Keith Jarrett on Stanwood

[David C. Stanwood]

Dear List,

Many of you may have read the article "Future Piano" in the September 2000
issue Keyboard Magazine in which the installation of Precision TouchDesign
in Keith Jarrett's piano is mentioned.

You may also have heard the interview on NPR's "Fresh Air" with Jarrett in
which he mentions special work done on his piano by Stanwood and makes
comments about the voicing of his hammers which many misconstrued to mean
as a problem with his action.  (Chris Solliday has since taken care of
these problems by voicing Jarrett's hammers and adjusting the touch of his
action to suit his changing needs.)

You may have also read the letter in the December Keyboard Magazine by a
Mr. Berg in which he gives misleading comments based on the interview.

In defense of my work, which is for the general benefit of all piano
technicians, I am sharing with all of you the text of the letter by Mr.
Berg along with my response to the editors of Keyboard Magazine:

Regards,

David C. Stanwood

*******************
Letters to the Editor
Keyboard Magazine  December 2000

Re: Piano Mania

In the September issue on page 38 you refer to Keith Jarrett having had
work done on his Steinway by David Stanwood.  On NPR on Sept 11, Terry
Gross interveiwed Jarrett, and he said he now thinks this work has to be
redone. This interview can be retrieved at:
http://whyy.org/cgi-bin/SAshowretrieve.cgi?2965

John A. Berg
Seattle WA
*******************
Keyboard Magazine   
January 23, 2001

Dear Editors
 
I read the letter by John A. Berg in the December issue of Keyboard
Magazine regarding David Stanwood's installation of Precision TouchDesign
on Keith Jarrett's piano.  Mr. Berg states incorrectly  that Jarrett said
"he now thinks this work has to be redone."  I listened carefully to the
portion of the Terry Gross/Fresh Air interview on NPR from which Mr. Berg
draws his conclusion.  Jarrett talks about recording "The Melody At Night,
With You".  This is where the confusion comes from:

Jarrett: "So it (his piano) had these two major modifications, (New Hammers
and Stanwood's work) and it was settling in.  It was very green when I
recorded that music.  And since that recording, it's gotten worse and
worse.  In other words, it was meant to happen when it happened.  It.. you
know, pianos actually change a lot over time and it was at a certain little
phase of its new-bornness that must have coincided with my newborn
relationship to the keyboard."  GROSS: "So can you not use it anymore?"
JARRETT: "Well, I wouldn't. I'd have to have it worked on to.. if I wanted
to do any more music like that, I'd have to have it.. some attempt made
at.. I don't know what.  I wouldn't even know how to explain to someone
what would make the sound right."

Jarrett's comment: "I wouldn't even know how to explain to someone what
would make the sound right." clearly refers to changes in the tone related
to the new hammers.  Furthermore when I first heard this interview I
telephoned Chris Solliday in Deleware Water Gap, PA to check if Jarrett was
happy with my work.  Solliday is the piano technician who takes care of the
piano in question, a 1974 Hamburg Steinway C in Jarrett's studio. He
reports that Jarrett is presently happy with the piano.  

David C. Stanwood
Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

P.S. - Many listeners were left confused by the radio interview.  
The best way I can respond is to share with your readers that portion of
the interview in which Jarrett discusses my work: 

Excerpt from "Fresh Air" on National Public Radio, September 11, 2000, with
host Terry Gross Interviewing Keith Jarrett.
      
JARRETT: Now there's so much to say about each song (on the Album "The
Melody At Night, With You,"), because of the way the piano.. I had had my
piano overhauled with a special action.. a major change in the action.  It
gets technical if I try to describe it, but all the things that happened
that were a part of that recording, without one of them, it would have
failed.  I would have, maybe, had something to give to my wife, but I
wouldn't have listened to it and thought it would translate into everyone's
home.

GROSS: So what you did was change the action on the piano so that you could
have a lighter touch and still have the piano resonate?

JARRETT: Well, no.  It's actually more complicated than that.  There's a
thing called the breakaway, which is like surface tension on water.  Every
piano.. that's stock from any company that I know of.. has a breakaway.  In
other words, when you first push the key down, it's harder, and then it's
not. So if you wanted to play very, very soft, you still would be taking a
giant risk because you'd have to press hard first, and then you'd have to
let up before you hit the string.

GROSS: Mm-hmm.

JARRETT: And that's what every pianist is dealing with all the time.  And
there.. I heard about someone(David Stanwood) who was able to, using little
springs and a whole barrage of ideas, including taking all the parts out of
the piano, and weighing them all, and making them exactly the same weight..
every little piece of wood and metal, I guess.. all the bushings.
Everything had to be the same exact weight first.  Then he has a way where
that breakaway doesn't exist, but the action's the same weight.. resistance
against your finger.  So it's a more liquid action when you press down.  If
you want to play loud, you can still play loud, but there's not that
initial snap.  You don't need to snap the key.  So if you listen to "The
Melody At Night, With You" on a good system, you notice the dynamic range
is pretty wide for a piano recording that sounds so closely miked.  And I
think that's a lot to do with that action.