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Rating: Forgive me, but this cannot be a simple review but rather a love letter.
I still feel all the emotion that arose after the last note heard at the end of a Venetian concert that is hard to describe. For years I have been listening to, or rather loving, Keith Jarrett, from that time over ten years ago when I listened to the Cologne concert vinyl, an existentialist sum of his sound on the piano. Well, the other night my musical dream came true: experiencing a "solo piano" concert by Keith Jarrett, especially in a theater, the Fenice of Venice, which alone would have been enough to understand the historical significance of this event, organized within the Veneto Jazz 2006 festival, this year all centered around the memory of Miles Davis.
Keith Jarrett returned to perform at the Fenice 35 years after his previous performance, which at the time was alongside the divine Miles. Yesterday, however, was different. Yesterday he was there, alone with his Steinway grand piano and not as in 1971 behind the electric keyboards, a young and curly Davis sidekick. This Venetian concert was also recorded by ECM for a "Live at Fenice" which will be added to the many gems of his discography, and thinking about what I heard yesterday, there are all the premises for this Fenice gig to be, a diamond among the gems of Jarrett's vast production.
The Concert
The usual grumpy Jarrett as always, just arrived from Nice on a private flight, had demanded two new Steinways, direct from Pescara from the Italian importer, and I don't think the Fenice lacks grand pianos! The view in the hall was magnificent, so much gold and blue and so many people filling every seat, although the prices were admittedly prohibitive, but the event was unique and the anticipation great. Many were my anxieties on the eve: will I experience an evening of love for music and those who listen to it, or will I arrive full of regrets for what could have been and may not be? With KJ, you can never predict; it might just take a misplaced clap for him to get up and leave, or going to Venice with the expectation of spending a magical night could have been ruined by a company not inclined to my certain ways of understanding love for music and life. But no, none of this happened, I don't shirk the appointments with the history of my life and possibly I don't disappoint them, and yesterday was one of those days. A night full of so many unforgettable "notes"!
At 21:25 begins a 20-minute ride of improvisation and experimentation that sees the divine Keith physically embrace the keyboard of his piano previously caressed lightly on the side, as if preparing it for an evening of love. At the end of the piece, it is the maestro himself who calls for a liberating applause from the audience, at that moment timid and fearful in front of an artist you never know how he might react. He himself says: "relax, because I certainly cannot" and immediately after begins with a blues full of rhythm and then continues with a piece full of magical lyricism, which transported me into a dreamlike atmosphere, followed by a performance full of swing, which ended the first part of the concert, in my opinion the best because it was full of concentration both on stage and in the hall.
Long break and then the maestro resumed with a suite of improvisation less experimental than the first but technically so challenging that it was interrupted by a curse from KJ who stood up abruptly, in pain, saying he heard a creak in a finger, perhaps the sign that the much-loved piano was rebelling against such free executive fervor. A few minutes break and KJ returns with a score in hand claiming he is often criticized for always improvising everything. And here he goes with another extremely melodic piece that captivated and made the atmosphere magical, especially within that box number 30, where the music was lived with slight finger movements and imperceptible leg vibrations, I will never erase those intense minutes from my tactile instinct. In succession more moments of compelling Be-Bop accompanied by Jarrett's constant foot tapping on the Venetian stage boards.
His customary sighs, widely profuse yesterday, accompanied a concentration on the keyboard that I had previously only witnessed at a concert by Maurizio Pollini 15 years before at the ROF in Pesaro. Another standard as per program and then the theater will pay him such a long series of ovations that Jarrett will concede even three encores of which the last I listened to completely in a trance. And it could have been even more if that one flash at the end hadn't made KJ leave like a bolt.
Thoughts
Then the starry night of Venice, in front of the Bridge of Sighs, gently lulled me to sleep in the arms of an important night of love and memories. Thanks for existing to Keith, to Pat, and to all those who make and will make me happy for another night. I LOVE YOU!!!
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