Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett fell in love with the genre as a teenager and famously passed on his opportunity to study classical composition in Paris with world-renowned teacher Nadia Boulanger.
∙ Before he was fully established as a solo artist and bandleader, he played in groups headed up by jazz greats Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and Charles Lloyd.
∙ He was an early champion of improvised solo concerts, and 1975’s The Köln Concert—on which he famously performed with a substandard piano—is the best-selling solo piano recording of all time.
∙ In 1983, Jarrett formed a standards trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette, with whom he spent the next 30 years successfully touring and recording.
∙ During the late ’80s and early ’90s, he returned to classical music, interpreting works by Bach, Handel, and Mozart.
∙ In 2004, Jarrett received Denmark’s esteemed Léonie Sonning Music Prize, which typically goes to classical artists and had previously been given to only one other jazz musician—Miles Davis.