Keith Jarrett on a Rant

[Claude]

I wonder how the people in his management deal with this. Being difficult is one thing, but if a musician menaces to stop every concert because of one "well placed" cough or turn it into a freak show, then he becomes unmarketable.

Edited March 23, 2010 by Claude

[rostasi]

Well, now that we've heard from Dr. Jarrett, I'll say that I don't see "jealousy" entering into any of this one whiff. Yes, I think nearly all of us do recognize that he has "mental health issues" - better that he deal with it - get a handle on it rather than berating the very people who make it possible for him to make a living. This "holier than thou" attitude of his: that we need to blanket him in the utmost of silence - ensconcing him in his personal anechoic chamber - while feeding his fans with noodling and grunts seems to me to be the height of egotistical crapology. I think more people aren't putting up with this tortured artist syndrome of his - concert and festival promoters included.

[7/4]

An incredibly bloated ego is a symptom of a sick mind.

[AllenLowe]

"Not to mention that there has been MUCH worse stuff than Jarrett's ego trips perpetrated by many of the departed and still living jazz artists whose assess are regularly kissed around here. "

I kiss no one's ass - just maybe an occasional peck on the cheek -

[Dan Gould]

I don't think any of this has anything to do with jealousy or a desire to pull down someone who has "made it". Sure there are some who can't fathom the concert fees he gets, but that's personal opinion about him as an artist. The vast majority of the attitude on display here is simply a reaction to egoism run severely amok. Its wrong for people who give him a share of their hard-earned money to expect some respect or gratitude from the Master Artist, rather than being berated, or in the extreme, denied any performance at all?

And if he's got mental health problems than maybe he needs to just shut it down instead of exposing his psychosis to paying customers.

[ejp626]

I do feel a little sorry for him -- he clearly has some issues -- but I just think he's crossed the line of what a live performer can reasonably expect. A rant or two about photos and people recording the show may be justifiable, though ultimately futile. But to rage at the audience because they are coughing? In the winter? Please.

It's time for him to go the Glenn Gould route. At least Gould had the honesty to say he just didn't like live performances and stopped doing them. As far as I know he never cursed out an audience.

Anyway, I am doing my part by permanently boycotting any and all of Jarrett's performances.

[Dave James]

What Jarrett seems unable to realize is that respect is a two way street. You give it runs one way and you earn runs the other. If he doesn't figure this out, or get help, or whatever, he's going to find his concerts more and more sparsely attended, especially considering the prices he's charging for the privilege of seeing him. At some point, hopefully in the not too distant future, either he or his handlers will find a way to bring his behavior under control.

[AllenLowe]

I think we should all buy tickets to the next Jarrett concert, bring our flash cameras, cough incessantly and take pictures continually.

Anybody out there with me on this? I'm ready.

[randyhersom]

Note absence of Bud Powell bashing thread.

Sometimes it helps to be dead.

[kenny weir]

There is the strong whiff of jealousy in all these negative comments .... Sometimes this place makes me fucking want to puke.

Huh?

I don't think so, not at all. Look, there's a ton of successful jazz musicians out there - some of them are real gracious souls who NEVER dump on their audiences no matter what the provocation. And certainly not so continually that it becomes a significant part of what they're about.

If the guy has issues, I don't see how his audiences should be expected to cop his crap because of it.

But of course those audiences are free to vote with their feet/money/ Just as you are ...

[Dan Gould]

Note absence of Bud Powell bashing thread.

Sometimes it helps to be dead.

I'd say 90% of the bashing is based on Jarrett's attitude toward his audience, not his own noisy accompaniment to his playing. And I don't believe that Bud ever told people to "shut the hell up or I won't play anymore."

But if it takes Jarrett croaking to get people to tolerate him better, then hey, sometimes you just gotta suck it up and deal.

[Free For All]

Sometimes this place makes me fucking want to puke.

(click on me)

[randyhersom]

Fair enough Dan. Yes it's wrong to stop the performance and criticize the audience. If he can stop it he'll be a better man and artist.

[AllenLowe]

look, your bulimia is between you and your shrink -

and don't compare Jarret to Bud. THAT makes ME wanna heave.

and as Dan said, it's attitude, not accompanying sounds, that were talking about.

And Bud was a nice guy, a drunk, but nice (as told to me by Walter Bishop).

and if Jarret could play like Powell, I wouldn't care if he played with his thumb up his butt (though the next pianist might) -

Edited March 23, 2010 by AllenLowe

[Claude]

It's time for him to go the Glenn Gould route. At least Gould had the honesty to say he just didn't like live performances and stopped doing them. As far as I know he never cursed out an audience.

True.

Maybe he loathes concerts, but loves the money he earns from them. He should make a choice.

[JSngry]

I've heard total brilliance, total bullshit, and pretty much everything in between from Keith over the years. No doubt he's a head case. I would pay a reasonable price to hear him live. I would be pissed off if he stopped playing altogether, amused if he gave some of those goofyass "lectures" after stopping and then resumed playing. If there were no "incidents", and he played straight through, I'd expect anything from total brilliance to total bullshit, and pretty much everything in between on any given night. That's Keith. He's an orange. People want an apple, go buy an apple. He's how old now, 97? 123? Good luck on anything changing at this point.

Life goes on.

[Dave James]

I'd say 90% of the bashing is based on Jarrett's attitude toward his audience, not his own noisy accompaniment to his playing.

If you'll lower the percentage to 60/40, I'm in. I have no plans to see Jarrett in concert, but I would like to listen to him without "accompaniment." Honestly, I don't think you can separate these two varieties of idiosyncratic behavior. They're both characterized by an "accept me the way I am or fuck off" mentality. IMO, selfishness of the highest order.

[JSngry]

OTOH, some people get destroyed without that armor. Especially when music that has to struggle to find its own niche is involved. I've seen countless more "creative people" destroyed by a lack of "arrogance" than by an overabundance of it. The default outcome for playing any type of non-pop "creative music" is failure. To get beyond that takes some drive and something to fuel that drive. And that something is damn near always ego. What else is there, really?

Granted, from a "consumer" end, people tend to either overrationalize it, make a fetish out of it, or have zero tolerance for it, but I'm just saying...any "exceptional talent" has to have a fair amount of ego in order to survive and suceed. The ones who have succeeded and act like they don't have it, don't believe that bullshit for one second!

When it comes to Jarrett, yeah, he's got issues. But even if he didn't, there would be a lot of ego involved. The career path he's taken demands it, and I'll fault him (as much as I'll fault him for anything) for not maturing enough to keep it under manageable wraps, not for having it.

Then again, it almost sounds like he's starting to make a shtick out of it, which would be almost healthy...

[thedwork]

i love the way whenever the subject of jarrett's disgusting behavior (he deserves the 2nd congressional medal of douchebaggery) comes up on internet jazz forums, inevitably at least a couple people start bringing up his 'mental illness' as some kind of rationalization. i don't buy it. he may have some issues there, but they're not what makes him act like a jerk.

there are already too many entries in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. do we really need an entry in there for acting like an ass? what will it be called - "Jarrett Syndrome?" the pharmaceutical companies would just love that! “just take three prickalax a day with meals. if that doesn't have the desired effect after three months, try a cocktail of doucheoprin and hexajerk for the next three months. side effects may include acting like an asshole.”

i can see it now: well-to-do housewives of the future who have too much on their plates to spend time w/ little johnny will wave off his rebellious behavior saying, "Did you hear about Jenny's 13 year-old twins? Both have been diagnosed with Jarrett Syndrome. They simply will not stop picking on that 6th grader. It's really a shame. Sometimes I worry about my little Johnny. He's starting to act funny. Maybe I should get him an appointment with Dr. Fixajerk. They say these new drugs can work wonders."

Edited March 24, 2010 by thedwork

[Guest Bill Barton]

Ho-hum. Old news. I don't buy it either. And it's been his schtick since the 1970s.

[John L]

I think that the bottom line here is

(a) Keith has reached a point in his career where he can do just about anything that he wants and people will still lay down their money to see him.

(b) We have the right either to lay down our money or not. I don't lay down mine, but taste is taste.

[clifford_thornton]

After a couple glasses of IPA, I read the thread title as "Jimmy Raney on a Rant."

[DrJ]

i love the way whenever the subject of jarrett's disgusting behavior (he deserves the 2nd congressional medal of douchebaggery) comes up on internet jazz forums, inevitably at least a couple people start bringing up his 'mental illness' as some kind of rationalization. i don't buy it. he may have some issues there, but they're not what makes him act like a jerk.

there are already too many entries in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. do we really need an entry in there for acting like an ass? what will it be called - "Jarrett Syndrome?" the pharmaceutical companies would just love that! “just take three prickalax a day with meals. if that doesn't have the desired effect after three months, try a cocktail of doucheoprin and hexajerk for the next three months. side effects may include acting like an asshole.”

i can see it now: well-to-do housewives of the future who have too much on their plates to spend time w/ little johnny will wave off his rebellious behavior saying, "Did you hear about Jenny's 13 year-old twins? Both have been diagnosed with Jarrett Syndrome. They simply will not stop picking on that 6th grader. It's really a shame. Sometimes I worry about my little Johnny. He's starting to act funny. Maybe I should get him an appointment with Dr. Fixajerk. They say these new drugs can work wonders."

You might want to check in with a "shrink" yourself to get help with your own obvious psychopathologies - "out of proportion hostile reactions to musicians' behavior quirks disorder" and "gross oversimplification of complex issues syndrome."

Dan Gould posted: I don't think any of this has anything to do with jealousy or a desire to pull down someone who has "made it"

Well I have to say Dan I disagree - I think it's MOSTLY about jealousy and the perverse norms and culture of jazz aficionados. I'm sure I'll get flamed for saying this, but it's the damn truth: if Jarrett was a commercially unsuccessful black jazz artist from "the glory years" and had displayed exactly the same bizarre behavior, I can guarantee you that the conversation would be a lot different, with all kinds of people defending his actions and making excuses for him.

JSngry posted: OTOH, some people get destroyed without that armor. Especially when music that has to struggle to find its own niche is involved. I've seen countless more "creative people" destroyed by a lack of "arrogance" than by an overabundance of it. The default outcome for playing any type of non-pop "creative music" is failure. To get beyond that takes some drive and something to fuel that drive. And that something is damn near always ego. What else is there, really?

Granted, from a "consumer" end, people tend to either overrationalize it, make a fetish out of it, or have zero tolerance for it, but I'm just saying...any "exceptional talent" has to have a fair amount of ego in order to survive and suceed. The ones who have succeeded and act like they don't have it, don't believe that bullshit for one second!

When it comes to Jarrett, yeah, he's got issues. But even if he didn't, there would be a lot of ego involved. The career path he's taken demands it, and I'll fault him (as much as I'll fault him for anything) for not maturing enough to keep it under manageable wraps, not for having it.

Then again, it almost sounds like he's starting to make a shtick out of it, which would be almost healthy.

Sometimes this place makes me want to break out in a big grin.

AllenLowe posted: I think we should all buy tickets to the next Jarrett concert, bring our flash cameras, cough incessantly and take pictures continually.

Anybody out there with me on this? I'm ready.

A group "intervention" - let's force him to friggin' DEAL with it, once and for all. I'm in.

Edited March 25, 2010 by DrJ

[kenny weir]

...if Jarrett was a commercially unsuccessful black jazz artist from "the glory years" and had displayed exactly the same bizarre behavior, I can guarantee you that the conversation would be a lot different, with all kinds of people defending his actions and making excuses for him.

Well, unless you specify an example it's rather moot point, ain't it?

[Dan Gould]

Would Nina Simone count? I know next to nothing of her music but very recently I saw a review in the NYT of a new biography, and she apparently berated her audience mercilessly (and sometimes stormed off in the middle of the show) and sunk into mental illness from around the 70s to the end of her life.

So how did people react to her stage performances when they happened? Did she lose her audience? One big difference is that this great big wide interweb didn't exist to accelerate the dissemination about her attitude on stage, so knowledge about it might not have been very widespread. My guess is that a lot of people would swear off going to see her, and another proportion would excuse it, probably out of white guilt.

But another element is the fact that tickets to see her were a lot cheaper, even in constant dollars, than tickets to see Jarrett. What Tony is missing is the fact that it doesn't have to be "jealousy" over his concert grosses that motivates the animus. Instead it just might be a belief that people have paid a boatload of money and deserve to have the artist "play the damn piano".