Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is an American composer and classical and jazz pianist, who worked with Miles Davis. He was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in the late 1990s.[1]
Illness[edit | edit source]
Keith Jarrett was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 1998, and "vanished" from performing and composing to recover. Jarrett said CFS was nothing like burnout and should be called "forever dead syndrome".[1]
There's been such a mystery surrounding what I have...that it's led to all this speculation -- does he have AIDS? What kind of cancer does he have? So far as I know, my condition isn't life-threatening, but at the same time, it's not like a singer saying, 'Oh, I have a sore throat today, I don't feel like singing!' If I were to invent the most mind-boggling disease imaginable, I couldn't do better than this.[1]
No one knows how debilitating this sickness is unless they have it. It’s like if you get migraines, someone may say, ‘Oh, I get headaches so I know what it’s like.’ But you can’t imagine how bad they are unless you’ve had a migraine yourself. But this is a much more horrible disease.”
[Interviewer asks:] So, it’s more than just being tired or burned out, a common perception? “Are you kidding? I’ve met people who have had it for 10 years, 25 years. Some are bedridden, some can’t walk across the street. It’s stupid to call it chronic fatigue syndrome. It should be called the forever dead syndrome.[2]
Career[edit | edit source]
Keith Jarrett fell ill with chronic fatigue syndrome at the height of his career. After taking time out for treatment and rest, Jarrett began doing limited performances again, but did not fully recover.[3][4]
In 2020, when in his mid 70s, Jarrett announced he would not perform again, and no longer saw himself as a pianist due to having two strokes in 2018, which left him partially paralyzed and unable to play the piano with both hands.[5]
Talks and interviews[edit | edit source]
- 1998, Still Battling an Illness, Jarrett Ends His Silence
- 1999, Jarrett Counts His Blessings
- 2000, Back from the brink - The Guardian
Online presence[edit | edit source]
Learn more[edit | edit source]
- 2002, Keith Jarrett: Facing Now. An Interview Bill Shoemaker - Jazz Review
- 2020, Keith Jarrett Confronts a Future without the Piano - New York Times
- Wikipedia - Keith Jarrett
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Teachout, Terry (November 8, 1998). "Still Battling an Illness, Jarrett Ends His Silence". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ↑ "Jarrett Counts His Blessings", Downbeat, 1999
- ↑ "Back from the brink". The Guardian. July 21, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ↑ "Keith Jarrett: Facing Now. An Interview by Bill Shoemaker". Jazz Review Issue 38. November 2002.
- ↑ Chinen, Nate (October 21, 2020). "Keith Jarrett Confronts a Future Without the Piano". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
