THE ART OF IMPROVISATION

Two albums I find myself listening to almost compulsively are Paris/London – Testament and the sublime La Scala, jazz piano by the master of improvisation, Keith Jarrett. From waterfall to abstract, every note is profoundly transformational, as it proceeds to seep into the fabric of my own work. The random and chasing La Scala Part 2 lends itself perfectly to increasingly abstract improvised creative moments with a brush, with achingly romantic sections that pull every heart string. The art-jazz influence is not new, but continues to be a great inspiration.
YouTube hosts some great footage of live Jarrett, as well as the documentary, The Art Of Improvisation. While watching this fascinating overview of Jarrett & The Trio speaking about their approach to making music, the parallels to certain forms of art creation and abstract painting, in terms of  process, are striking.
What is also notable is the legendary telepathic ability that operates between Jarrett, DeJohnette and Peacock, that allows them to synchronize during improvised sets; it is impossible to not be inspired by art creation of such mastery.

‘There’s never been a time when improvisation was given the respect that it deserved. By the virtue of the holistic quality of it, it takes everything to do it, it takes real time, no editing possible, it takes your nervous system to be on alert for every possible thing, in a way that cannot be said for any other kind of music.

One of the biggest fallacies I think in art circles, and in music circles maybe, when people talk about it, is that music comes from music… It’s like saying babies come from babies, that it’s not true, it isn’t what happens, music is the result of a process that the musician goes through, especially if he’s creating it on the spot.’ Keith Jarrett

‘What we do as a trio is, is we have a canvas in front of us, and you know intuitively this goes, and the thought process and the intuitive process all happen in that one action.’ Jack DeJohnette

‘First the music enters us, and if the music enters you then you’ve not have to worry so much about what to play, the music is telling you what to play… you just ride along, flow through it… when we are playing something in time and we get a lock, that’s not us! I mean how is that possible? How can that happen?’ Gary Peacock

♥

Exerts borrowed from the documentary Keith Jarrett – The Art Of Improvisation