Keith Jarrett: The Man and His Music

Carr ( Miles Davis ) chronicles--and extols--the career of the controversial jazz musician whose gift for improvisation has made him a well-known figure in the music world. Jarrett, now in his mid-40s, was famous even as a young man for his brilliant solo piano performances and his work with Charles Lloyd, Miles Davis and American and European quartets. His career has taken many turns, all, in the author's view, inspired. Carr rhapsodizes over Jarrett's technical and improvisational abilities, his performances and recordings, his forays into classical music and his compositions; glossing over the musician's eccentricities and mannerisms at the piano, Carr concludes with a dig at the pianist's detractors. Jarrett admirers will relish this adulatory biography, but others may wish for a more critical assessment. Photos. (July)