Keith Jarrett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Keith Jarrett
|
|
|---|---|
Jarrett in August 1975
|
|
| Background information | |
| Born | May 8, 1945 Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, classical, jazz fusion, free improvisation |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1966–2018 |
| Labels | Atlantic, Columbia, ECM, Impulse!, Universal Classics |
| Associated acts | Art Blakey, Sam Brown, Gary Burton, Dennis Russell Davies, Miles Davis, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Charles Lloyd, Airto Moreira, Paul Motian, Gary Peacock, Dewey Redman, Kenny Wheeler |
Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American pianist and composer. He is famous for his unique style of playing both jazz and classical music.
Jarrett began his career playing with famous musicians like Art Blakey and Miles Davis. Since the 1970s, he has led his own groups and performed solo. His music blends different styles, including jazz, classical, gospel, blues, and folk music.
His album The Köln Concert, released in 1975, is the best-selling piano recording ever. In 2008, he was added to the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame. He also received the Polar Music Prize in 2003 and the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 2004.
In 2018, Keith Jarrett faced serious health challenges that have prevented him from performing.
Contents
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Keith Jarrett was born on May 8, 1945, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He grew up surrounded by music. His mother had Slovenian roots, and his father was mostly German.
From a very young age, Keith showed amazing musical talent. He could tell the exact pitch of any note, a skill called absolute pitch. He started piano lessons before he was three years old. At age five, he even appeared on a TV talent show!
When he was seven, Keith gave his first piano recital. He played pieces by famous composers like Bach and Mozart. He also played two of his own songs. His mother encouraged him to continue classical piano lessons.
Keith attended Emmaus High School in Pennsylvania. There, he became very good at jazz. He was inspired by a Dave Brubeck concert. He was even invited to study classical composition in Paris, but he chose to focus on jazz instead. After high school in 1963, he moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music.
A Career in Jazz Music
Joining The Jazz Messengers
In 1964, Jarrett moved to New York City. He soon joined Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers. His first commercial recording was with them on the album Buttercorn Lady.
After a few months, Jarrett left the band. He was then noticed by Jack DeJohnette, who suggested him to Charles Lloyd. The Charles Lloyd Quartet became very popular. Their 1966 album Forest Flower was a huge success. They played at famous venues like The Fillmore in San Francisco. Even The Beatles attended one of their concerts in London! This made Jarrett a well-known musician in both rock and jazz circles.
Jarrett also began recording his own music. His first album as a band leader was Life Between the Exit Signs (1967). He also released Somewhere Before (1968) with his trio.
Playing with Miles Davis
In 1968, Keith Jarrett was invited to join Miles Davis's group. Davis was a legendary trumpet player. Jarrett played both electronic organ and Rhodes piano in Davis's band. He sometimes played both instruments at the same time!
Even though Jarrett preferred acoustic instruments, he stayed with Davis's group. He respected Davis and enjoyed working with DeJohnette. Jarrett often said that Davis greatly influenced his musical ideas.
You can hear Jarrett's playing on several Miles Davis albums. These include Miles Davis at Fillmore and The Cellar Door Sessions 1970. He also played on Live-Evil. Jarrett left Davis's band in 1971.
Forming His Own Quartets
After leaving Miles Davis, Jarrett formed his "American quartet" in 1971. This group included Charlie Haden on bass, Paul Motian on drums, and Dewey Redman on saxophone. They recorded many albums together. Their music blended free jazz, gospel music, and Middle-Eastern sounds.
Around the same time, Jarrett began working with producer Manfred Eicher for the ECM label. Eicher focused on musical quality, which impressed Jarrett. The American quartet released two albums on ECM.
In 1972, Eicher suggested Jarrett work with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. This led to the "European quartet." This group also featured Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums. They recorded five albums for ECM. Their style was similar to the American quartet but with more European folk and classical influences.
Solo Piano Performances
Keith Jarrett is especially famous for his solo piano concerts. In these concerts, he would improvise the entire performance on the spot. His first album for ECM, Facing You, was a solo piano recording in 1971.
In 1973, he started playing completely improvised solo concerts. These concerts became incredibly popular. Albums from these shows include Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne (1973) and The Köln Concert (1975). The Köln Concert became the best-selling piano recording in history.
Jarrett has said that his best performances happen when he has no idea what he will play next. He believes this allows the music to flow freely.
In the late 1990s, Jarrett faced a period of illness. During this time, he recorded The Melody at Night, with You. This album featured jazz standards and was originally a Christmas gift for his wife. By 2000, he was able to tour again. His later solo concerts, like Radiance (2005) and The Carnegie Hall Concert (2006), continued his tradition of unique improvised performances.
The Standards Trio
In 1983, Keith Jarrett formed a new trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. This group became known as "The Standards Trio." They recorded albums of classic jazz standards, like Standards, Vol. 1.
This trio became one of the most important and long-lasting jazz groups. They recorded and toured for over 25 years. They played many jazz classics but also included their own original improvised music. The way they communicated musically was almost like they could read each other's minds!
The Standards Trio performed in concert halls around the world. They were known for playing both traditional jazz and free jazz. The trio stopped performing in 2014.
Classical Music Career
Since the 1970s, Keith Jarrett has also had a successful career as a classical musician. He has recorded many classical pieces, mostly for ECM Records. His album In the Light (1973) features short pieces for piano and other instruments.
He also recorded pieces that combined classical strings with jazz improvisation, like Luminessence (1974). Later, his classical work became more traditional. He performed and recorded a large piece for orchestra and piano called The Celestial Hawk (1980).
Jarrett has recorded classical works by famous composers like Bach, Handel, and Shostakovich. In 2004, he received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize. This award is usually given to classical musicians, but Jarrett, like Miles Davis, also received it for his jazz contributions.
Other Musical Work
Besides piano, Jarrett has also played harpsichord, clavichord, organ, soprano saxophone, and drums. He often played saxophone and percussion in his American quartet. However, in recent years, he has mainly focused on acoustic piano.
In 1978, Keith Jarrett was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live. His music has also been featured in films, such as the 2001 German movie Mostly Martha.
A Disagreement Over Music
In 1980, the rock band Steely Dan released their album Gaucho. The title song sounded very similar to Jarrett's own composition, "Long As You Know You're Living Yours," from his 1974 album Belonging.
When asked about it, the band members admitted they were influenced by Jarrett's song. Because of this, Jarrett took legal action. As a result, Steely Dan had to add his name to the song credits and share the royalties with him.
Playing Style and Habits
Keith Jarrett is known for making sounds, like moans, while he plays. These sounds usually happen during his jazz and improvised solo performances. He says these sounds are not planned but come from how deeply involved he is in the music. He explained that when he feels "full of some sort of emotion," he has to make a sound.
Jarrett is also very sensitive to audience noise during his solo concerts. He feels that outside sounds can affect his inspiration. He has even stopped playing to ask the audience to be quieter or to offer cough drops. He also dislikes people taking photos during his performances and has sometimes played in the dark to prevent it.
He is also not a fan of electronic instruments. He once wrote that "Electricity goes through all of us and is not to be relegated to wires." He has mostly avoided electric instruments since his time with Miles Davis.
Personal Life
Keith Jarrett lives in an old farmhouse in Oxford Township, New Jersey. He uses a barn nearby as his music studio.
For many years, Jarrett followed the teachings of George Gurdjieff. In 1980, he recorded an album of Gurdjieff's compositions called Sacred Hymns. He also connects with the Sufi tradition and mystical Islam.
Jarrett married Margot Erney in 1964, and they had two sons, Gabriel and Noah. They divorced in 1979. He later married Rose Anne Colavito, and they were married for 30 years before divorcing in 2010. Keith Jarrett is currently married to Akiko Jarrett.
His sons are also musicians. Noah Jarrett is a bassist and composer, and Gabriel Jarrett is a drummer. Two of Keith's younger brothers are also involved in music.
Throughout his career, people have sometimes mistaken Keith Jarrett's racial background. He once shared a story about a black jazz musician who told him, "Man, you've got to be Black." Jarrett replied, "I know. I know. I'm working on it."
In 2018, Keith Jarrett experienced serious health issues that affected his ability to play. He spent nearly two years in rehabilitation. While he can now walk with a cane and play piano with his right hand, his left side is partly paralyzed. He has stated that he doesn't feel like a pianist anymore and is not expected to perform again.
Discography
See also
In Spanish: Keith Jarrett para niños
