As I wrote that comment, there was a voice in my head saying "someone will take you to task for that".
***I respectfully disagree with this statement. I think it is perfectly acceptable to stretch out far beyond the tune, even to completely obliterate it, as long as one does come back to it either on occasion or at the end. Otherwise, I'd hate to listen to My Favorite Things or Surrey With the Fringe on Top - two silly, sappy songs otherwise IMO. It is the stretch beyond the tune which often defines jazz for me. It gets me excited and grips my interest, hearing how inventive players can be with ANY old tune. In no other genre does this occur. That, to me, is what makes jazz so special and transcends all other music genres***
I can't disagree with your comment. And, I admit, my comment was overly simplistic. To clarify: When I said "can one still follow the tune", I don't mean the actual melody, but the rhythmic and/or harmonic shape of it.
A great improviser has the abiity to, in the context of an improvised solo, keep making subtle, and not so subtle references to the original tune/harmony so that the listener's ear/brain can clearly "follow" the tune. Even Coltrane's "My Favorite Things", or better yet, in a tune with more difficult harmonic progression like the classic "Giant Steps", there is always a sense that the imrovisation is grounded to a foundation (the original). Some players lose this focus when they stretch out, and it gets dangerously close to simple musical meandering. Sonny Rollins is another great example. Not too many players have the courage to play without a piano to provide the harmonic underpinnings. Their innate sense of harmony and structure is so strong that they can do without it. I guess what I am saying is that, for me, Jarrett loses that focus sometimes. Obviously, he is a great talent, and is being compared to the very best; but...
***I respectfully disagree with this statement. I think it is perfectly acceptable to stretch out far beyond the tune, even to completely obliterate it, as long as one does come back to it either on occasion or at the end. Otherwise, I'd hate to listen to My Favorite Things or Surrey With the Fringe on Top - two silly, sappy songs otherwise IMO. It is the stretch beyond the tune which often defines jazz for me. It gets me excited and grips my interest, hearing how inventive players can be with ANY old tune. In no other genre does this occur. That, to me, is what makes jazz so special and transcends all other music genres***
I can't disagree with your comment. And, I admit, my comment was overly simplistic. To clarify: When I said "can one still follow the tune", I don't mean the actual melody, but the rhythmic and/or harmonic shape of it.
A great improviser has the abiity to, in the context of an improvised solo, keep making subtle, and not so subtle references to the original tune/harmony so that the listener's ear/brain can clearly "follow" the tune. Even Coltrane's "My Favorite Things", or better yet, in a tune with more difficult harmonic progression like the classic "Giant Steps", there is always a sense that the imrovisation is grounded to a foundation (the original). Some players lose this focus when they stretch out, and it gets dangerously close to simple musical meandering. Sonny Rollins is another great example. Not too many players have the courage to play without a piano to provide the harmonic underpinnings. Their innate sense of harmony and structure is so strong that they can do without it. I guess what I am saying is that, for me, Jarrett loses that focus sometimes. Obviously, he is a great talent, and is being compared to the very best; but...