Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success as a group leader and a solo performer in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music. His improvisations draw from the traditions of jazz and other genres, especially Western classical music, gospel, blues, and ethnic folk music.
During the Köln Concert, and similarly during several of his other performances, Jarrett would occasionally resort to the practice of improvisation. He would, for example, be inspired by the concert hall bell’s 4 distinctive notes and base an hour and a half performance solely on these 4 notes.
In order to develop an identity for a single artist whilst refraining from using a direct figurative representation of said person, one must tap in what can be defined as the musician’s uniqueness, his signature, what sets him up.In the case of Jarrett, it was improv’… In that sense, we could say that the man and his instrument are so well integrated, interlaced between each other, to the point where they become one. This is where inspiration was stemmed in order to form the Jarrett Identity, which merged both visual languages of human and piano anatomy, that which gave rise to a series of photomontages reflecting on the Man/Machine symbiosis.
Initial sketches using different mediums were intuitively drawn as a direct reaction to the auditory messages produced by Jarrett’s music.
Development of a unique series of photomontage illustrations as the basis of the Album’s identity.
A promotional poster was then designed upholding the album release.
