mills

My name is Mills Baker; I write about love, culture, art, religion, mental illness, philosophy, memory, politics and the rather random.

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Posts tagged piano.
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Keith Jarrett - Opening

This live performance is one of the darkest and most overwhelming pieces of Jarrett’s catalog, and is best appreciated at extraordinary volume in pitch blackness; if it can be arranged, rain is appropriate as well; and if one is truly committed, one could do no better than listening to it during a storm at sea. I offer it as partial repayment to S. Stratodrive for his many contributions to my library.

(See here for other Jarrett posts).

Tags: jazz music piano keith jarrett
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Keith Jarrett - Excerpt from Vienna Concert, Part I.

Taking an excerpt from the Vienna concert is like showing a two-minute clip of one’s most cherished movie, or reading three pages from one’s favorite book, or perhaps like having a long-distance relationship.

But Part I, which is available in its entirety here, is 41 minutes long; in its astonishing perfection, too, it can require more attention than is reasonable to request. I hope, perhaps absurdly, that this excerpt appeals; I think Jarrett is one of the finest musicians of our time.

(And here are some previous videos and comments about him).

Tags: jazz keith jarrett piano music

I’ve posted bits of Keith Jarrett before, but as his best work is too long to upload (and in any event is something one either finds and loves or doesn’t) I haven’t mentioned him in a while.

But this is one of the rather rare video snippets online of a contemporary solo improvisational piece (2002), and it’s pretty extraordinary. It requires some focus, and at times makes me a bit anxious (that is, its melodic and harmonic language isn’t formulaic and thus isn’t reassuring), but I think it’s wonderful.

I am still simple enough that I sometimes prefer this or this, but the above is amazing, and seeing him play helps make it intelligible and appealing.

Update: Part 2 is really lovely.

Tags: music jazz keith jarrett piano

This isn’t a great piece in Keith Jarrett terms; he often improvises extremely beautiful and complex pieces, and the last album of his I got still renders me speechless.

This is from 1984 in Tokyo, and is pretty simplistic, if virtuosic. I’m mainly posting it for you, Will and Syd, so you can see what the man looks like playing.

Update: it may be structurally simple, but this is totally fucking awesome. The different tempos, the joy, the propulsion.  I love it.

Tags: music jazz keith jarrett piano