something to improvise to and the Genius app you mentioned fitted. Need a list of standards and your list fitted perfect. Got a lot from this particular tute; the fact of no arrangement had never heard that before although I remember a long time back I was playing autumn leaves on an accoustic guitar at the freinds place with some others listening and although I was pretty much just improvising and focused more on the chords and making them sing she said "Autumn Leaves" and had recognised the pattern and I must have been anchored in the melody much more than I realised. So I remembered that exprience, had stuck, it came to mind just now as being exactly what you are sayingl takes a lot of strife out of the game. Makes so much sense, I don't want to be remembering an arrangement like the approach I used to take to arranging a standard. Just start to play and invent something. So blessed to hear what you said of Keith Jarrets approach. It really does make so much sense ( wanted to tell you I am very blessed by this). Wish I had of heard that back in the day but probably if I had would not be taking up keyboard and improv as a hoby right now. This has given me a new lease on life and to be honest all that focus on arranging a pattern wore me out. This makes double sense because of that experience but really learning music theory while learning to arrange and running my own business and all is a lot of strife. Jazz and improv is supposed to be fun, I get it now. Thanks for the post very much appreciated hearing what you had to say on this. I never actually listened or paid attention to Keith Jarret before now or that approach to playing standards. It really is a timely blessing to learn this from you. Hope I can put some people onto the content of your channel. God bless you.
Thanks very much for this. 🎹♥️. I don't know if you've kept up with what's going on in Keith's life but it's really tough Me/CFS pretty much destroyed his life and he's now had 3 strokes after that. I'm a CFS survivor but I was lucky enough to find a doctor who has me on the right track and even playing My piano again. There are over two and a half million people in the United States suffering from some level of CFS. And it is not just feeling tired it's like feeling like you have an advanced flu all the time. But with neurological deficit and the loss of control of your ability to regulate the temperature in your body and control stroke like symptoms. I was so lucky to find an answer because I searched across the United States for a year and I have a medical career I'm retired from as a critical care nurse in one of my specialties was research. That's how I found help. Most of these people in the United States have doctors that do not have a clue. On to the music do you happen to have your transcription of how about you ? Thanks much.
Keith Jarrett and Paul Griffin are the only other artists to get co-writing credits on Steely Dan songs ("Gaucho" and "The Fez", respectively).
Nice to see this, and I think it's true to say that Keith is in a class of his own. Even though the focus of this video is his fantastic lines (which I've always loved because they have bebop roots but also reference a more free aesthetic, all under the umbrella of his ecstatic lyricism), they're only one part of what he does. You also have his incredible left hand, his beautiful touch and voicings, his deep contrapuntal sense, his mind boggling ability to improvise breathtakingly fast lines, and his ability to create complete structures on the spot. Then you have all the legit classical recordings, the music of his 2 quartets, and other varied projects. What a musician.
In one of his liner notes (I believe from the album "My Foolish Heart"), he said that the only 'standards' worth-sharing are the highest ones! In many ways, that statement is true. I wish you would talk more about the "Little Girl Blue" from the "Standards in Norway" album. What a gorgeous solo in a splendid ballad.