”if you haven’t heard it, I envy you”. Spot on

@ivoeduardosebendeazevedo8625

20 күн бұрын

That performance will impress and hount me forever.

“You don’t have to be a genius to participate in it. You just have to show up and play” Love it!👌

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! That line was probably written, consciously or otherwise, as a refutation to the unfortunate message that I got throughout childhood, that you were either born a genius or just wasting your time. (And apologies if you get a message that I _disliked_ your comment - that was a complete accident and what I get for trying to click on a tiny phone screen first thing in the morning before my coffee... )

@MarkTarmannPianoCheck_it_out

9 ай бұрын

A) you DO in fact have to be a born genius. B) plus 5 or 6 other crucial factors.. see my above post for the other crucial factors that make "genius" Yes you do have to show up. But..........there are a few other real FACT-ors involved.

@jgunther3398

9 ай бұрын

@@MarkTarmannPianoCheck_it_out for every keith jarrett or steve jobs there are a thousand or more unrecognized equivalents. fame, also known as genius, is so insubstantial that at least 50% of it depends on just the sound of your name. keith smith or steve garcia would be unknown. i've accomplished about as much in my profession as can be done, and that was done by doing what was outlined here, working all night for weeks to solve a problem that other people wouldn't attempt. using prior experience as building blocks. i saw the title and watched to get kicked to another level, but unfortunately it's what i already do :) there is perhaps though true genius -- j.s. bach, einstein. but the people being discussed here aren't that in my opinion

@nevilmorham8565

9 ай бұрын

❤

@Benjaminsaetang

8 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters Jarrett is one of my favorite artists and I was just speaking with a new friend about him the other night. What a timely video. Your voice lends so much encouragement. Thank you sir!

Keith’s solo concert in Vermont in the mid 70’s was what got my attention. Amazing artist.

Keith is one of those rare musicians who actually ‘speaks’ music.

KJ had a gift. and worked 100 times more than others . and listened thousands of records, and played classical as Gould. after came improvisation. nothin written ,only the fluent workin of a brain, we hope he is better now, and we thank to him for the great music he gave us! ciao from Italy.

In piano improvisation the hands, wrists, arms etc know where to go in the same way that vocal chords know how to vibrate in synch with the larynx, tongue, jaw, lips etc. We don’t usually write an essay in our head before we speak to someone, we just speak. Same with piano improvisation. Spending years, decades, learning the language of music and how it functions enables one to just ‘speak’ it. It feels completely natural, exactly like speaking one’s native tongue, except it’s music. I started improvising twenty years ago and it’s got to the point that I can create a healing musical language spontaneously which I use volunteering at a hospital in their “Healing through Music” program.

"The secret is, there is no secret...just the stubbornness to work and work at what you can't do....until you can!"

@musictrainingonline

9 ай бұрын

Or you focus on what you love and comes easy to you and make it better every day.

Keith started with Charles Lloyd. Just listen to Live at Monterey Jazz festival 1966 and you will see his future was bright. Maybe one of the greatest under appreciated pianists in jazz history.

What's going on KZread??? For this video alone, the man deserves hundreds of thousands of subscribers. This honestly was one of the best, most touching things I've ever seen. I'm moved and inspired. This clearly is world-class. I don't get it. Let's share this guys, it's relatable and inspiring in many ways to many people from all sides. This man deserves his credits (which is a lot more than what I see here, I'm outraged).

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Robin, I'm blushing. 😊 Thank you so much. Your kindness inspires me!

@moisesgonga1302

8 ай бұрын

Congratulations for this such amazing video… I am so inspired too! ❤️❤️❤️

@bozzigmupp510

8 ай бұрын

what was the message in your own words

Improvisation is like speaking: you learn the words, meanings and punctuation then you can rearrange it to create new phrases, paragraphs, poems etc. It's not really made up on the spot, you can only improvise what you already know (or you can play outside of what you know and it would be equivalent to gibberish, or speaking a language for the first time), so in a sense improv has been rehearsed as much any pre written piece.

Answer: 1). they don’t do anything else, typically giving up the rest of their life; 2). they make their practice painful, always focusing on improvement. There is a great book about this topic: “Talent is overrated”.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

I think you're right - singular focus and deliberate practice are ultimately the most decisive factors. It's that latter one, attacking your weaknesses, that is the heart of self-discipline seems to be so incredibly for human beings, pain-averse as we are... and thanks for shouting out that excellent book!

Wow, brought tears to my eyes! This is what I believed from the day I could reason. But for most of my younger life, I've been told, "If you don't have it, you can forget getting very far." But I persisted, knowing I may not have the talent, but if I put in the time and effort, I can at least be better tomorrow than I am today. After years of persistence, now people think I am doing what I can do because I am more talented than others. Most don't want to see the sweat and tears that goes before the talent, and that is one of the greatest tragedies of mankind.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

That’s an inspiring story! I have often heard that word “talent” used in the same way myself, perhaps because it’s a more convenient and romantic sounding than “you must have practiced a whole lot,” but I also suspect there’s an element of our tendency to look for magical solutions (search for ‘The 5 Things You MUST Do To achieve X’ for myriad depressing examples) instead of just getting down to work. You sum it up perfectly: practicing means you’ll be better than you were yesterday. Brick by brick.

Loved this video. As an aspiring jazz musician, being the student of the music has given my life so much meaning. There are days (like today) where I’m frustrated and doubt the many hours I put into the keys, but like with any other success story, it does not happen over night. This video found me at the right time, thank you!

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Hey, thanks for sharing such an inspiring story. Mastering something as difficult as the piano definitely means dealing with a lot of frustration; it's a long game, not one of quick and dramatic results. But I've found that the more effort I've put into something, that frustration is ultimately replaced by an unshakeable sense of satisfaction that I don't suppose I would have had it been easy. I wish you much joy in your playing!

As long as we're alive, and we play everyday, that's all what we need to do. As a pianist, who has been struggling since 2019 when I was found to have an illness called "Aplasic Anemia", who has gone through chemotherapy before the Pandemic, survived both (the treatment and the Pandemic) and then a bone marrow transplant last december 2022, gallbladder surgery a month ago, and a COVID infection last week, I can only say that. Practicing piano everyday, with my goals on a new repertory every day, is all I need. Thanks for sharing this video, which helps me to keep this journey trough all these unexpected health trails. It's so inspiring. I have seen Jarrett in concerts in the past, and this is so inspiring.

Removing obstacles to innovation….that is something worth mastering

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Indeed it is! I find that exercising your creative muscles is like any other form of exercise: the more you do it, the more facile you get. I think it may have something to do with facilitating the ability to "hear" or receive the ideas from your big subconscious that makes new neural connections between concepts or thoughts.

"The secret is there is no secret, just the stubbornness to work at what you can't do, until you can". Daymn! 👌🏿👏🏿 Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿🖤

Mind blowing that you only have 350 subscribers, but this high level of quality on your videos. I hope more people find your content soon, you are a very skilled storyteller in both visuals and script!

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much - I'm new at this KZread thing (but a veteran filmmaker), so I have a lot to learn. I hope that I can continue to do it full time and involve many other people in this process as resources allow.

Inspiring video. But one common denominator, of all the great people that you showed, was they started at a very young age. Keith Jerrett was playing piano at four years old. He was born with perfect pitch. The Williams sisters were playing tennis at five years old. Tiger Woods was playing golf at the same age. Mozart was touring Europe at six years old playing piano for kings. Start your kids young people.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

You are absolutely right, that has definitely been a consistent factor over centuries of great accomplishments. You could add Andre Agassi, Michael Jordan, etc. etc. My parents were incredibly young when I was born, still teenagers, but one thing that proved to be an advantage was that their energy meant that we did a zillion things with great enthusiasm (my grandfather broke the mold in that regard). So I got exposed to a wide range of possibilities. I have zero parenting experience, but I've always wondered about the risks of that (choice paralysis, for example) versus steering young children into one specific pursuit with intense pressure to excel, as with Agassi and the Williams sisters. Ultimately I think you have to find your own reasons for doing something, especially if you're going to put in the kind of time that greatness requires of you. Agassi wrote in his autobiography about his love/hate relationship with tennis because of the way it was thrust upon him. It wasn't so much his choice and it wasn't always fun. On one hand, I feel like kids just need to play as an intrinsically rewarding activity and also as the ideal way to develop their personality and interests. On the other hand, we have finite time, and so we have to choose where to focus our energies sooner or later, or decide to worry less about accomplishment and more about immersing ourselves in experience. Excellence is a big reward, but not the only one. For me, the biggest reward is the so-called flow experience of total absorption, happy immersion in something as challenging and full of endless possibilities as music, filmmaking, writing, etc. I think that inevitably leads to learning and improvement, but it is also its own reward. Excellence requires incredible self-discipline, including the ability to systematically attack your weaknesses. Parents have the toughest job in the world trying to juggle these issues!

@Explivious

9 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOttersyou have earned immeasurable respect from me. I have had this exact thought in the form of feeling and never knew how plainly it could be stated, yet how much work went into stating it reveals it is not easy having complex thoughts. I use music as a way to fill a void. Sometimes when I have complicated thoughts and cannot fathom the answer or what comes next, making musing is my only solution. Other times I fall back on wasting time with marijuana and games, but the endless battle with my soul stems through music for sure, and my relationship with time, mainly the past, feels as though its painted on my parents faces the more it goes by. Part of me blames them for not nurturing me more. that is perhaps one of my darkest thoughts (that are relevant), because I am battling the negative emotions that go against self-discipline, logic, and love. It feels unhealthy to wish and want for things that were not, when I have the knowledge and foresight to grow past my own faults. They have given me life, and my life has given me music. When people say/write such profound things that strikes me I can’t help but try and share myself because it makes me feel so vulnerable, I am sorry. You really do just have to be there, whether there is here or here is there. Be there and play

As a musician who is currently struggling to get out of a deep creative block and the feeling of irrelevance, I just want to say that the end of the video made me cry. Thank you for this beautiful work, people should definitely keep their eyes on your channel. 😁

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you for the kind words. I can relate both to creative blocks and feelings that whatever I'm doing doesn't really matter, even though in my heart of hearts I know it isn't true. Music is fraught with its own set of issues. I still vividly remember my first paid gig playing piano on Thanksgiving Day in an unremarkable restaurant in a small town. As I dutifully went through jazz standards, I realized for the first time that unlike the many recitals and concerts I had been a part of, no one was really there to listen, but to eat and socialize. I might as well have been a recording, and mostly just needed to play quietly and not draw attention to what I was doing. It was a bit of a shock, but an inevitable moment that made me realize that there were a lot of paid gigs that I did not want to do, especially because I didn't want to lose the love of making music simply to take home a paycheck without having made an impression on anyone. Of course, one can look at it as paid practice, part of the deal, particularly if you are not at a level where you can sell out concerts where people are really there to listen. But still after 60 years, music still moves me and renews me like nothing else. I hope you are able to reconnect with the joy and significance of making music yourself.

@grzenioosh

9 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters Thank you kindly for sharing this. All the best to all of us! 😁

“…you just have to show up and play.” Wonderful video. Chills x 2 Tears x 2 Hope sparked once again.

An inspiring and soulful story.

Jarrett has been an eternal favourite of mine - and have seen him improvise in Australia twice. He certainly contains particular Jarrett 'tropes' that are instantly recognisable as his - and his extended improvisations have certain 'transitions' at times - but later albums like Radiance begin to throw those early evolutions away and has shorter and often much more unpredictable pieces - which have become my new favourites - less of a journey, more full of surprises and switches between easier repetition to Cecil Taylor like thunder - and believe me I used to listen to Sun Bear through entirely often and love it - but those surprises are something else. The more you listen, though, you hear his style, but really never repetition. One of the greatest artists of our age bar none.

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the great comment! He has talked about how he reexamined his approach after his chronic fatigue put him on a forced break, but regardless, to continue doing improvised concerts after so many years, knowing that he was always to some degree fighting people actually *wanting* to hear him repeat himself a la Köln and other favorites, continuing to push himself to innovate... absolutely inexhaustible creativity and integrity as an artist.

@ishudder

11 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters Yes - a testament to his integrity as an artist to use that illness to remake himself in a sense. Worth reading Ian Carr’s biography of him - though sounds like you may have. Very sad to hear Jarrett can no longer perform - but I treasure the memories of seeing him do so, particularly knowing they were moments never to be repeated. By the way, James Simpson directed me to your film - though I know you on Flickr. All the best.

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

I have not read Carr's bio, although I definitely need to. A book I did read very carefully and forgot to recommend to everyone is Peter Elsdon's amazing, meticulously analyzed story of The Köln Concert album, including insights into Jarrett's motifs, technique, etc. I added a link to it in the description. I did not know who you were from your account name on YT - James was very kind to point you here!

@ishudder

11 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters Haven’t read the Elsdon treatise - sounds interesting - although I don’t know music from a technical standpoint, much might be lost on me. I can hear and feel music, and have a passion for adventurous sounds, but can’t describe why technically. By the way, your photography book did make it to at least one bookshop in Melbourne, Australia - I saw it there a couple of years ago, knew your name and raised my eyebrows when I saw James’ picture as well. Smallish world! All the best.

I just last week had a same thought. I'm a painter. In the past I would get an idea for a painting before starting, maybe walking around with the idea in my head for months first, working it out. But lately I've been painting with nothing in my head to start. I thought about how it isn't easy to create something from nothing. I guess it really isn't from nothing, I have skills, went to school, studied classical figure drawing, design, color theory and such.

@TheCuriousOtters

17 күн бұрын

What seems clear to me as time goes on is that nothing gets created in a vacuum, especially in this age of sharing everything online. Our brains absorb so many ideas, forms, styles, approaches, etc., and everything we do gets filtered through personal experience, point of view, and ideas into something both old and new. I’ve realized over the years that a lot of the work of creating anything for me happens while I’m busy doing other things. Focusing on a particular project gets my brain turning it over and over, ideas popping into my head that I jot down for later when I’m back formally creating whatever it is. But live performance adds a whole other element. I iterate on a idea for a long time before anyone else gets to see it… but improvising with no prior plan in front of a live audience adds hair-raising challenges, most fundamentally the fear of failing or just not coming up with something you or your listeners judge to be “good” - or enough like things from your past work that became popular to please people. The fact that anyone can do it as well as KJ has done it without getting overly distracted by trying to please people never ceases to amaze me.

Wow! The most comprehensive piece on improvisation that I've ever come across.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much - I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s a huge topic that could occupy many books and films, but I tried to at least open a conversation about it.

Was für ein wunderbarer Musiker in seinem eigenen Kosmos geprägt von Bachs Suiten und Monks Jazz! Und wie berührend es ist, ihm zuzuschauen, wie er, dessen linke Hand nicht mehr bewegt werden kann, wie er seine Musik wieder hört, lächelnd und staunend... Ich hab das Interview mit Freunden geteilt. Macht das doch auch!

Lovely analysis and introduction! Subscribed and hoping for more!

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy what's coming (and I hope I get faster at this...).

Beautiful tribute to the Mozart of our generation.

@GjaP_242

8 ай бұрын

"I am one of those who will go on doing till all doings are at an end." 10:40 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

this is so beautiful!

Great video!!!

Wonderful video! I listened to Keith Jarrett while I was in college! But I never heard him speak about Victor Borge until now. I also have not followed what he has done since his stroke. I will read more about him now, thanks to your inspiration. What an incredible musician! I will share this on social media. I know a number of musicians. I'm sure they will enjoy it... along with people interested in doing the impossible in general. Thanks again!

Brilliant. Thank you!

Thank you!

Bravo!

Your channel is so underrated. Great video!

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! Just getting started.

Beautiful video

Buenísimo el video

excellent ! thx :)

You’d be hard pressed to find a bigger Jarrett fanatic than me. To be as accurate as we can, Keith did practice in private for endless hours over the decades on certain jazz standards & tunes he composed before his solo/trio/etc concerts. The jazz standards have known chord progressions with established melodies. How he dresses them up differently from show to show over the years-in only the sophisticated way he can-is what makes him one of the greatest to ever attempt it. Yes, there are purely organic, original compositions he performs-not knowing what will be heard before the note is delivered (both the listener and Keith, himself); yet there are myriad recordings-studio & live concert-that have well established, rehearsed frameworks before the microphones & cameras are turned on him.

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

I heard an interesting comment, I forget where, from someone who said he'd been in the auditorium to hear him warm up before some solo improv concerts, and opined that from what he heard Keith doing in warm-ups and later in the concert, that he had a pretty good idea of what he was going to improvise. It's hard to guess how his mind functions, and he's been frustratingly opaque about his process, preferring to dodge analysis and speak about it in spiritual terms that don't shed any light on it. In my own experience of creating works in various mediums, I've come to realize that knowing I am going to deliver a project in the near future, my subconscious starts "chewing" on ideas, gathering material, and formulating ideas, so once I actually sit down to play/write/shoot/etc, it flows as if it were waiting, like the experience of taking dictation that I've heard described by others. No idea what it's like for him, but I would guess that his brain is processing and chewing on musical ideas and sources 24/7...

@ltrizzle12

10 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters He’s the GOAT imo. For sure. That being said, you can hear strikingly similar patterns, chord progressions and melodies from solo show to solo show throughout the 70s and 80s. There’s even video of him practicing for his solo & trio tours in his home. When I first learned of KJ, I assumed everything was 100% brand new to the world’s ears. Only until I investigated further (and saw him in both his solo & trio shows in NYC) did I understand that there were certain established frameworks present-at least for a percentage of what was heard. But again, even considering his foundations being in place, what he does on top of it is still uniquely unparalleled and overwhelming to conceive at times. My favorite living composer/performer. Period.

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

@@ltrizzle12 My #1 favorite pianist of all time, and I have to agree that he is the GOAT when you take the full breadth and depth of his staggering output into account. I wish he had done more composing like he set out to do in the European quartet days instead of turning to standards, but one can hardly complain at an embarrassment of riches...

Other musicians work hard too but they are not able to do live composing as he did, but he eventually stopped, he was not able to keep the brilliance flowing, Bremen Lausanne and Koln etc. were limited and he eventually mostly played standards with his trio. I heard Keith live in Vancouver in 1974 at the Commodore Ballroom playing solo piano, it was mind blowing, a religious experience, energy out of this world, then he ended it abruptly , walked off and never came back. Will there ever be another KJ? Rare talent.

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

It's an important point: undoubtedly he began as an exceptionally gifted talent, a prodigy, and one who happened to develop the work ethic and focus necessary to actually develop it. It's also interesting that the more approachable, tonal improvisations rooted in gospel and familiar harmony sound deceptively simple, thus the legions of pianists (like me in my youth) who picked up on the obvious aspects of his playing but could never manage all of the subtleties, polyphony, seamless voice leading, etc. I agree that he is a singular, a once-in-a-century musician. Listening to people who have posted recordings of themselves playing transcripts of his improvisations drives the point home: even when you know all the notes and can play them technically, it still doesn't sound like Keith. Interesting that you find Bremen/Lausanne/Köln limited - for me, that was his solo improv at its most brilliant, but subjectivity is one of the beauties of art. Unfortunately it was also so approachable, appealing so far beyond the usual jazz audiences, that he was plagued with live audiences who came hoping to hear him improve something like their favorites, which was obviously antithetical to his goal of never repeating himself. I am grateful to have been alive the same time as him, having chances to hear him play live, and always looking forward to what he was going to do next.

thank you

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

It was my pleasure - thank you for watching!

Great video. Thank you. This ability each of them has is RE- CONNECTING to PRESENT MOMENT (AWARENESS). That is being the OBSERVER. Each human being can do this. Not one person is being excluded. Learn non duality meditation and you will be able to be in flow state like them. You will be able to perform in whatever you LOVE to do 'at your own level'. For example, when re- connecting to present moment, observing thoughts and stories, like sky observing clouds and storms, you'll accept negative thoughts and stories, let them be there and not engaging in them, and tuning in to whatever that will flow through you into your creation. By doing this, there will not be voices in your head that tells you "you're not good enough, you can't do it etc'. These are not YOU. These are egoic thoughts. These are not your true selves. Commit to meditation and do this DAILY. Many blessings to each of you.

Loved your video! A great metaphor to approximate improvising would be the process of speaking, which is constantly improvised and still relying on chunks of meaning and associations, to which we add a thing that has not been there like that before, our personal chaotic world, our life's intonation, plus the opposite of association: inspiration. Or something like that. ;-)

@jgunther3398

9 ай бұрын

i'm not an improvising musician, but my theory of improvising music...is that it has to involve an ability to immediately play by ear anything that comes to mind. when you eventually fail that you've hit a limit. i never see talk of connecting the ear to the keyboard in improvisation discussions, mostly just technical harmonic things

Great work. This essay is very eye opening

@TheCuriousOtters

2 ай бұрын

Thank you!

This video started really well and ended even better! What an inspiration. 🙏🏼

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you - I’m so glad you liked it!

Very insightful and inspiring. Thanks Brian! Also: yay for Dog Dad!

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you sir! And thanks for the shout-out on my favorite hat. 😂 If you ever bring home a dog buddy for your cats, you can find yourself such a hat at the dog museum in New York City - I kid you not... which reminds me: have you visited the cat museum in Amsterdam? Or its very fine cat café? If not, you must go...

Great work Brian, very inspiring)

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you, master!

Beautiful beautiful video! Cant really put into words how I feel after watching it but amazing work.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

Seriously inspiring, thank you Brian!

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much, Timothy - it makes my day to hear that! And thank you for your amazing transcriptions!

Awesome video, Brian! Creative, funny, poetic, inspiring and very, VERY motivating - love it! 🙏

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much Martin!!

Very motivating video. It's fantastic. Few people see the intricacies that distinguish Jarrett, and this film delivers those attributes in an extremely informative and encouraging manner. Outstanding work!

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your kind feedback! It's very gratifying to hear that it was useful.

there's a bit of Miles in your voice that I really like, and the content is great. Improvising good music for hours is to me the epitome of a good musician. Wether solo or with others

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much - I definitely agree that improvising innovatively song after song, year after year is a hallmark of a great musician. It is an exceptional skill that defies my ability to imagine just how complex and capable our brains really are...

I really like the tone of this video and quite the emotional ending ❤️

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! Love your channel! 💚💙💛

This is by far the most inspiring video I've watched this entire year. Thank you so much for making this video! - from a subscriber in South Korea

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much - I am inspired that you were inspired!

Very inspiring conclusion. Greetings from Roma!

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much - I’m glad you enjoyed it!😊

This video has such a good spirit !

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

loved iit!

Great video, great storytelling skills!

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for the kind words, Johannes!

We need more and more videos like this 🙌 ❤

@TheCuriousOtters

Ай бұрын

Thank you so much - I’m glad you enjoyed it! More on the way…

Great content!

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching and your kind feedback!

Fun watching left hand stuff

nice

Magnifique vidéo, où l'on apprend un peu plus sur ce génie du piano !!! Moi qui l'écoute énormément ! Et le joue au piano ! Je peux vous dire que j'ai beaucoup progressé à son écoute ! C'est vrai que c'est un génie ! ❤,🎹

WOW 😮 now that's a different channel, I LOVE it!! 🤯 Greetings from Roma ❤

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Thank you, and thank you Roma!

Well done. Clearly and interestingly stated, great editing and visual content. You name all the FACT.ors I describe when people in comments throw around the words "genius", and "from another planet" or "dimension", or "divinely inspired, or "blessed", You name all the same ingredients , and the same examples, like Michael Jordan. Early start, good teachers, discipline, hard work, and a will to not only excellence but to giving us something by which we are amazed. The blessings or gifts are the DNA, the quickly transmitted messages from brain to fingers. And the environments, Jarrett's teachers and parents, MJs dad, and his brother kicking his ass for years at the hoop in their driveway. Early start at a young age. Excellent competition and influences from fellow "students" and mentors or coaches , further along the way in their teens, at MJ's North Carolina, in Jarrett's early bands. All the things we all know are the real makers of genius. Without ALL of the above in play, genius does not happen. That's why it's so rare. i will simply post a link to this next time i am irritated by the woo woo explanations for great music.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Hi Mark - thank you so much for clarifying what I was trying to say in the video. I think the key point for me (these essays are messages to myself as much as to others) is regardless of the things you couldn't control - inborn talent, parenting, teachers, your early environment, etc., to let nothing stop you from getting out there and just playing at whatever makes you happy - golf, music, bball, whatever. As a kid and young man, I was endlessly frustrated with less than great teachers, a 25 year search for someone who could actually teach me jazz, a very complicated emotional relationship to music that ultimately robbed me of any joy in it - lots of things I couldn't control. Ultimately that led to abandoning music and starting over again by pivoting to filmmaking. You find a way. Otherwise focusing on these few geniuses and what you can't do can drive you nuts and discourage you from ever even trying or developing your own voice, and that is a tragedy. BTW, beautiful playing and soulful singing on your channel! It's great to hear from so many wonderful musicians.

Thanks for this, Keith is probably my favourite musician, and I think he's unmatched as an improvising pianist. I agree that there are things in his solo concerts that sometimes have certain similarities, but in terms of his improvised lines when he's playing over a preconceived structure (solo or trio), all the musicians I know agree that he's the only guy who doesn't have "licks" i.e. his right hand lines are pure and fresh every time, which is a mark of how outstanding he is. I like the fact you talked about working hard, one of the other things I admire about him is how hard he's worked over the years, even though he was clearly incredibly talented to start with - it's very inspiring :)

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

Hi Tim - thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! You clarified the point about Keith not relying on repeated licks better than I did! I was trying to straddle a line between making a video that would be meaningful to a broad audience and one that would only resonate with musicians, and so I didn't end up using a lot of detailed technical analysis that I recorded at the piano. Not only are his right hand lines always fresh and deeply exploratory, what he does with his left hand and inner voicings in both hands are equally astonishing. I agree 100% with your observation, and that's exactly why I brought up Oscar, who was obviously a phenomenal player with so much joy in his style, but also one who definitely used a library of signature licks over and over (albeit at rocket speeds and in endless combinations). And your second point also bears repeating - to be born with exceptional talent is wonderful, but that fact that he worked to develop it to such an unprecedented degree is what's truly inspiring. Comments like yours extend the value of these videos far beyond what it's possible to cover in a single essay, and it's especially great to hear from other musicians!

@timbruer7318

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for your response Brian, not only have I been a big fan of his for a very long time (I did my Masters thesis on his work in the Standards trio), I've always been interested in the whole idea of "allowing the music to happen" rather than pre-conceived things going into it. Keith of course, is the best example of this, consistently creating pure improvised music. Regarding his other traits, I could talk all day about them, but yes, his contrapuntal awareness and his left hand prowess are a couple of big ones. BTW, I don't recall you mentioning Oscar, and just scanned through the video and couldn't see anything...? Finally If you're interested, I did an interview with the wonderful jazz/classical pianist Dan Tepfer where we talk a lot about the process of improvisation, and it's on my YT channel. @@TheCuriousOtters​

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

Holy smokes, thanks so much for turning me on to Dan - I had never heard of him - what a gem! I love what he’s doing with improvisation on those classical roots. In terms of Oscar, I was surprised myself to realize that it was one of the sections that ended up on the cutting room floor along with the daily number of brain cells I appear to be losing…🤪

@timbruer7318

10 ай бұрын

Ha ha, re Dan, my pleasure, I've actually become a friend of his, and he's a genius. He creates computer programs, does his Bach thing, plays jazz consumately and does other stuff too. Heres' a clip of him playing Solar where he modulates up a half step every chorus, it's wonderful. kzread.info/dash/bejne/oo1kmpZ9eaeYo84.html @@TheCuriousOtters

@mrquick6775

9 ай бұрын

Cmon guys! This is kinda laughable in some respects! I’m mean we’re all entitled to our opinion but OSCAR???😅 Oscar Peterson is by far the GREATEST jazz pianist that has ever lived! 🤔🤷 His talent is virtually unmatched.. Esp when you talk about his interpretations of Jazz standards no one does it better. Now as far as other genres Keith might outshine lots of people there, but for pure jazz piano soling it’s Oscar hands down, with a nod to Art Tatum and Chic Corea as well. These three are my personal favorites! Yes he has his sig licks, but if you listen closely so does Jarret and this PART is not even up for debate! Everyone is different physiologically speaking and this results in the development of personalized lines, runs and riffs that show up when we least expect it! In other words that’s what makes Jarret unique as well as any other famous renowned pianist pretty much in any Genre! They can ALL be identified by their playing. Think about it, if that wasn’t true, you wouldn’t be able to identify them or tell them apart. Not sure why he was brought up anyway. Now as far as Jarrett the pianist is concerned he’s a genius not my cup of tea though and esp don’t like his personality he is somewhat of a prick, rude, pompous, arrogant, elitist, self indulgent and imo overrated! But even with all that even still he is a musical genius! Peace and blessings’ I know this next part doesn’t count for much but I’m a self taught pianists I started at a very young age. And I’ve been playing close to 45 years. I’m no where near these guys abilities but I’m no slouch either, I’ve a well developed technique, modest understanding of theory speed, and perfect pitch as well. But I’m mostly an ear player , I play everything by ear..

Not machines; organic/celestials, thus, of nature, we are lightning posts of a search, if inveterately or unconsciously, for the great, joyous, grand joining while still here. The main traitor to this process is individual ego: it only can trammel or trample the joy and the natural process of the search. Jarrett had the intuition and huge talent to begin, and the appropriate balance of self and self-among-all, as he matured, to be capable of doing what he has done. Let you think that as easy as saying so... the price of finding this rarest vein of living and performing can cost, at least intermittently during life, EVERYTHING. Only one in several million, possibly several tens or hundreds of million humans even BEGIN to comprehend that sacrifice, much less could they even start on a path toward it. I never fail to bow deeply toward this man for the extraordinary thing it has been to share the firmament with him. Great video, Brian!!!

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

I feel the same way - I consider it a great good fortune to have been on the planet in this same little window of time as Keith. I have never gone anywhere without his recordings in my bag since I was first introduced to him (by my grandfather the musician, inevitably) around 1979.

@michaelmccormack494

8 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters Brian-- nor I. Always a rotating, different group of recordings at my side, from year to year. I did it the hard way, at 16, in '77. I took the $10 leap of faith that the music of Staircase / Hourglass / Sundial / Sand could be HALF of the pictorial brilliance. Happily it wasn't half; it was, at the very least, double. $10 was an absolute king's ransom to me then, but I had an intuition (I'd never heard Koln or anything else of his prior to the purchase) and... what impossible, or at least implausible dividends it has paid!

Great video! The quoted tune from the Koln Koncert, "Memories of Tomorrow" also included now in the first real book is the only one that according to many musicians is known as one that was a pre-composed jazz melody. So "completely improvised" isn't entirely true.

I think it's important to point out the circumstances that allowed these people to succeed in creative and sporting fields, which is out of everyone's control. Not a lot of people listen to music based primarily on musical instruments these days, and being in a competitive sporting environment where you can develop with other strong players is a major factor in someone's development. Being lucky enough have one's talents and passion "fit" with the circumstances of the environment which favor and value some endeavors over others appears to be vital in whether someone can develop and be known. Somehow, I think kids have an intuition about the environment and what's meaningful to pursue (then again there is survivorship bias) For me personally it's kind of sad that when asked what they want to be in life a majority of kids say they want to be content creators (on places like youtube or tiktok) because it's the most prominent place where young people see other young people become wildly successful. What's deleterious about the ambition of succeeding on social media is that technique and deep creative nuance built from individuality and concentrated work, finds itself hard to win against the whim of the algorithm which directs collective attention towards things that are so surface-value and superficial.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

That's a really insightful point you made about looking around you for opportunities to excel and young people seeing people like themselves on social media platforms, already wildly successful as teenagers even before they have any conventional higher education. You also get to invent or ignore or break the traditional "rules" or models for success, which is appealing, especially when you're 13 or 16 or 18 and trying to figure out your identity as well as your strengths. I'm hopeful that social media can also be just as effective at bringing attention to outstanding talents in science, medicine, tech, etc., but there sometimes is a lot of education, training, and experience needed that can look daunting and less appealing than just figuring out how to make an entertaining short video with your phone that will get you a lot of likes along with the dopamine hit they provide. One of the biggest struggles I have with social media and there are many) is getting caught up in constantly creating and publishing creative work as quickly as possible, inviting immediate global opinion (which is a lot of noise to process) before you've even had a chance to figure out whether you're happy with it yourself. I'm used to making films and writing books in a kind of creative bubble, a very removed and protected space where I immerse myself completely in the material, one idea sparking another, knowing that I will give it all the time it needs before it's released, by which time I've wrung the maximum pleasure and lessons from the process and I am ready to let it go. Still struggling with the quality/quantity balance, and probably will be for a while.

thank you for the motivation. 🙏

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

I'm so happy to hear that it was motivating. Great Bach playing on your channel, and I love your piano bench cover!

@stereodachs

10 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters thank you for your kind words. i need a better piano ;) the bench cover might be nice, but the sound and the technique of the piano is crapy.. best regards from germany

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

@@stereodachs If only those darn acoustic pianos weren't so expensive... and tough to move... Regards from Berlin!

@stereodachs

10 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters hell yeah.. i realized a lot of rich people have nice pianos but can´t play at all ... damn, it´s a shame

How come this channel has low subscribers? This channel produces really great content

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for your question- that would undoubtedly be because I didn’t start posting on this platform consistently until last month! But for the time being,this is my full time occupation, so you will see a steady stream of videos that I hope you’ll find at least as good as what I’ve done so far.

@Iduininane

10 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOttersthank you 😊

❤

My Song is a beautiful album. 😊

what a good fucking video man, congrats, and thanks

This video teaches us. "No matter how gifted, talented, skillful, or even with supportive parents. everything will fcked up if you have bad wife" *Tiger Woods*

Comedy is basically context modulation - landing on a related, if only threadbare, idea that might well provoke humor or insight. Modulating context musically makes sense also. Both can take a lot of work, especially with timing, not that I'm even close to being good at either.

If you're into Jarrett, check out Brad Mehldau!

Not cool... you made me cry! Superb video! Subscribed in an instant

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much - I'm sorry/not sorry, and delighted that it moved you!

Awesome video!

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you!

very professional vid, well done

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much!

Two words: thank you !!

@GjaP_242

8 ай бұрын

Jordan understood that success comes from hard work and dedication, and he was willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. [Medium]

@GjaP_242

8 ай бұрын

"I think you have to be completely merciless with yourself." 6:19 Keith Jarrett

@GjaP_242

8 ай бұрын

“Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” 9:16 Michael Jordan

@GjaP_242

8 ай бұрын

There are great similarities between Keith Jarrett and Michael Jordan in achieving their goals.

@GjaP_242

8 ай бұрын

There are students who become masters, others do not. Never. 6:24

I'm sorry but what is the song at 0mn56s ? Never heard this recording... Great approach of Keith Jarrett, thanks !

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Hello there - thank you for the kind words. The music is all listed in the description. That piece is an improvisation Jarrett later titled "Heartland" from Concerts Bregenz/München (1981): apple.co/3sF37nU

There's only so many patterns of spacings and black/white key combinations that need to be incorporated, along with the several different ways of extending a line beyond just 5 stationary fingers, that the spontaneous execution of virtually any notes of any desired span or length of phrase of at least 2 independent voices shouldn't be a problem to be played. Imagine writing a computer program to make a robotic arm play the piano. You wouldn't need to program every possible combination of moving from any key to any other potential key using all possible fingers, you just need to teach it the 10 to 15 rules that teach it how to move, how to group notes to come up with fingerings, understanding when and how to "cross over" or use other techniques to play lines that definitely require more than just 5 stationary fingers. It could be probably be done in a matter of a few dozen lines of code, as opposed to 88! * 5! which would be 2.2 * 10^136 possibilities

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Good points - I'm sure we'll hear that robot before too long! I guess what remains most impressive to me is what Keith alluded to in his comment about needing to be prepared even if an idea pops up mid-improv that wasn't what you anticipated. There's such a thorny problem contained in that short phrase, given his stated goal not to repeat himself. Despite some stylistic repetition, the degree to which he did manage to improvise fresh-sounding ideas year after year with such flawless execution is mind-boggling to me. Your hands can't be two places at one. Fingerings require preparation in terms of hand and arm position and how you're going to rotate around your thumb, which suggests foreknowledge. Yet he so often played as if discovering something new. I've sometimes wondered whether he adopted a kind of perverse attitude to ignore familiar ideas and deliberately steer himself in a direction that feels unexplored. It's a mystery! Whatever genius he was born with, and it was obviously exceptional, he also pushed himself like a man possessed to keep innovating, and that's what impresses and inspires me more than anything, the lesson I find really useful (as opposed to wringing one's hands over whatever talent you were born with).

Great video!! A question, how do make the sheet music transparent? Photoshop? Or in the notation program?

@TheCuriousOtters

8 ай бұрын

Hi Erik - thanks; I’m so glad you liked it. In terms of transparency, you can either tweak the layer blending options in Photoshop to only show the tonal range of the notes but not the paper (using a non-Background layer so you can have layer transparency), export it as a PNG with transparency enabled, import it into your video editor and put it on a video layer above other video tracks, or if you have a video editor that can do the same thing in terms of blending options, just do it directly there. Of course you can also do it with a layer mask, selecting the background color and carefully anti-aliasing around the notation, but that is a lot of unnecessary work.

@erikholmbom

8 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters Thank you so much!

Helps of your one of the best in the world though

There’s always the other side though. In sports, we now have kids playing one sport only, being on travel teams, etc. The work ethic is great, but it can lead to unbalanced lives. Andre Aggasi was pushed so hard to achieve he now says he hates tennis. Is a lost childhood worth a small shot at greatness?

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

You make an essential point: there is a steep price that children pay for focusing so much of their precious childhood on one thing for the sake of excellence. And in many cases of celebrated excellence, a profession was thrust upon them by eager parents, like Agassi's, which led to a lot of long-term suffering. It's hard enough for an adult to balance out the desire for and cost of excellence, but children who are asked that by their parents don't really have much choice or the perspective to see what it will cost them - a very serious concern. So as much as I appreciate and enjoy the skills of the Andre Agassis and Serena Williams and Tiger Woods of the world, I think their lives bring extraordinary pressure and stress. There are no easy answers, but ideally it seems that children should not be put into a position where they sacrifice a wider exploration of the world to please their parents, not even for the sake of excellence. But only people who have actually been in that position can speak to its challenges.

@joksal9108

9 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOttersYes. Agassi as noted says he hates tennis-his autobiography is a great book by the way-but Tiger Woods doesn’t seem to hate golf; Bryce Harper from my Phillies who did the travel team thing doesn’t seem to hate baseball. And Maynard Ferguson who came up in another video never regretted dropping out of school to play professionally, as a teenager. Of course those are the success stories.

the best jarrett recording is "fratres" by arvo part, the violin and piano arrangement. (keith jarrett, gidon kremer) :p

I think in a style and jarret is an unique style ,i can recognize his style when start to play piano without lookin to mr jartet..

Unfortunate about Keith Jarrett. But at least we have his catalog from prior to his event.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Yes, it is tragic, as there's no telling how much more music he has in him. Listening to his recordings now is that much more poignant knowing that he simply cannot do it any more, that he left us such a vast catalog of masterpieces, and that it was ultimately taken away from him so suddenly. But that is kind of the boat we're all in. I try to remind myself daily to just do the best I can with the resources I have, wherever I'm at, in light of the awareness that there is no way of knowing when it will all come to a stop. I wish I had a more personal way to thank him for what he did for music other than having bought just about every album he ever made.

@1:41 Envy me! 😂 I honestly have not heard this album. I am embarrassed to say that. I’ve been listen to all types of music and playing it for 25 years. In going to buy it now.

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

Hey, I am honestly so happy for you! It is a musical watershed, someone working at a peak level of creativity. Even if you don’t end up particularly caring for the musical style itself, I hope you will find inspiration that someone would push themselves to such an extraordinary level of creativity and risk.

what concert is the very first piece introducing keith jarrett from?

@TheCuriousOtters

10 ай бұрын

Ah, good question - I need to add all of the music credits to the description. It's the fourth track on the first disc of the 1982 Bregenz/München concert, "Heartland."

The like button is not enough sometimes. There should be a tears-to-my-eyes button. And a changed-my-life button.

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much - I'm so happy to hear this!❤

Jerry García !?

Hallo von Roma!

@TheCuriousOtters

11 ай бұрын

Many thanks to you and Roma!

It's called Genius

Music at 6:31?

@TheCuriousOtters

9 ай бұрын

That's one of Keith's live improvisations, Part III from the Munich 2016 album: apple.co/45Qg90I

@TheSummoner

9 ай бұрын

@@TheCuriousOtters Thanks!

Not Debussy or Bach is it. It's OK. 4 minutes is enough for me though. Best music jarret ever played was Bachs well tempered clavier Plus flute sonatas with Michala Petri

Jazz is improvise anyway

I listen to a lot of music, world over and all eras, never have heard what Keith Jarrett lovers love in his music. Bores me. Too histrionic, too fanciful his deportment, but nothing much comes out of his piano.

@jackxavier3915

8 ай бұрын

I don’t think that’s what this was about

I dunno. Well produced video but extremely superficial and deceptive. Leaves out genetics, karma (past and present) and family background and encouragement. Jarret has perfect pitch and spontaneously started playing piano at 3 years of age. Plus talent. Very musical. The great J.S. Bach, the acknowledged greatest improviser and keyboardist and musician of ALL TIME said the same thing about himself: He did not have that much talent than anyone else, he just was a very hard worker. Does that make sense to you? Look at Jacob Collier today and the unbelieveable music he produces by HIMSELF at 22 years of age. Is that hars work? He basically plays ALL the instruments. An moderately talented individual would take several lifestimes to achieve that.

Yet as much as respect Keith Jarett virtuosity I don't think he is a very inspired musician, I don't feel the spark of musical intelligence when I listen to his music as I feel when I listen Bill Evans.

@robertblauner7680

5 күн бұрын

Who cares...save it, genius...YEECH!