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Welcome back everyone. To where is the music podcast in today's episode? I'm very happy to share with you. I will say finally, the music of the music by some of the by one of the most, if not the most inspiring musician.

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Of my life, this is Keith Jarrett.

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If you're not familiar with them, well, you should be. But if you're not, Kim Jarrett is considered one of the most influential jazz artist of all time. He has just a few years ago retired.

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And most of his career has been focusing on improvisation. The piano he has collaborated with a number of.

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Artists, including in the beginning of his career, including Miles Davis and many, many more. Of course, today I wanted to talk about a piece of music from.

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From an album in 1984.

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The album is called changes in a trio and.

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It includes a song called Prism.

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There are many things that I would like to talk about with regard to Keith Jarrett. Many tunes, many techniques and styles, and many unique features, unique characteristics of his style that is worth spending time on. But.

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There would be too many, I decided to pick one and this tune. Prism is perhaps a good starting point.

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Prism is a tune that is recorded in a typical, let's say, traditional jazz style. You have the the melody, the tune and the chords exposed. Play perform at the beginning and then you have.

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Improvisations around it. It's worth mentioning that a few years later he recorded the same tune again, this time with different ensemble in Quartet talking about 1989 with the young barbaric on saxophone and.

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The form the structure of the recording is actually pretty much similar.

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There is there isn't. If you're wondering, there isn't a a departure from the tradition of jazz. Nevertheless, Keith Jarrett in this tune has many others, but particularly this one is a good example.

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Of very balanced merging of classical and modern.

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Form let's expand a bit on this. Classical forms are.

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Tends to be square in a sense, an even number of bars, an even number of phrases, so the sections are proportionate to one another. As a matter of fact, this tune is in 32 bars. You can divide it in exactly 2 equal.

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Section of 16 bars and you can even divide the.

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The sections into 4 phrases of four bars each. One would expect something similar to that from to find a similar structure in a in a hidden or Beethoven minuet.

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Or a Schubert.

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Waltz.

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There are. There is a as I was saying and squareness associated to the way this piece is designed. Although for those of you who are not familiar with just form, we are talking about the structure of the melody, which happens to be at the very beginning of the recording. We're going to listen to it and I'm going to.

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Played a couple of times as well, but the Squareness is related to the way the composer has constructed and designed its.

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His melody. So. And if you are, let's say wondering. Well, should I be able to count bars? To feel to recognise this sense of squareness? Why? Why is it so important? Well, the so-called squareness.

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Associated and emerging from an even number of bars from an even number of phrases that all last the same number of bars can be perceived in music in the same way when.

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In the same way you perceive the, let's say the difference between a classical poem written in stands of four lines each, each line lasting each line maybe long the same number of.

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Syllables with some sort of repeated inner rhythm or accent.

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That characterises each line, so the classical forms are as well in in poetry as well as in music that relates to this, somehow crystallise canonised way of making.

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Art that has found, let's say I'm an optimal form you when you listen to a poem, you don't count syllables. You don't count or follow.

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The lines, the number of lines. You just feel that there is an inner sense of balance in what you're listening. And then when you read the poem, you can actually see how well organised and perfectly proportion things are.

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So it's not so much the fact that you can count bars, or you can perceive the proportionality of each phrase. But is that overall there is a sense of.

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Of balance and harmony that either you perceive it consciously or you, or or you just accept it for what it is.

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So it is interesting how one of the most, let's say original composers and performer and artist in jazz as actually as you can expect is very well aware of the importance of.

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Of harmony imbalance in in composition and creativity, Keith Jarrett in fact has recorded a huge amount of classical music, particularly his passion for Bach he has recorded, I believe.

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So.

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The well tempered Clavier and a number of other works, so it seems to be very sensitive to the idea that however experimental and however much we want to push the edges of our.

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Expressivity, but the classical form might still be, let's say, a template that is very much useful for modern and contemporary sensitivity and.

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But then what about?

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What is in this piece that is actually modern? Because earlier earlier on I was mentioning how it merges.

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Classical and and modern forms. Well, the theme the main motive.

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Of of this song is treated, I would say quite loosely. It's treated with freedom very much freedom. I would say it is not easy to keep track of it, even though one would expect in a form so classical.

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You will expect to hear it state, perhaps repeated, or maybe.

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Variated but still quite recognisable, but in this case the theme is treated quite loosely as it is offered and departed from with beautiful sense of musicality.

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What I'm going to do now is play to you the melody without any colour and without any embellishment.

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Because take this opportunity to listen to it, and if you can pay a bit of attention and try to spot whether there are some recurrent rhythms or even recurrent motifs, you probably.

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Will feel a bit lost right in the middle of it, because there isn't much to cling on to.

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But stay with with me with this because you'll see very soon why this is quite important. We we're not going to do, let's say Conservatory class style harmonic or melodic analysis. But that's not the point. The reason why I suggest.

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We do this little exercise is that you recognise how keep gyrate in this case is able to.

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Constantly quote part of the originating motif and constantly depart from it. So the melody it goes this way.

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You probably thought, well, that's interesting, but that's not particularly interesting. It's not. It's not. I can't follow it. There is really, it sounds like a set of notes, one after another without too much.

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Expressivity.

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True you you wouldn't be wrong at the same time if you paid attention, you might have heard little things coming back, little rhythms, little melodic junctures.

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Links just popping out. The reason why I wanted to do this exercise is so you recognise the modernity of the thematic treatment, the idea of.

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Classical thematic treatment is that, given a motive given a melody, such something like this.

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This could be good melody for for a piece of music can be developed in a million different ways and maintain a sense of relationship with all of its further development, for example.

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Etcetera. You can. You can see you can hear the difference. This was a way of developing.

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Thematically, in a more classical way, the same melody that Keith Jarrett has written, can I play to you the beginning again of this melody and see the difference between a classical and a more loose and modern way of developing.

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Right, that's. That's the only time in which we can hear it coming back. We are in the middle of the piece, so hopefully you get a sense of what what I mean.

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And.

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Certainly this. I mean, why would this be modern in itself? It seems like the best way to categorise or to to describe keep composing style. In this case it seems to be, at least to me, it seems like he's already.

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Instead of developing, it's kind of already ornamenting it making variations.

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Which is odd because you would make variations after the the main material. The opening material is presented. You will need the listener to create some association to the main material of a piece of music.

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In order for him to follow you as your composer, develop it and create variations and take it further. He doesn't do that. He already jumps in with the ornaments and with the variation it seems like.

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For him, there is a sort a sense of identity between a theme, a musical theme and its own variations, and that's possibly the reason why I think of an extremely modern approach there is.

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This can somehow tie or link to a world of creativity in which.

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We see the material being developed, material being presented as something that is not so clearly defined the the distinction between a theme and its development is not so clear as it was in the classical form.

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The distinction is blurred, and this is something that speaks of modern times quite clearly, so even more than that, there is a sense. I mean I found something quite odd.

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It's in his 84 and 1984 recording, the first recording of this piece while he presents the song in the trio, the recording starts with the double bass player playing the tune.

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But weirdly, the tune starts from the middle, from bar 17 up until the end, and then after it the piano comes in and plays the tune again from the beginning this time.

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Which is odd.

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In his second record in 1989 in the quad.

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He plays it, not the bass player plays it at this time again, but from the very top it's very difficult to make sense of this choice. Let's listen to the first recording and then we tried.

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To come up with a, you know, try to make sense of it afterwards.

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Sorry to interrupt, Keith. So you probably had my same reaction when I when I listened to this the first time, which first of all, it is a slow music.

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The melody. It feels like a.

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A ballad, in a sense, actually, if I think about it, what it reminds me of is Mozart, particularly Mozart, Andante as middle movement of his sonatas and and even sinful years they are. They are.

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A bit slow in a sense. There are long and there is a lot of lyrical stuff happening, but it is hard to keep track of whether it's a theme or its own ornament. There is a beauty with it.

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Because as a listener you can totally lose yourself as the music unfolds. Lose quite literally yourself because you can't.

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Link back to an originating theme as it might happen in in different parts in different movement of the same maybe piece and different. Maybe sonatas or classical music. In this case we hear that there is a.

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We hear a constant back and forth between.

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Uh.

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Quotations quotes of the initial motive and variations, ornaments, improvisation. Possibly this is a quality one of these qualities that make the listener feel his attending to a performance.

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Very authentic music in a sense, isn't it nice to perceive, or at least be persuaded at? What's that? What's happening on stage, that what the musicians are playing is?

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Emerging right there. At that moment, it feels much more authentic sometimes than music that is just reproduced from a score seems to be riding that wave seems to be composing in a way that.

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The aims at suggesting the listener this is this is just me being playful right now. I I want to blur the distinction.

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When properly written theme and my interpretations of it and so I write in the theme already variations of it.

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So before listening, we opened up to this question how come he starts this recording from the middle of the tune, the bass player we were saying and.

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The the the bass player begins the recording from Bar 17 up until the end, and then the main theme starts. Why? I mean, how odd. How is it possible to write a perfect melody and start it from the middle? How odd.

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But then if we look at it in this perspective, which is he is aiming at blurring the distinction between a theme and a variation, then you realise that.

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It is a whole philosophy. It is a whole approach to music. There isn't really something that we can call a.

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A thing, a motive. There isn't something that we can cling onto it as the originating material of a piece of music. The beginning is as well, important as the end. And this is maybe, maybe I'm just speculating here. This is may be the reason why he calls.

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The composition Prisma Prisma after all Eva is a.

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Geometric form that although more complicated than the most basic square or rectangle or triangle, but it's still made of simple forms altogether combined to construct.

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A shape that is.

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That is apparently more complex, so it is the coexistence of complexity and simplicity. That's what the the the term praise makes me think about.

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I if the the first object that comes to mind when I think of a prism is the diamond and the the diamond is also made-up of made of.

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And the shape of a diamond very often is made of sides, faces that are all the same. They're they're all the same shape. But nevertheless, if you have lights coming through it, you will see a whole range of different colours. So in a sense.

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The prism represents a place of, as we said, complexity and simplicity, but also a place where the same faces can render a variety of of colours meaning.

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Transformation can happen within the same place.

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And so solid geometry is referred to as the vehicle for variety and transformation as light coming through, going through a diamond is rendered into incredible number of different colours.

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But then the shape through that through which that happens is an actual solid shape and UM.

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So I find this element of transformation.

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Extremely inspiring, particularly because Keith Jarrett is an artist. He knows how transformation is necessary. Part of the creative process is an inspiring and motivating principle.

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For himself, his collaborators, but also the listeners that are willing to let themselves be taken into this process of transformation that happens when we listen to music.

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It seems to me that it the principle of maintaining maintaining, let's say, a kind of an identity, perhaps through constantly quoting bits of the opening thing, but never.

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The less never, never, never playing it in the same way. It is a way to play with identity and transformation that makes not only let's say, the philosophy of jazz, particularly rich and profound, but also.

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Keith Jarrett work as very unique. He seemed to have.

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Espoused this principle and made it into one of the driving motivator of his creative output. So we're going to listen to it now and this time in the Quartet version where we're going to hear.

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The main theme, at least the 1st 32 bars played initially by the bass player and then we're going to we're going to hear how the whole band improvises.

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We will be able to listen to the whole thing because it's quite it's quite long. This is the Keith Jarrett quartet with young barbaric on saxophone Palle Danielson on bass and John Christensen on drums recording.

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Of 1989, the album is called.

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Personal mountains. I really invite you to listen to this piece. Not trying to pick out how the theme or how it is developed. Let him do the job of keeping you attached to what's happening.

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The story in general, the story of Keith Jarrett music is a story of infinite unfolding. We never we cannot predict where and how it will unfold, but we.

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Are very safe in his hands to let us guide to let him guide us into an experience of transformation. He can be very loose and he can really get to the edges.

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Of creativity. It can be challenging to follow him at times and as well he is the musician that played with him. But.

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I invite you to to let him do what he can do best and let yourself be guided through this through this process. So please Keith Jarrett quartet.

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So we ended up listening to the whole thing. If you are still connected, I wanted to thank you for tuning in and listening to this episode. I'd appreciate if you would like to leave a review or a comment perhaps suggesting.

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Topic for a future episode and don't forget that if you play the piano, there are a couple of piano courses available on YouTube or otherwise. If you like me to.

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Help you with your piano playing. I teach at the London Contemporary School of Piano. Links are in the descriptions you can get in touch directly with me instead through my website, Albertoferro.com or my YouTube channel.

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My music is on all the major platforms. Alberto L. Ferro

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And band camp, which, if you like to support independent artist, that's the best way band Camp Alberto Ferro, Alberto L. Ferro so.

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Thank you. Once again, look forward to our next episode of where is the Music podcast Bye Bye.