How Keith Jarrett Used Constraints to Give his Best Performance
The incredible story of how constraints shaped the most successful solo jazz album of all time
Constraints are powerful. Or, better said, the human ability to use constraints to our advantage is. I learned about the role of constraints in the creative process when I was writing a lot of poetry in my teenage years and I recently published an article on using constraints to unlock creativity.
So maybe I was not surprised, but I was still marveled, when I learned that one of the best jazz albums ever recorded, and a favorite of mine, was deeply shaped by constraints. The album in question is Keith Jarrett’s “The Köln Concert”.
The legend goes that, in 1975, Jarret had requested a Bösendorfer 290 Imperial piano for his performance at the Opera House in Cologne, Germany. Long story short, someone messed up and procured another type of piano.
When the American pianist saw the piano on the stage, he was confused. “Hey, I have a Bösendorfer [piano] here and it’s not the right size and it sounds like a modified electric harpsichord”.
It turned out to be a Bösendorfer piano, but far from the one had requested. It was a smaller baby grand piano and it was in poor shape, even after hours of tuning and adjustments.
By the time the error was unveiled, it was too late. Jarrett had to perform to a sold-out venue on a tiny, clunky and unpredictable piano.
Due to the poor condition, Jarrett had to come up with unplanned ways of interacting with the instrument. Not only he got dealt a bad hand, but he barely had time to come up with any ideas. He resorted to ostinatos and rolling left-hand rhythmic figures in search for an alternative to the piano’s weak bass notes.
A bad piano was not the only constraint Jarrett faced, mind you. In an interview for the Recording Academy, Jarrett recalls that for 24 hours before the concert, he had not been able to sleep. On top of that, he was barely able to eat before the gig either.
Had the piano been the one Jarrett expected, the Köln concert would have been only one more in the musician’s long career. It might have been an average performance, likely subpar given the circumstances. Instead, Jarrett was forced to innovate on the spot and he endured.
My sense was, “I have to do this. I’m doing it. I don’t care what the fuck the piano sounds like. I’m doing it.” And I did.
Against all odds, the concert was a success and so was the recording of the performance. It has sold more than 3.5 million copies, it was inducted to the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 2011 and it is widely considered the “most successful solo jazz album of all time”.