His technique is formidable, but he's grounded. WHITEHEAD: Keith Jarrett explores many moods on his "Budapest Concert." He'll twine one spontaneous motif around another or evoke flamenco guitar and an Islamic prayer call in the same scrambling line. WHITEHEAD: After that melody statement, Jarrett slowly builds his improvisation, arriving here minutes later. (SOUNDBITE OF KEITH JARRETT'S "IT'S A LONESOME OLD TOWN (LIVE)") One encore is the 1930 ballad, "It's A Lonesome Old Town." His touch can make simple voicings wring deep. But then, Keith Jarrett has always reconciled the exploratory and the romantic. There are a lot of those - fast, slow, thick or thin, self-consciously beautiful or single-minded and percussive, rather like Cecil Taylor. WHITEHEAD: That's a good example of how Jarrett singing along with himself can sound self-congratulatory, since the little voice tends to pop up during the really good bits. (SOUNDBITE OF KEITH JARRETT'S "PART X (LIVE)") It's worth the wait when his left hand finally settles on the exact Amen gesture that frees his right hand to testify. Some albums of improvised music discreetly trim away the moments before things click, but Jarrett's concert recordings lay out the whole process. WHITEHEAD: Starting from scratch a dozen times on stage in Budapest, Keith Jarrett can take a minute to get rolling. (SOUNDBITE OF KEITH JARRETT'S "PART IV (LIVE)") Now a piece might explore a single idea or texture. By 2016, his improvisations had grown shorter, like many people's attention spans. WHITEHEAD: Keith Jarrett used to play marathon solo suites, long voyages out on the rolling seas. (SOUNDBITE OF KEITH JARRETT'S "PART VI (LIVE)") One piece recalls the early Jarrett's reinvented ragtime, a syncopated dialogue for two busy hands. But then, dedicated improvisers often look back, revisiting strategies that have worked for them before. Now that Jarrett declares he's unlikely to play again, his newly issued "Budapest Concert" inevitably carries a valedictory air. KEVIN WHITEHEAD: Keith Jarrett, with a melody so shapely he may have had it in mind before stepping on stage to play one of his celebrated improvised concerts in Budapest in 2016. (SOUNDBITE OF KEITH JARRETT'S "PART XI (LIVE)") It was recorded in 2016 during his last European tour. But first, let's hear jazz critic Kevin Whitehead's review of Jarrett's new album. Today, we listen to Terry's 2000 interview with him. He can use his right hand, but not his left, and it's unlikely he'll perform in public again. One of the most famous pianists in jazz, Keith Jarrett, a musician acclaimed for his emotionally intense and physically energetic, improvised solo performances, recently revealed he had two strokes in 2018.
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