Keith Jarrett! the Complete Musician @ (RFH) 1/12/08

I had my first live Keith Jarrett experience last night @ the Royal Festival hall in london!
After the recent london jazz festival i’d been to the barbican and the RFH so many times to see artists that both venues seemed like they were one in the same.

(let me explain)….I had gone to the barbican thinking keith Jarrett was playing there!
got there and thought wow..its quite tonight! well it was early..just before 7pm! hold on! something is wrong..yeah its the wrong venue, so i rush to the car thinking ok! not far from the barbican to the southbank, ican make it in about 15mins but the traffic!

its 7.35pm and i’ve just parked the car on waterloo bridge!
man i can’t missed any of this gig i’m thinking…also, i have a £60.00 ticket and they won’t let you in to the show if your late until after the first tune, Ouch! that could be long i’m thinking..i’m running like mad now..got my ticket..”I think its just about to start so if you run you might catch the start or you will have to wait till the intermision” someone shouts!

I get to level 4 and i can see the girl closing the the door, i just make it..WOW!
Row P seat 24 where is that? right smack bang in the middle of the RFH, feels and looks like the best seat in the hall!
the introduction has just finished as i sit in my seat!
there is this long pause before KJ enters, i’m thinking now well i really feel i know this man and he’s music…i’ve transcribed he’s solos ( which i think is probably the closest a musician gets to the DNA workings of how a musician thinks about music)!

‘Facing You’ his solo piano masterpiece is running though my mind..the is one of the few cd’s i listen to over and over at least one every month…

KJ enter’s, i double check my phone is on silent… he’s off.
its all magic! pure in the moment playing..i’m loving it….the coughing starts
and KJ stops!
this is all legendary stuff i’ve heard so many times before( stoping concerts because folks are taking photos or recording the gig( ” what is it with human beings that they feel they need a photo?” he says…!

he leads everyone into a group coughing and explains that people cough at concerts out of boredom ( you can see he really hates this) ” i cough a real lot”….”but never on stage” say’s KJ)
by the end of the first half i’m thinking yeah! keith jarrett is one of those breeds i call a ‘complete musician’ like herbie,wayne,miles,bobby,kenny,..to me they play genre less music! no boundary’s… can play and sing anything.

Second half is more magic! 
20mins in oh know! KJ stops again..there’s this long sie from the crowd as he walks to the mic and say’s “nothing bad this time”( big laugh)…i” would just like to thank all the people that have followed my music with all the changes throughout my career”…” see! i am human”.

This was a complete concert! one i will remember for a long time.
he played (if i counted right ) six or seven encore pieces.
Art Blakey said ” it would be a real shame if anyone passes through this life and never experienced live jazz”
I would say the same of KJ….. nuff said.
CW 2/12/08.