Keith Jarrett is probably the most influential jazz pianist living today: his concerts have made him world famous. He was a child prodigy who had his first solo performance at the age of seven. In the sixties he played with the Jazz Messengers and then with the Charles Lloyd Quartet, touring Europe, Asia, and Russia. He played electric keyboards with Miles Davis at the beginning of the seventies, and went on to lead two different jazz groupsone American and one European. He straddles practically every form of twentieth century musiche has produced totally composed music, and has performed classical music as well as jazz. Jarrett has revolutionized the whole concept of what a solo pianist can do. And his albums such as Solo Concerts (at Lausanne and Bremen), Belonging, The Koln Concert, and My Song have gained him a worldwide following. Now, with Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music, Ian Carr has written the definitive story of Jarrett's musical development and his personal journey. This is a revealing, fascinating, and enlightening account of one of the outstanding musicians of our age.

Reviews

Carr ( Miles Davis ) chronicles--and extols--the career of the controversial jazz musician whose gift for improvisation has made him a well-known figure in the music world. Jarrett, now in his mid-40s, was famous even as a young man for his brilliant solo piano performances and his work with Charles Lloyd, Miles Davis and American and European quartets. His career has taken many turns, all, in the author's view, inspired. Carr rhapsodizes over Jarrett's technical and improvisational abilities, his performances and recordings, his forays into classical music and his compositions; glossing over the musician's eccentricities and mannerisms at the piano, Carr concludes with a dig at the pianist's detractors. Jarrett admirers will relish this adulatory biography, but others may wish for a more critical assessment. Photos. (July)