Another interesting moment in the Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation DVD, that I've referred to a few times, comes during a conversation with the Standards Trio's incomparable rhythm section, Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock, when Peacock has a tremendous insight into the process required of an improvisor: "First, the music enters us. And if the music enters you, you don't have to worry so much about what to play; the music's telling you what to play." The reason that this is so helpful is that it happens very often that a musician begins to solo on a tune before the tune has been thoroughly learned. And until it has, nothing sounds right, even things that should be correct, technically speaking. But once the tune has been integrated, it's hard to go wrong. I think of it as the song-writer telling the player the following: "Now let me get this straight - you want to use my work as a vehicle for improvisation, but without really learning it." Strangely enough, the most important resource for playing ideas is the piece itself; if we're willing to take the time to let it in, it'll tell us all we need.

Variation is one of the most important concepts in music. And no style of music does more with it than jazz. While maintaining some type of constant, usually involving melodic material and the harmonic structure, the musicians are free to add layer upon layer of ideas. In fact, one of the measures of the quality of a jazz player is how much variety they are capable of adding to a piece, during both the accompaniment and the soloing in the case of the rhythm section (i.e. bass, drums, piano and/or guitar, generally). A listener will be able to hear much more deeply into the music if he or she can pay attention to what is going on, while still being able to keep the melody and form of the song in their minds. (The musicians certainly have to do so - most improvisors like to have even the lyrics running in their minds, along with the chords and the tune.) At that point, everything that is played takes on much more meaning, because it is then heard as what it actually is: variation. So here's a great track to listen to in this way, the Standards Trio (Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette) playing "Autumn Leaves": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io1o1Hwpo8Y. Try closing your eyes and listening to the number and depth of ideas in DeJohnette's drumming. Then try using it to do the choreography for an imaginary tap dancer. Also, notice the ending, as Peacock and DeJohnette instantly follow Jarrett to an unusual conclusion that quotes from "Speak Low".

Another interesting moment in the DVD called, Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation is when, after a soundcheck, both members of the Standards Trio rhythm section (Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette) sit down at separate pianos (apparently Jarrett likes to choose one at the last minute) and begin improvising together. The fact that every member of the trio is a multi-instrumentalist isn't a big surprise, but the way that Peacock described the importance of the piano in an interview segment was: He got to the essence of the instrument by saying that it's vital for a bassist, for any musician really, to play the piano because "it provides context", which is a very cool way of saying harmony ("setting" is another good one). It reminded me of the fact that notes only have meaning in relation to other notes, and that these relationships can become increasingly complex and interesting when we take the time to listen with this in mind. (It also explains why perfect pitch is of no importance in the making of music - it's entirely based on relative pitch, i.e. hearing the notes in context.) I once had a teacher who said that Gary Peacock was his favourite bassist because "every note he plays is a surprise and yet somehow just right". I suppose a lifetime of intense harmonic study had something to do with it. Here he is in another great trio, with Paul Bley and Paul Motian, playing "Don't You Know" from their 1999 album, Not Two Not One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RidEEFURoAs

I was very pleased to find the video linked below on YouTube. It's one of my all-time favourite performances: Keith Jarrett's Standards Trio, with Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock, doing a live version of "Green Dolphin Street". The players, both individually and collectively, are probably the best in the world, and have been for some time, in fact. The song, originally written for a 1947 movie of the same name, is now widely considered as one of the most productive vehicles that an improvisor can play. It contains a lot, in other words, and in the hands of great jazz musicians it begins to yield up musical ideas the way a prism refracts light. It's a perfect song, in my opinion, and this version is probably the best one I've heard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCSQbxzJyoU

In mentioning Bill Evans in yesterday's post, I didn't give the names of the other musicians in his longest-lasting trio. Eddie Gomez, on bass, was with Evans from 1966 to 1978, and Marty Morell was his drummer from 1968 to 1975. In looking for a recording to link, I came across one I hadn't heard for a long time: a version of the Evans original entitled "Very Early" from the album, Montreux II (1970). It's in 3/4 time (also known as waltz time) and it features a very adventurous solo from Gomez, as well as the usual glistening brilliance of Evans. Also of note are Morell's numerous ideas in support. It's a great example of three musicians who can process internal and external information at high speeds in the moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnZWcc5CUik

And here is the opening cut from the first album recorded in Switzerland, Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival from 1968. "One for Helen" was written for Evans' manager, Helen Keane, who was both a pioneer in her field and a loyal friend to Evans in his difficult final years. The drummer on this album was the great Jack DeJohnette; it was, unfortunately, the only Evans recording on which he appeared - he wasn't in the trio for long, but you'd never know it from this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LNUQXE3SlA