Everybody – at least in my shattered corner of the universe – knows that Keith Jarrett is one of the greatest jazz pianist. But what about a series of (almost home) recordings made in his small private studio back in 1986 where Keith Jarrett plays electric guitars, Fender bass, drums, percussion, table, some vocals and only rarely some piano. He also added an advice for the listener in the footnotes of the record: “Play this music LOUD, especially tracks 2 to 20, since many inner details will be lost at lower volumes.” Some critics, “musical experts” (whatever that may mean!) rushed to scream bloody murder and pointed out that this is not jazz. I’m not an expert, but I’m quite curious what they think jazz is? Listening track II I definitively felt like I was i the room where Miles Davis and his very honorable mates recorded “Bitches Brew”. But well, many (idiots) believe that what Miles did after ’68 was not jazz either, so, nothing’s shocking, this planet can bear much more then we can think of.
The other “argument” is that there are no developed melodies and no “real” song structures, only the same type of jamming throughout. It’s probably true, but not heaving rigid song structures and repetitive melodies it’s not something new, building and exploring out of the box was always a way to get further in jazz and avant-garde music, sometimes even in pop (culture). Seriously guys, did you expected that Jarrett will deliver a collection of standards played on guitar, bass and drums? Read more Keith Jarrett – No End (2013) ›