Keith Jarrett was born on May 8, 1945 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Keith started studying classical piano at a very early age and very soon became a child prodigy performing his first concert at age six.
As he says himself: “I grew up with the piano, I learned it’s language while I learned to speak”. He studied at Berklee School of Music in Boston with Ray Santisi whose playing he admired.
He spent a lot of time accompanying vocalists with his trio and soon was heard by saxophonist Charles Lloyd. He went on the road with Lloyd and recorded a triumphant set in ’66 at the Monterey Jazz Festival which was released under the title “Forest Flower”.
Keith’s playing on this record took the Jazz world by storm. In ’67 he recorded “Life Between the Exit Signs” which established him as a leader. He already had a very well developed sense of style.
In 1970 he replaced Chick Corea with Miles Davis in a band which included Jack DeJohnette. The albums Live Evil and Miles Davis at Fillmore were recorded during this period.
He recorded solo albums, The Koln Concert and Solo- Concerts, Bremen & Lausanne in 1971 on ECM which were also milestone albums at the time because Jarrett seemingly improvised the entire sets without any stopping. His music was very approachable and romantic and these records gained Jarrett a worldwide host of new fans.