FOCUS

[KJ]

FROM INTERVIEW WITH KEITH JARRETT:
TR: Is there anything you could say to musicians who say, "My God, how does he focus that way?" Is that something you can
practice?

KJ: No. It's a mercilessness that they need to consider.

TR: Meaning?

KJ: Being nice to yourself isn't the way to go about it.{laughter} Everything about it isn't healthy. Let's say someone -- what
they want out of life is to make good music, good enough that they can make a living doing it, and maybe have a family, and
they don't need a lot of money but... They've already gone too far. What they have to say is "if anything else comes into my life
I'll be lucky, but I've got to put everything I have into this seemingly non--rewarding (art) at this point in my life. It is some
dark and deep work that has to be done and the lighter and the more technologically convenient our world gets, the less there are
going to be people who even know that there's anything like that. They'll just say, "Gee he was awfully talented," instead of
saying, "I wonder what work he had to do to get there?" Like I was born focused, you know? That's what my mother said
when I was born, "Oh what a focused little baby!"

[tortured genius]

[FROM INTERVIEW WITH KEITH JARRETT:
TR: Is there anything you could say to musicians who say, "My God, how does he focus that way?" Is that something you can
practice?

KJ: No. It's a mercilessness that they need to consider.

TR: Meaning?

KJ: Being nice to yourself isn't the way to go about it.{laughter} Everything about it isn't healthy. Let's say someone -- what
they want out of life is to make good music, good enough that they can make a living doing it, and maybe have a family, and
they don't need a lot of money but... They've already gone too far.



Heres to all those who have taken the easy way out by trying to have a life , a job, a family and play music. youre all pretenders! = serious musicians are sacrificing themselves on the altar of a uni - dimensional existence while you fakes have all the time in the world to contemplate the universe - in between teaching ,gigging, family, practicing , studying, composing, occassionally sleeping and perhaps the odd movie that is...
luv ya KJ

[keefs strained vox]

Isn't that purposefully misconstruing the above?

Sounds to me like he's saying that, in music at least, work is the last thing people attribute ability to.

That's a reality that's too painful for most.

Save for genius (and how rare is that) we all start with differing abilities fo sho, but the playing field can often be levelled with assiduous praki.

What are the socio-economic forces behind this meme, fellow consumers?

[tortoise genius]

Yes - quite definitely misconstrued - and transparently so as to air that particular agenda. I dont think anyone trying to keep their groove in the vortex of a complex existence has too much trouble in recognizing hard work.