Jarrett interview on McPartland Piano Jazz

[Bobadohshe]

I was hoping you would come along and put that to bed SK, thanks!

 

...level of 'improvising' not level of 'playing'. And very few are, so that doesn't speak badly of OP. Oscar is likely the better swinger and better technically. I know you're a big fan of OP, Bobby.

 

 

I am also a big fan of Keith Jarrett! I have done much study of both. It's just that I went through a phase of 'Oscar is derivative and not much to behold' for a little while, and I consider it an ugly but necessary thing for my to have gone through growth wise. Now that I'm a bit further along on my path as a musician I appreciate OP for all his great qualities which are many.

[Legatoboy]

Delirium,

 

Well I agree with SK, he's is an evolved player and a purer improviser. I have alot of his CD's and bought the last live double CD set. I've been listening to Bill Evens lately for some reason and I got into Peterson also years ago, initially as an example of how not to play in terms of 'time' believe it or not, he used to rush a lot. I enjoy them!

 

I consider KJ coming from more of a postmodern 60's bag vision wise and i've had to confront my own problems with that postmodern 'vision-bag'. Like how much is enough and what is it all about anyway, those types of questions. He's was very successful at it and paid hardcore dues man!

 

I think it's a good thing for our generation of players to have a pianist that represents this time (our time). I don't enjoy everything KJ does but he does represent the state of the art for our generation in someway as an improviser and that's important. Key word being improviser for me. Also, there is a sense of transcendence in his playing in some postmodern way that people of our age relate to in a different way than the older generation of improvisers, yet he maintains artistic integrity. Powerful stuff!

 

At least the art is still evolving in him and he's popular to a broad range of listeners! It's good for all of us as pianists to have somebody representing 'improvised' jazz piano on that level! That was my only point about that.

 

His personal problems as you documented in Mr. Sensitive, well your right there and to some degree why I brought up the point about his temperament. I honestly didn't know about the hissy fits publicly, I thought it was all internalized. So I'm officially of two minds now in regard to Mr.Sensitive. Like a drummer friend of mine used to say "Person first, Musician second"!

 

My reaction to his tone at the Italian show would have been been f him! If I was with my wife, she would have gotten pretty pissed. She hates that crap more than anything, ANYTHING! With him that day it was obviously "D@ck first, Musician second".... that's a shame man! He could have said it differently! He's was full of himself, you gotta watch that S@it! That's powerful stuff too!

 

 

Must have been pretty bad for KJ, glad he survived it, we need him!

 

do we?

 

mr. Sensitive

[Jazzwee]

Bobby, just so you know IMHO, it is obvious you've internalized a lot of Oscar since since some of your lines sound like him. It's probably taken a lot of work to accomplish that.

[delirium]

Like a drummer friend of mine used to say "Person first, Musician second"!

 

agree 100%, music comes from the person not the other way around.

If you don't here this in music, you could listen to a pianola as well instead.

 

P.S.

Please don't compare Bill Evans to Jarrett thats no funny, Evan is a guru master, Jarrett is only just another experienced player, completely different league. Maybe Jarrett could play at the opening of Evans concert, maybe...and I don't know if Bill would be happy about that...

 

[Legatoboy]

Right, person first!

 

ok ok, no comparisons!

Anthony

 

Like a drummer friend of mine used to say "Person first, Musician second"!

 

agree 100%, music comes from the person not the other way around.

If you don't here this in music, you could listen to a pianola as well instead.

 

P.S.

Please don't compare Bill Evans to Jarrett thats no funny, Evan is a guru master, Jarrett is only just another experienced player, completely different league.

[kanker.]

Every cat has an approach. Yeah, Oscar had an approach, but listen to Jarrett play the same tune on different recordings - he has just as much of an approach as OP did, he was just drawing from a different bag. Heck, Jarrett does Things Ain't What They Used To Be on a couple of different recordings and plays damn near the same intro both times...

[SK]

Sure delirium, it's much more important to be a good person than a good musician. Some of the best musicians I've known are great people. There is a correlation, but it's not required. Miles wasn't the nicest guy in the world. Music is more about talent and effort than anything. What you're saying is like: to be an astronaut, it's the person first, ability and training second.

 

And there's no problem comparing pianists. Now Bill Evans was the salt of the earth to me. If he were alive, I'm sure he and Jarrett would respect each other's work.

[delirium]

What you're saying is like: to be an astronaut, it's the person first, ability and training second.

 

wrong comparison, and I'm not saying that. Don't mix craft with art. Craft is all good till some point, but then starts something else not for everybody.

 

p.s.

If this would be true what you are saying, that computer composing thing would be enough to create great music, wouldn't it?

[moj]

If he were alive, I'm sure he and Jarrett would respect each other's work.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read an interview that he did in the 80's that he had never heard of Bill Evans until he attended Berklee and never listened to or was influenced by him! Could be true, but c'mon...

[jsaras]

Like him personally or not, Jarrett's pianistic achievements eclipsed Bill Evans' long ago. How many classical recordings did Bill do? None!

 

Although Bill admired the classical composers and did play their works for his own pleasure, his technique was not on the level of a classical pianist. Bill's playing was quite choppy at times and the fact that he rushed tempos like crazy is well documented in numerous recordings. Keith is very respected in both genres, a feat that no one else has really managed to do.

 

If Keith were to have opened for Bill, he'd probably would have needed to take even more drugs to keep from having a panic attack.

 

[delirium]

Now Bill Evans was the salt of the earth to me. If he were alive, I'm sure he and Jarrett would respect each other's work.

 

that's my point - Evans is still alive.

 

 

p.s.

whereas Jarrett has managed to be dead for some people even he is till breathing.

 

[SK]

OK then... I think I'm just starting to get a feeling you don't like Jarrett's playing. My last comment on this: to each his own, but it's surprising you would enjoy Bill Evans and not enjoy the application and expansion of his concepts in Jarrett's playing. That doesn't mean you have to like either of them personally.

[orangefunk]

From what I read about Evans he was a bit self deprecating about his own solo piano abilities... he talked about fumbling around with his left hand a lot..

 

I think its rather fruitless to detract about Jarrett in musical terms... people who do just seem to be doing it to get attention.

 

Anyway.. here is an interview with Jarrett on the Tomorrow Show in 1981

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCc0WKU7cq0

 

 

 

 

[orangefunk]

Although this is the real killer

 

 

And yes the tune actually does sound like that (minus the Cartman quotes)!!

[jsaras]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read an interview that he did in the 80's that he had never heard of Bill Evans until he attended Berklee and never listened to or was influenced by him! Could be true, but c'mon...

 

I'm not sure that's true, but I know that the only piano player that he's admitted to liking was Ahmad Jamal. Specifically, he said he enjoyed playing drums to those records when he was growing up. If you think about it, Jarrett's approach to those long endings that are unrelated to the melody are evidence of Ahmad's influence.

[SK]

jsaras, that's quite possible. Also Paul Bley was an influence on Jarrett, and especially John Coates, Jr.

 

BTW, that quote in your post wasn't mine.

[jsaras]

I forgot about Paul Bley, but not for any good reason :-]. I've heard those early recordings by Paul and they are incredible. He has a beautiful lyrical touch, and he knows how to bend the bar lines and the harmony. Definitely foreshadowed Jarrett's playing. The conception is close enough to make me really wonder...

[SK]

Bley's early stuff and his more recent recordings are all great. About 5 years ago, a drummer in my trio (at the time) played some with Bley, so I spent a whole evening listening and talking to him. A total treat.

 

I heard more of Bley in Jarrett's earlier playing. Jarrett's playing has become more refined and 'literal' over the years. In his 70's, Bley is still free as ever.