Morning:
14°c
Some fares could fall by more than a third when Oyster is extended to every national rail station in London, it has emerged
More...
New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Jack Massarik's rating
Reader rating
Website: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/music/productions/kodo-46812
Email: jayne@thecogency.com
Drama being Keith Jarrett’s middle name, fans were laying bets on whether this most brilliant, irascible and hyper-sensitive pianist would fly into a mini-tantrum during the concert. He does have form, plus hackles that rise at the glimpse of a cameraphone, but all was sweetness and light on Saturday night. Well, almost. He was 10 minutes late and gave a curiously peevish reaction — “are you all done now?” — to the welcoming ovation.
He opened with Tonight, that lofty Leonard Bernstein anthem from West Side Story. Its strong melody line and unusual chord changes deter most jazz improvisers but not Jarrett. Half-rising from the bench and twisting into concentration pose, grimacing behind Lennon shades, he probed for illuminating new lines.
Similar calisthenics, plus some trademark involuntary moans, accompanied another neglected standard, I’ll See You Again, which highlighted Jarrett’s precise touch and selectivity at slower tempos. Not until the medium-up Autumn Leaves were bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette free at last to build their celebrated trio momentum but if Jarrett has a fault it is in overextending a groove, as he did here on a one-chord coda which lasted interminably.
Part Two featured further obscure ballads, You Belong to Me and the minor-key Golden Earrings, before a fast neo-bop blues line which took off like an Exocet and sustained a phenomenal level of fluency and creativity. Their encore, God Bless the Child, played with a funk beat and maximum blues inflection, had to be an anti-climax after that.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
He *was *10 minutes coming on-stage, but I imagine that this was a result not of any rudeness or laxity on his part, but was due to the fact that the (later packed to the rafters) auditorium was only 2/3 full by 20.00 - perhaps a feature of too many punters being there for a 'big event' than because they were true fans.
I (and many others, including national reviewers) characterised his initial comment not as 'peevish' but one of embarrassment at the adulation that was heaped on the trio before they had played a note.
What a curiously graceless review of a concert that elsewhere has been almost universally praised for both the musicianship and atmosphere.
- Pete, Leicester
