Chris Jarrett

Chris Jarrett: Born in Allentown, USA in 1956 and grew up in the mountains of Eastern Pennsylvania. He studied piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Indiana University, but was unable to finish his studies for financial reasons.

At the same time, he was also less and less willing to do so, feeling very “caged-in” within these institutions. It was in the following several years of struggle, working odd jobs from shrimp-fishing in Texas to office work in New York City that he feels his real musicianship developed.
No wonder he has written so much music for the stage – including his opera “John Donne”, his film-music to the “Battleship Potemkin” or incidental music to “Romeo and Juliette.”
The human drama and it‘s immediate and present manifestations are what his music is about. Chris Jarrett has been living in Europe, touring as a solo pianist with his own compositions, with ensembles and duos or as an improvising organist for decades now. In jazz circles, he is often seen as a jazz musician, while musicians and critics of “serious contemporary music“ may categorize his compositions under the heading “classical.”
When asked how his music should be described, Chris Jarrett‘s stoic, habitual answer is: “Yes.”

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