Renowned pianist Keith Jarrett, whose 1975 ECM album The Köln Concert remains one of the most recognizable jazz albums ever released, discussed previously unreported health issues in a story published early Wednesday on The New York Times website.
“I was paralyzed,” the pianist, who turned 75 in May, said about a pair of 2018 strokes. “My left side is still partially paralyzed. I’m able to try to walk with a cane, but it took a long time for that, took a year or more. And I’m not getting around this house at all, really.”
His most recent public performance reportedly was at Carnegie Hall on Feb. 15, 2017.
As the Nate Chinen piece—which is headlined “Keith Jarrett Confronts A Future Without The Piano”—indicates, Jarrett’s performing career at this point is uncertain. The pianist, though, has steadily been releasing archival live albums through ECM, including the 2018 disc La Fenice and the 2019 album Munich 2016. Budapest Concert, recorded two weeks prior to the Munich date, is set for release on Oct. 30. DB
