Good thing Keith Jarrett had the piano on his side Friday night. Otherwise, things could have gotten really ugly.
The jazz piano legend was at Davies Symphony Hall, performing one of his rare solo concerts, where the conceit is that every improvised piece is an act of pure, spontaneous creation. (Although, judging from Jarrett's comments, he does prime the mental pump a bit in his rehearsal studio.)
The approach often leads to moments of incandescent brilliance, as documented on a growing canon of recordings. Lately, it also tends to bring out the artist's cantankerous side, expressed in free-form kvetches about various unsatisfactory aspects of the performance set-up.
Friday night, it was the audience's turn to take the hits, as Jarrett frequently broke stride to complain about coughing and other seemingly minor distractions. The climax came in the second set, when Jarrett scolded the audience for so long that some members started shouting "Shut up and play," along with a few choicer epithets.
Jarrett does have a point. He's working on a very thin creative wire with this type of performance. And San Francisco audiences can be filled with chatty, iPhone-scrolling jerks. But Friday's crowd was close to reverent as I've ever seen.
Fact is, you can't put 3,000 living animals into an acoustically sensitive space and expect absolute silence. Life makes sounds.
And Jarrett's apparent belief in the artist needing needing and deserving absolute control is a romantic fossil, at best. Not to mention a delusion for anything with a price tag attached to it.
Besides, doesn't improvisation at least partly mean working with what's there?
(Suggestion: Since this seems to mainly be a problem of mindset, perhaps, Mr. Jarrett, you could just think of every solo performance as a improvisation on John Cage's "4'33'." Or make the whole thing a win-win and get the fine folks at Robitussin to sponsor your next tour.)
The oddest and perhaps most tragic thing is that Jarrett's tantrum came after a piece that has to rank as one of the most heartbreaking beautiful performances I've ever heard coaxed out of piano. Maintaining a rolling, expansive ostinato, Jarrett carefully sketched a fragile melody that seem to encompass all the heartbreak and joy of being alive, and especially the moments you can't quite tell the two apart.
Jarrett was miffed that he wasn't able to give the piece the ending he imagined. Yet I'd defy you to find a single person in the audience who might have thought there was anything lacking.
Earlier improvisations showed Jarrett's blues and boogie-woogie side, including an uncommonly muscular touch with the left hand, and a less successful stab at wood-banging atonalism.
Post-fit, Jarrett took pains to give the appearance of giving up and just playing whatever. The concession was a riveting, gossamer-light reading of the standard "Summertime," however, so it's hard to imagine anybody felt particularly punished.
Given the previous crankiness, Jarrett was bizarrely generous at the end of the show. He performed at least four encores (For all I know, he's still playing -- I felt obligated to leave when I ran out of cough drops.), starting with an airy but dramatic run through "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
By then, the audience was back to shouting "We love you," and Jarrett seemed content to soak up the admiration. And we all had a big, collective cough-sneeze-nose blow outside.
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Comments
There should be a test before you can buy a ticket to Keith's solo concerts. The deal-breaker should be, "are you able to concentrate & be fully present & mindful of silence." Those who scratch their heads & say "what the ??" should be banned from buying a ticket. Those who say no should be given a 2nd chance by taking a mindfulness tutorial & then take the test over until they can say yes. Those who answer yes are given both a ticket & cough lozenge & allowed to enter the concert hall. Last night Keith was in the middle of the piece described in the article. He reached a point in the piece where there was a pregnant pause, & then two people (one, a woman in front of me!) filled that pause with coughs, piercing the moment such that Keith slumped at the piano & stopped short. To make matters worst, when Keith tried to explain the need for mindfulness (on our parts) certain segments of the audience crudely told Keith to be quiet and just play. To them, he was merely a jukebox. How sad!
How can a Japanese audience somehow stay quite and an SF audience can't? Last night I was embarrassed that I'm a sfjazz card carrying member and sf resident. Like Keith said something weird is happening in San Francisco.
Anyone who still thinks it's funny or fun to yell "play free bird" should be taken outside and given a curb job, come on get a new line, that was clever with bevis and butthead 15 years ago.
your embarrassed to be a 'card carrying sf jazz member' and 'resident' , yet you allude to shoving someone's mouth open on a curb and kicking their teeth out?
how ultra violent of you, sir!
Were you in Japan..?
Or Umbria..?
As falls Wichita...
Improvisation requires extreme concentration. I know that as someone that used to perform this way. Suppressing a cough requires focused attention - on breathing. Mediation practices tell us that. This event was well attended by devoted followers of Keith. People that know what he is having to do. A few in the audience interfered with the creativity of this event. But not completely. Jarrett did an amazing job rising above the disturbances and as the night progressed the coughing did quieten down. Enough to make the 6 or so encores a highly intimate experience. Jarrett and the audience became well connected. I hope he will return to San Francisco in less than the 16 or so years it took for him to come back to the city for last night's great performance to a house that was still 95% full after all the encores.
Keith Jarrett won't get another penny from me. That's it. I've had it with him. He's talented but it's not worth being treated like crap as an audience member because someone else in the audience coughed. There are plenty of great musicians to see who don't behave this way.
Jarrett's behavior was totally inexcusable, and an embarrassment to SF Jazz. He owes the entire audience an apology--which I am aware he's much too immature to acknowledge. He is unquestionably a great pianist. But all performers owe their audiences a degree of respect that he refused to accord us. We, after all, have learned to tune out the groaning and moaning he insists on inserting into his music--he owes other human beings the decency to not ruin a concert with his childish tantrums. His behavior was not only an embarrassment to SF Jazz, but contrary to the spirit of jazz itself, which is supposed to be the music of spontenaiety and nonchalance--not some monestary experience of tension and upset. He is a great piano player, but that does not entitle his to disrespect his audience and tell them that he "hates Americans" because a few people may have colds or respiratory problems.
Hey, Chuck and Timothy, no one forced you to buy tickets. You should know what a KJ concert is like before you jump in and take a ticket away from someone who understands what it's all about.
I attended Keith's presentation last night and stayed through the last encore (I believe there were at least 5 or 6. My goal in attending this, as well as other pianists is simply to see many of the the world's most accomplished pianists in person before they die -- to this end, the concert met my expectations.
I have studied classical, traditional, modern, free improvisation with many the top instructors and musicians -- they all are typically obsessive compulsive, anti-social, and generally nuts.
Keith's stage antics have little to do with the audience, and everything to do with what is going on inside his head -- we should all pity him socially, but cherish the music he will leave us with when he kicks it.
The majority of the event was nowhere close to his recordings -- at best, he gave the illusion that he was prepared, and filled the space with notes over time -- nice try Keith, can't fool us all. I'll stick to studying your CDs.
Keith's enablers here are doing him no favors. I've been seeing Keith play for 30 years, and his behavior last night, in front of a nearly devotional audience, was ridiculous. I'm well aware of the depths and magnitude of his genius, which is why I've traveled coast to coast to hear him play. But last night, he was behaving like a petulant - and perpetually indulged - child. The sounds of the audience were well within the normal bounds of what you'd expect to hear in a roomful of 3000 people designed to amplify every sound. Somehow the monks at Zen Center in San Francisco, who know a thing or two about concentration, are able to meditate without having a squadron of police officers standing outside making sure that everyone for blocks around refrain from making any noise. Keith's explosion last night should serve as a warning to himself that his ego is out of control, no matter how brilliant he is.
Louis--I know well enough what Jarrett is like in concert, as I said, and was not only prepared for his temperamentalism, but was absolutely silent through the performance. It was people like me--who were quiet and respectful--who were most hurt by Jarrett's childish behavior. I was deprived of the value of my ticket and treated with disrespect by a man who apparently thinks it not only acceptable to ignore tge fact that there are some people who have physical handicaps that they cannot help, but also to tell the audience that he hates Americans. A little idiosyncracy is to be expected of any artist--but mutual respect and decency is also to be expected from all human beings. Mr. Jarrett demonstrated neither last night.
Thank you, Ralph for your positive comments on Keith Jarrett. As I have commented on an earlier article, the concert was magic after the noisy, coughing, rude idiots left the hall. The rest of us managed to remain silent with no trouble and were rewarded with some of the most exquisite music it has ever been my privilege to hear. I think Keith forgave San Francisco in the end. I hope so. I want him to return!!
By the way, David Becker, you can drop the snottiness about Jarrett. It makes you appear to be one of the fools who should have left the hall early!
I have no problem with anything Jarrett says to the audience. If I did, however, and felt like yelling at him, hopefully I would realize that would reduce the value of the experience, affect his playing, or dehumanize myself. Jarrett is simply a man, but his concerts are spiritual experiences. I wish people would not feel so entitled and vengeful to open their mouths.
Robert Glasper started his SFJAZZ show tonight by saying, "First off, I don't want to hear any coughing. No coughing. And no loud blinking." And then he laughed and we laughed and he and Hiromi each played good shows and had fun and everyone went home happy, despite some coughing in the audience. It was a good experience. I've attended many live events in public places for many years, and pretty much every one of these events had some coughing in the audience. It can be annoying, but we get over it and keep listening to the music. And most musicians keep playing. When Keith Jarrett keeps stopping his concert to get up and berate the entire audience because of a few people coughing, it is way more disruptive than the actual coughing. It ruins the experience. And really, what is the point of his lecturing? Is he single-handedly trying to change audience behavior? It's never going to happen. I paid to hear him play piano and I didn't cough once. And Keith Jarrett ruined the show for me.
I don't blame him for not playing solo concerts in US. We are a bunch of arrogant poeple who think just because we paid $50 for a seat we deserve a performance! We forgot that we ARE part of the performance, specially one that is so spontaneous and improvised. We are one F'in big consuming "ME-centric" poeple that think everything is made for our amusement and pleasure!
It was the first time I saw Jarrett perform and the last. For an artist known for improvisation and genius - this seemed like an artist doing a routine and falling back on requests, while blaming the audience for any inadequacies of the evening.
Once addition to the comments above. At one point Jarrett exclaimed " I brought by engineer in from Switzerland . . . FOR THIS!" It was at that point that the chorus of "just play" began in the audience - punctuated by a rude but probably deserved shout of "a**hole" from the upper decks.
This was a public performance in a public concert hall and not a recording session in a controlled studio environment. Given Jarrett's 40+ years of performing experience he must have leaned by now how to keep expectations in check with reality. It seemed that the audience was for the most part an unwanted accessory for Jarrett - just a prop to lend credibility and authenticity to the recording.
The fans clearly appreciated the artist more than he did
It was the first time I saw Jarrett perform and the last. For an artist known for improvisation and genius - this seemed like an artist doing a routine and falling back on requests, while blaming the audience for any inadequacies of the evening.
Once addition to the comments above. At one point Jarrett exclaimed " I brought by engineer in from Switzerland . . . FOR THIS!" It was at that point that the chorus of "just play" began in the audience - punctuated by a rude but probably deserved shout of "a**hole" from the upper decks.
This was a public performance in a public concert hall and not a recording session in a controlled studio environment. Given Jarrett's 40+ years of performing experience he must have leaned by now how to keep expectations in check with reality. It seemed that the audience was for the most part an unwanted accessory for Jarrett - just a prop to lend credibility and authenticity to the recording.
The fans clearly appreciated the artist more than he did
I was in Keith performance last Friday, after 15 years of so not attending. I thought the music was superb, and the complaining was previously orchestrated and as part of the vocal aspect of the performance. I know KJ for 30 years, he was not mad at all, he was entertaining, and that is his familiar way to communicate with audiences challenging them - he does the same in Europe, that is the way he is. I thought was not necessary, but he doesn't seem to practice how to be kind and be part of the whole. Just forget it and remember the supreme music that was coming through those unhappy fingers. Jarrett is very shy and is how it is. Don't get caught with it. It was just an aspect of the performance and that is why the mic was prepared and ready at all times. Hope he keeps healthy and more young generations will know and listen to his music. It was mostly 50 y/old and up. Falou...
i have been inspired by jarrett's artistry for years now, and hesitantly bought a ticket for last friday's concert (knowing his reputation for complaints during a concert). my understanding of what jarrett does and what meditation is meant to be is not by any means complete, but i do know that when one is in a meditative place and distractions come, the healthiest response is to quietly acknowledge them and then let them go. to stop in the midst of meditative creativity and to lash out at the sources of the distractions is not the most effective way to deal with the situation. and when people are paying to take part in the experience, and you as an artist have allowed them to do so (rather than simply recording in an empty hall) AND you are getting paid by them in the process, it is downright disrespectful to the entire experience to cry out like a petulant child because the audience isn't meeting your standards of quiet. i was quiet the entire time i was there...(TBC)
...and as a reflective, creative adult myself, i felt completely disrespected by a gifted artist completely consumed by his own sense of entitlement. any kind of creative expression in a live setting is a communication, a two-way exchange, a relationship between artist and audience. i am a communicator by trade (minister) and approach my preaching as an improvisational art form (inspired by jazz music and artists such as mr. jarrett, among many others) - plenty of meditation and preparation, but then, no written 'music' when it's time to share. when a cell phone goes off at a very quiet moment (like one did in both services yesterday), i could go off on how disrespectful it is to keep a cell phone on during worship, or i could use it as a part of my creative expression and move forward with the moment. i chose the latter, and all of us involved were better off for it. part of an improviser's calling is to respond to what is happening not only within but also around you...(TBC)
...in no way is my artistic talent near the level of a keith jarrett, but that's not the point. respecting your art AND your audience (who is a part of your art) IS...even if they show accidental disrespect in the process (and i don't believe anyone entered the hall intended on coughing up a storm and 'ruining' the performance). i traveled from missoula, montana in part to finally see mr. jarrett perform in person. i'm thankful to have had the experience of seeing him perform, but the first time will be the last time for me. and it pains me to write that.
(i didn't not cough once while writing this long diatribe!)
(...but feel free to cough all you want while reading it!)
I was there-it was a mixed bag. The music was 85% sublime, but because of Jarrett's increasingly bizarre rants (mostly focused on audience coughing) there was a feeling of unease in the audience that put a damper on the entire evening. I have seen Keith many times, including 4 solo shows, but this was by far the most aberrant display in my concert going history. He was in a nutshell, completely off the hook. I understand and appreciate the man's singular artistry, but he also was responsible for bringing the negative vibe into play. The audience reaction was admittedly atrocious-all I could say was"Whoa". At one point I thought a riot might break out between his supporters and detractors, but eventually things shook out and somehow, more great music happened. I was embarrassed for Keith and at the same time for the audience. Great music though, however I will certainly think twice about attending another solo outing by Jarrett.
While I was not fortunate enough to be in the audience, I am an avid patron of the SF music scene; Jazz, Classical, and others.
I have to say that I’m often shocked at the audience behavior here. I have terrible memories of listening to a show where a couple in the front row was holding a conversation! And if you are so clueless as to leave your phone on, the ushers should ask you to leave if it rings long enough for anyone to identify you.
Having to cough once or twice is acceptable. If you have a fit, be kind enough to leave the hall until you get over it.
My apologies to Mr. Jarrett. On behalf of your SF fans, I hope you return.
What a disappointment! I stayed through the last encore, hoping that Keith would salvage the concert, but it did not work for me. It was a shallow and bitter performance, cut short and chopped up into little pieces. Keith should not do concerts in the US - stick to Japan where they don't cough.
I am a very loud, anxious and out of control person yet I managed to remain completely silent throughout the entire performance. Americans are so unhealthy, not only are many of us overweight but we cannot refrain from coughing for 2 hours. And the applause? I wish that people did not applause until after the concert instead of every 5 minutes.
ECM should release the entire concert, including Keith's rant. Hey, Keith, if proper audience behavior is so important at your concert, why not letting all of your CD buying fans know about it. It would be a good instructional tool :-)
Thank you for a thoughtful and fair review. We were there. We loved it! Jarrett is notorious for his antics. You go knowing this will happen. If you don't like that part, save the price of the ticket.
Your review is so much more objective than the one in the Mercury-News. That reporter chose to dwell only on the negatives, Keith's tirades...and pretty much ignored the beauty of the music. You chose to talk about both and to inject a bit of humor. Good for you!
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