Keith Jarrett Banned from Umbria

[TheSteve]

Keith Jarrett was banned from this years Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. Here's the article:

http://jazztimes.com/columns_and_features/news/detail.cfm?article=11168

Keith Jarrett is one of my favorite musicians, his work is very inspiring and he is a joy to listen to for many obvious reasons but I think he crossed the line on this one. What do you all think?

More on this subject:

http://jazztimes.com/reviews/concert_reviews/detail.cfm?article=10479

[jayp]

Wow Keith is such an awesome artist with a HUGE library of music, sucks he wont be playing at the festival but its his own fault, Im kinda sad to see him go off like that.

[Drummer Karl]

?!?!?!
Why did he do something like this. That really sucks.

WHY????

Jarrett is one of the greatest musicians I`ve listened to and when I heard him speak he was so nice. But yeah, it is his own fault.

Though in 100 years I won`t be able to say why he did this.
whoa.

Karl

[billy ward]

I played Umbria jazz festiival (was artist in residence with George Russell orchestra) for a week - about 7 years ago. This festival week is a long standing tradition with a lot of class. wonderful attentive audiences and, of course, great food and beverages. :D

I've heard many stories about Keith being ..."cranky". I'm sorry for him that he lost it over there - of all places! What a beautiful spot to visit and perform!

When I was younger, I thought that being an advanced musician meant you were also an advanced person. This continues to be proven as a falsehood to me. Being a really great person, for some, is a bigger challenge I guess. Finally, unless you yourself are there and experiencing the itinerary/schedule and emotional distress that CAN HAPPEN when touring, ....well, I guess I just want to say let's not judge too harshly at these kinds of stories.

We have all done badly in some situations - under certain distress.

[Deathmetalconga]

How infantile. I'm glad they banned him. If more venues did that, he might behave like an adult. His "apology" wasn't an apology at all, as he didn't admit to doing anything wrong.

[TheSteve]

I played Umbria jazz festiival (was artist in residence with George Russell orchestra) for a week - about 7 years ago. This festival week is a long standing tradition with a lot of class. wonderful attentive audiences and, of course, great food and beverages. :D

I've heard many stories about Keith being ..."cranky". I'm sorry for him that he lost it over there - of all places! What a beautiful spot to visit and perform!

When I was younger, I thought that being an advanced musician meant you were also an advanced person. This continues to be proven as a falsehood to me. Being a really great person, for some, is a bigger challenge I guess. Finally, unless you yourself are there and experiencing the itinerary/schedule and emotional distress that CAN HAPPEN when touring, ....well, I guess I just want to say let's not judge too harshly at these kinds of stories.

We have all done badly in some situations - under certain distress.


Part of me thinks that he knows all too well how talented he is and thinks he can pull those kinds of things off and not have any repercussions. I can't stress enough how much I enjoy his music but something like this proves that we only know our idols so much.

[spleen]

Keith Jarrett has long been one of my favorite musicians--in fact, hardly a day goes by that I don't listen to at least one of his recordings. This is really unfortunate but I agree that the ban is warranted. I hate to sound like a psychotherapist (which I am, BTW) but this and other stories I've heard about Keith make me wonder...

spleen

[joeybeats]

Well, finally, an old man can contribute something of slight value to the forum. Personal experience on the topic.

When I was in college, the 70's, Koln Concert was released. It was a very popular recording and Jarrett's performance really crossed over to non-classical/jazz listeners, receiving air play on most campuses. (Still a good recording in my opinion) Apparently he made a series of dates across the US, behind the album. He was coming to my town, solo performance. I think it cost $10 for the good seats in a great music auditorium ... maybe held 5,000 people. I also saw Little Feat, NRPS and The Dead in that place, great acts, but another story. Anyway ...

Saved up my pizza money and raised the courage to ask this girl out on a date. (Great date, by the way!) Had front row seats. He enters the stage, doesn't say two words to the audience and begins to play. Fine. He starts into the main theme of a piece and stops cold. Dead silence from the audience. He then announces that if any of us in the audience take one more photo, he is leaving. Everyone was in shock. I couldn't believe his statement.

After the intermission, someone did take a photo. He left the stage within seconds. I think it was the end of the piece, I'm not sure. Nobody else knew for sure either. Nobody asked for an encore. I can't believe he is still doing this stuff. Joey