Solo

It's no bulletin that improvisation is perhaps the central component of jazz, or that Keith Jarrett, a master jazz pianist, is also a gifted improviser. Yet what Jarrett plays in the course of Tokyo Solo, a 2002 performance that was his 150th concert in Japan, could hardly be called jazz, at least not according to most accepted criteria; the music heard here is, as Duke Ellington once said, "beyond category." What's more, "improvisation" seems inadequate for the process Jarrett has been perfecting since he began making solo recordings in the early 1970s. "Spontaneous composition" is more like it, for while most jazz players extemporize over a known melody or set of changes, Jarrett begins with a tabula rasa, creating music from nothing other than what's in his head and hands at a given moment. It's a fascinating process to witness, and if Tokyo Solo is not his finest work, it's nonetheless filled with extraordinary moments. It's easy to see why Jarrett, a notorious perfectionist, has performed so often in Japan: the venues are acoustically superb, the audiences are quiet and reverent, and the resulting recordings, including this one, feature impeccable aural and visual production values. Some of the material here appeared previously on the ECM CD Radiance (2005). In the course of two lengthy pieces ("Part 1" has three sections; "Part 2" has five), Jarrett's music is sometimes dissonant and challenging, filled with furious chording and dense clusters of sound ("Part 1(a)"), sometimes classical ("Part 1(b)" brings to mind a Beethoven sonata), sometimes gorgeous and almost impressionistic ("Part 2(a)" suggests a Ravel etude, while "Part 2(d)," perhaps the most sublime portion of the concert, leans a bit more toward Debussy). The setting (a darkened stage with nothing but the pianist and his Steinway) is simple, as is Kaname Kawachi's direction; there are plenty of close-ups of Jarrett's face, hands, and feet, as well as a few shots inside the piano, but nothing in the way of effects or trickery. Three more standard encores, including "Danny Boy" and "Old Man River," complete a concert sure to be treasured by Jarrett devotees. --Sam Graham