5 Ways to Play Like Keith Jarrett

BY ANDY LAVERNE
March 7, 2012

By Andy LaVerne
KEITH JARRETT IS ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL JAZZ PIANISTS AND improvisers in the
history of modern music. Emerging from his predecessors and influences (including Art Tatum, Bud Powell,
Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, and Cecil Taylor), Jarrett forged a style thats immediately identifiable to this day.
Long flowing lines and a prodigious technique are just two of his trademarks, as is a style thats at once
precise and loose, tonal and atonal, reserved and explosive. These dichotomies have come to define his
playing, which appears in formats from acclaimed solo concerts and
jazz trios to classical fare and beyond. Sprinkle some of Keiths
inspired musical magic into your own playing with these exercises.

Ex. 1. Right Hand Lines

Keiths single-note right hand lines are probably his best-known trademark. This Keith-inspired melodic line
is built over the first eight measures of Rhythm Changes, a jazz staple in turn built on the chords of George
Gershwins I Got Rhythm. Jarretts own bebop-derived language is seen here in what I call neo-bop,
which employs eight-note bebop scales, chromatic approach notes, upper and lower neighbor tones, as well

as diatonic and chromatic passing tones. The left hand voicings also demonstrate Keiths frequent use
of dominant seventh sus4 chords in place of minor chords. Note that Keith sometimes lets his left hand
crawl like a spider, using common tones between chords. Tip: Play the right hand alone at a fast clip to
capture more of Keiths sound in these lines.

Ex. 2. Country, Gospel, and Reggae

Keith fashioned a funky rhythmic style that at times seems to cunningly combine these three musical genres.
This passage leans in the reggae and Gospel directions, with a nod towards country. Note the sixteenthnote triplets before the last chord. The left hand octaves andfour-note voiced chords are other essential
components of this sound.

Ex. 3. Polyphony

Keith can improvise poignant contrapuntal and polyphonic vignettes, evidencing his time spent playing the
music of Bach and other Baroque composers. Ex. 3a has a Baroque flavor with modern harmonies, inner
voice movements, and unusual cadences and resolutions.

Ex. 3b highlights Keiths atonal explorations, which often erupt in dissonant and free sounding flurries.
Keiths immersion in 20th-century classical composers such as Bartok, Berg, Schoenberg, Hindemith, and
Webern has informed his approach to this type of improvisation.

Ex. 4. Ostinatos and Vamps

Keith often employs a simple left hand repeated figure (known as an ostinato or vamp), while using his right
hand to explore rhythms and tonalities that may or may not coincide with it. This takes a great deal of hand
independence. Here, the right hand remains scalar and diatonic, over the left hand ostinato. The use
of eighth-note triplets is a Jarrett hallmark as well. The left hand remains anchored on F, which can be
seen as a pedal point, another one of Keiths trademark devices. These ostinatos and vamps are sometimes
used as intros or endings, while other times they stand as pieces on their own.

Ex. 5. Endings

Unlike many jazz musicians who end solos and tunes with dramatic flourishes of arpeggios and big chords,
Keith often takes a minimalistic approach to many of his endings. This type of progression shown here is
usually found at the end of standards, which ends quietly on the root of the I chord without fanfare. Its not a
staccato ending, but rather a soft landing, which sounds only as long as the given eighth-note value
indicates. The left hand rootless fragments are typical Jarrett sonorities, as is the added chromatic IIV of F#min7 to B7. This surprising ending has a drama all its ownjust like all of Keith Jarretts music!

Link: http://www.keyboardmag.com/jazz/1303/5-ways-to-play-like-keithjarrett/28650
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