Introduction:
Improvisation is the ability to be able to play a musical instrument without sheet music, creating your own melodies and patterns on the spot. It can be used in many different genres but appears to be most prevalent in Jazz (improvisation music, 2022). Improvisers can be inspired by many different things such as anecdotes, little phrases they have previously learnt, scales, chord progressions or how they are feeling in the moment (Jazzadvice, 2022). Learning the skill of improvisation allows the musician to really connect and understand their instrument better whilst also connecting to the audience they are performing to (Morin, 2022). Keith Jarrett is one of the biggest jazz improvisers and classical composers, and was even asked to join Miles Davis’s septet in 1971 ( Wikipedia, 2022). Jarrett also played the soprano saxophone and composed for instruments such as brass, string orchestra, and other non-jazz instrumentations (Wikipedia, 2022). In this essay, I’m going to be looking at how Jarrett developed his skills as a musician and how his skills allowed him to be a phenomenal improviser in hopes I can gain a better understanding of how to improvise.
From lunch time gigs to the Trio:
In November 2021, a BBC documentary titled ‘Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation’ was released, which spoke about his life from being a lunch time performer to playing with Miles Davis and other big artists (BBC, 2021). ‘There’s never been a time when improvisation was given the respect it deserved. By virtue of the holistic quality, it takes everything to do it. It takes really time, no editing possible, it takes your nervous system to be on alert for every possible thing in a way that can not be said for any other kind of music’ – Keith Jarrett (BBC, 2021). Jarrett describes improvisation as the ability to be able to feel and be present. He expands on his point by saying ‘music is the journey the musician is going through’, meaning that his improvisations are him expressing his emotions and allowing himself to be present in his melodies. (BBC, 2021)
Jarrett started out by playing lunch time gigs, therefore he was learning as many songs as he could from a very young age. Learning songs allowed him to expand on his musical ability and use techniques that he would later incorporate into his own music. He was only eight years old when he played his first concert, in which he also included some of his own compositions and improvisations. He also used classical music to help him discover his own improvisational styles. (BBC, 2021).
The Trio Days:
In 1976, Jack Dejohnette, Gary Peacock and Jarrett formed a trio. Their trio was described as youthful, which was a juxtaposition with their age at the time. Dejohnette and Peacock described their improvisations with Jarrett as being like a painting, ‘intuition and thought process all into one stroke.’ (BBC, 2021). They describe it as if they start playing on a blank canvas and they have endless possibilities to take their playing. Jarrett also described their improvisation in a similar way – ‘you’re going somewhere in the song bound by nothing but still relating to it’ (BBC, 2021). All of them describe improvisation as an emotional and present process of playing by what you feel in the moment, like being in the zone.
Connection:
The trio had such an admiration about each other abilities, they could almost guess where that person would take the music, almost like they studied each others playing. This kind of connection meant that they could take risks with more confidence, as Jarrett said ‘Jack and Gary aren’t afraid to follow’ (BBC, 2021). Connection to the players you’re playing with played an important role in their success because they played like it was already created but it was just from being in the moment with each other and being able to connect on a different level.
Jarrett talks about having a relationship with your instrument. From the age of six he used to sleep under his piano. His connection to his piano allowed himself to really connect himself with the piano and play what he was feeling. He learnt his instrument on a different level because of his devotion. He discovered that improvisation consisted of six elements, ‘content, nuance, the way you play, subject, dynamic and risks, all at the same time’ (BBC, 2021).
Different Styles:
In the summer of 1970, Jarrett actually steered away from acoustic piano and went and played a mixture of synth and keyboard for Miles Davis (Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 2004) . Although he didn’t actually like the digital sound, he did say he had fun in the band and was honoured to play with Davis. Subsequently, he joined the ECM label and returned back to playing acoustic shows. (BBC, 2021)
In 1985, he joined Chick Corea, a Jazz pianist, to perform Mozarts double concerto piece. Keith did say that he had difficulties with classical because Jazz and classical are of polar opposite worlds. He said ‘sometimes I had to close down the Jazz world to do justice in classical.'(BBC, 2021). After just 3 years of being in the classical world, he retreated to a house in the woods to record his multi-instrumental album ‘Spirits’, after almost having a nervous breakdown. Spirits consisted of a variety of different sounds, including: vocals, guitar, glockenspiel, soprano saxophone, recorder , piano, tabla, flutes and percussion (Wikipedia, 2022) and (Gioia, 2022).
Japan had always loved Jarrett so when he returned to play there he wanted to play something he’d never done before. He said he prepared for the Japan show by looking at what he’s done previously and asked himself ‘what haven’t I been doing?’ When Jarrett improvises, he describes it as building a world, ‘If I build a world, there are things I’d like that world to have … trying not to favour so the world I build is built by something other than my preferences’. This challenged him to create fresh ideas instead of playing what he had typically played, like certain melodies he had favoured over the years. By doing so, he discovered that his left hand could do things that he didn’t even realise he could (BBC, 2021).
Quartet:
The American Quartet was formed in 1973 and was made up of Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Paul Motian and Keith Jarrett. This quartet worked really well together because they were ‘very inspired by each other and that’s the key to improv – Charlie Haden’ (BBC, 2021). They weren’t afraid to play with different sounds and allow the music to lead them, using several different percussive sounds. Charlie Haden describes improvising to be as ‘naturally as breathing’ (BBC, 2021).
Jarrett and Improvisation:
In 1996, Jarrett was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome which meant he couldn’t play for a long time. However, in 1997, he wrote ‘The Melody at Night With You’ as a Christmas gift to his wife. Most of this album was short and simplistic compositions and improvisations. This shows that he uses his own personal experiences as a way to influence his playing and inspire what sounds he wants to create. ‘The more experience a person has, the more simplicity is profound’ shows how a piece doesn’t have to be complex in order to be good, it’s more just about how well you articulate every note you play. Jarrett also said ‘timing is the complex part of simplicity’, which shows how you can play with the timing of a simple piece to really emphasise what you’re trying to get across. (BBC, 2021).
Conclusion:
Overall, Jarrett’s art of improvisation explores the idea of staying in the moment and playing with passion about what you are feeling. Going through his life he’s experimented in several different sounds, including classical, jazz and percussion. His experimentation within different genres allows him to push his musical knowledge and therefore allowed him to express himself through various styles. Throughout researching Jarrett, I’ve learnt to trust your intuition and allow yourself to play, even if you feel inexperienced.
Jarrett is evidence of how important practice is and how understanding your instrument thoughrly can transform your playing. His musicality strengthened over the years as he began collaborating and working outside of his comfort zones by playing other instruments. As well as working collaboratively, he really honed in on his solo playing and experimented in a different genre on ‘Spirit’ by playing with more wind and percussive instruments instead of his usually solo acoustic piano. Jarrett also looked at simplifying his piano, even when it was just solo piano. In his later years, Jarrett took out many of his extremely advanced techniques to replace them with simpler techniques. This was really effective because it meant he could let the sounds ring out instead of overly using fancy techniques.
After researching Jarrett, I’ve realised his way of improving was something I wasn’t doing. He mentioned that he looks at the things he wasn’t already doing in order to improve and I think that is a really useful tip. For example, a lot of my compositions had the same sound so if I look at what I’m not doing, that’s how I can make it sound different and stand out.
“The miracle of playing is all I need, I don’t need anything extra – Keith Jarrett”(BBC, 2021).