Keith Jarrett – The Koln Concert (2 LP)

The Köln Concert is a concert recording by the pianist Keith Jarrett of solo piano improvisations performed at the Opera House in Cologne on January 24, 1975. The vinyl album was released in the autumn of 1975 by the ECM Records label to critical acclaim, and went on to sell more than 3.5 million copies.

Many critics consider this to be Keith Jarrett’s most rewarding solo recording although Solo Concerts from the previous year is on the same level. The music is quite brilliant with Jarrett (who was improvising freely without any prior planning) developing the most interesting and occasionally startling ideas. The strong fresh melodies and his bluesy feel make this a very enjoyable outing.

“Jarrett’s intimate meditation on the inner workings of not only his pianism, but also the instrument itself and the nature of sound and how it stacks up against silence, involved listeners in its search for beauty, truth, and meaning…With this album, Jarrett put himself in his own league, and you can feel the inspiration coming off him in waves…it speaks volumes about a musician and a music that opened up the world of jazz to so many who had been excluded, and offered the possibility — if only briefly — of a cultural, aesthetic optimism, no matter how brief that interval actually was. This is a true and lasting masterpiece of melodic, spontaneous composition and improvisation that set the standard.” -Thom Jurek, allmusic.com

Format : Vinyl