The Köln Concert

I love ECM recordings for their quiet, still, atmospheric sound and this album fits in that vein. I don't hold this in as high acclaim as its reputation but it was an enjoyable listen and would make for nice relaxing background music. 3.5/5

The last song for sure

#73. It's just some guy fiddlefucking around on a piano for an hour. He's not even playing any particular song, he's just noodling about for a bit. You know the phrase "this meeting could have been an email?" Well similarly this album could have a Youtube video. I don't care if Youtube didn't exist in 1975, that's your problem. Figure it out. Wikipedia said people only paid $1.72 to go watch this, and well, I suppose paying less than two dollars to listen to some improv isn't that bad. At least it wasn't terrible, I guess. 3/5

Very nice piano music. I could have used a little something else added to it. An hour plus of piano is a lot of piano.

Really nice. Impressive musician and bonus points for lowering my BP.

This guy can really play but hardly the type of album I look to listen to

Лепа класика за слушање у позадини. 7/10

After knowing more about the background of this album, I was able to understand its power and influence. It is like a sonic picture. An unique and unpredictable moment captured by the recording. Inspiring and captivating.

Piano is nice but sad?

Good, I'm sure. Not my thing ... or at least not in this high of a quantity.

It was good background music! I don’t enjoy when there isn’t a lot of variety in music, so this was kind of boring, but it was very impressive. I feel like I should have enjoyed it more than I did. I did NOT like the singing/mouth noises that were faintly audible sometimes.

Hey, this wasn't that bad. I think my issue with improv jazz is that I start liking one part and then one of the 27 jam session members starts doing something else and it all gets weird for three minutes. Less of an issue with one guy on a piano.

Provavelmente inovador e lindo, mas precisa de uma vibe específica pra ouvir esse álbum

Incredible that is was all improvised. Would listen to again.

Super interesting at times. A lot of what you hear about this album revolves around the story of the bad piano and how everyone overcame their problems to produce one of the best Jazz albums ever. It's like the Michael Jordan \"flu game\" in the 1998 NBA finals. You won! Why belabor it? If I didn't know any of the story, I think I might like it better. Is the story making excuses for a poor performance? Doesn't sound like it. The music itself plows vigorously through a wide range of feelings, tempos, techniques. I don't know a lot about music theory but I'm sure there's tons to dissect in this. It really is an impressive work. Verges on stepping into uncharted territory sometimes, but is a little timid in that regard - I would like to here more experimental sounds. I really like some of the atonal harmonics the piano gives off, especially apparent in the first minutes of Part I. I hear a lot of influence, from Bob James to Radiohead. Interesting album and pleasant. A little like a soundtrack, as Keith Jarret himself has said, but transcendant nonetheless (felt like pretentiousness was appropriate for this one).

idk???

Great for going beddy bye

The fact this was all improv is wild. Incredible

Its been years since I last listened to this album. I found this in my Windom Hill Sampler days of college. Today, 35 years later, it sound even better. In truth, I have a deep fantasy-desire that I could have played music such as this. But alas, I am meant to listen and appreciate what I can.

If I was rating this just based on my enjoyment of the music it would be 1 out of 5. However there is no denying that Keith Jarrett is extremely talented so I’ll give it a 3. The music itself is as if someone was trying to come up with a soundtrack to a Peanuts remake but they couldn’t afford the licensing for the original music. Perhaps the worst thing to happen in Germany since WW2.

cool piano

Laukeileeko tuo pianisti vai joku yleisöstä tuolla taustalla? Aika häiritsevän kuuloista. Ihan miellyttävää taustamusiikkia. Kokonaan improvisoitu setti.

A great listen, felt like it started out kinda piano in a mall department store vibe but really picked up. I’m sure seeing the performance live was unbelievable. That being said, this not in person and just listening to a great piano player on my phone isn’t really my cup of tea

Nice jazz album, felt weird listening to it this weekend. I was running around and super busy and this album didn’t really match the vibe. That being said, this album was a nice break and I wouldn’t mind listening to it again.

Quite relaxing

Nice relaxing

Cool for what it was

In the right mood and the right setting this is excellent, but it's very specific and I can't say it deserves higher than a 3 because of that.

The story surrounding this album is great, that's why it's on here I guess, but the actual music itself doesn't do much for me. Apparently it's all improvised, which is quite impressive, the way it still flows and channels different moods and paces, but it's still an hour of just the piano, which isn't quite enough for me really. I'll be generous and give it a low 3 becuase of the story behind it and that it's a seriously impressive performance, but I didn't particularly enjoy listening to it. 3/5.

Nice chilled piano. Nothing extraordinary but relaxing background music. 5/10

Long

Perfect background music i guess lol

Piano music for the soul that gave off a kind of a lofi vibe. Probably won't recognize a note of it if I ever hear it again, but not because it wasn't good. I just can't pick our instrumentals unless I've heard them a thousand times.

I think it’s incredible the level of talent involved to improvise in this way and in those circumstance and I’m glad for the piece of history I learned. But I don’t think I’ll miss this album either.

Nice piano tracks for an improv show, the fourth one was very nice, the rest kind of nice background piano eith mildly intresting melodies

Nice calming classic piano piece

Really enjoying it. Piano solo jazz.

Great performance, but it’s not something I would ever really listen to again. Nice piano skills though.

Undoubtedly talented, and with a very appreciative audience it seems to be a masterclass in improvisation. Several pieces are really good but overall I just don't 'get' jazz improvisation. Maybe I need to listen more

It was fine. I forgot it was playing after a while. No strong feelings.

A pretty solo piano concert. Nice dynamics between soft and quiet vs loud and playful. Was pleasant music to grade papers to.

At first I was really impressed with the melody. Very nice piano background music.

Mmm...not something I would have chosen to listen to. However, he is clearly an accomplished pianist and I detect an element of progressiveness in his compositions.

Good as background music but kinda boring if you’re listening to it alone.

2/4 First song was partially incredible, Second song was boring

Great piano playing, not quite engaging enough for me

Good, if you like free-form jazz? A bit too unstructured for my taste.

It's scored more about the lore behind the album than the actual album it's self. A series of unfortunate events befell this show and the fact Jarrett was able to perform is a massive miracle. Long solo instrumentals aren't my thing, but you can throw this on as background music and be pleased with yourself

This is some nice piano and it help me get a lot of work done

Lekkere dagdroom music

A concert recording... from 1975. Hard pass. Pleasantly surprised, it is a dude playing piano pretty well. No obnoxious crowd noise.

Good album.

Ok piano

Good background music and performance. Not life changing or anything though.

At first I was like "oh great, piano for 68 minutes", but I stuck it on while I got shit done and was like "day-um, this is good stuff".

takie pykanie na pianinku. Ani muzyka klasyczna, ani filmowa - nie wiem co to 3/5 max

Solo jazz piano album? Yes please.

Beatiful music and a lot of atmosphere. Gets a little boring imo thoughwith only piano over the full album length.

its spa music. smooth, relaxing, inoffensive.

The making of this album is way more interesting than 60 minutes of “vamping”

Interesting story about this live performance. Performance was an overall enjoyable listen… but I could not get past the person audibly moaning in the recording.

Ya like jazz? Ya like classical music? If so, then listen to this.

Interesting but got old since its over an hour. Good to listen to with other things going on. I would listen to more by this artist

impressive but not my jam

Really good piano performance. Nice variations in each piece. That said, it's just not my thing. This one is a pass from me.

Reading through the background on this makes me really appreciate the talent. That said I don't see myself revisiting this except maybe as background music. Even then the random moans are a little distracting

Great live performance.

Klaviermusik.

Good

Nice relaxing album

Listenable. Nice for background.

I like it, but it fades into the background after awhile 3.5/5

It’s just nice piano for an hour.Complete background music.

very cool, very diverse for a solo piano album

It's a lot of piano lol. A little too much for my uncultured brain. I could see getting into it more if I trained my brain to listen to it better.

Dette var ganske kult! Digger at man hører han nynne og lage litt lyder en gang i blant, det styrker på en måte det virtuose - musikken bare strømmer ut liksom

Just fine background music.

Excellent playing. Very chill.

The background story of making this live album is quite fascinating. I'm not really into improvisative piano music (coming from a family full of classical musicians incl. pianists) and while Jarrett's talent is amazing this albums feels a bit incoherent and directionless because of its free style. I enjoyed listening to it but admittedly I'll never be someone who understands and loves jazz music that much.

69/100

Fascinating back story, left to perform on a rehearsal piano, rather than the grand piano he expected, Jarrett abandoned his planned set and improvised for more than an hour. Interspersed by his on yelps as he surprises even himself. Still, interesting more because of his technical virtuosity and the chaotic circumstances behind its creation.

Cool piano performance. Does get a bit boring though.

Good skills by Keithy-boy here

Keeping consistent with my relationship with jazz, this is very nice to listen to, but I am humming none of it.

As a current learner on the piano, I am in awe of Jarrett's touch and feel. This isn't sturm und drang playing for the most part, but a quiet virtuosity, the odd tasty flourish showing through the cracks in the paving. Funny, it's also quite hard to categorise this. The Köln Concert straddles classical, jazz and easy listening in equal measures. Perhaps it's a little too easy on the ear as it can fade into background music at points. Still, a pleasant experience.

Literally impossible to pay attention to

Good but too long. Alfa backstory to this story.

Good enough to earn its length. I didn't appreciate his moaning or the clapping bt audience. the actual music was fine. The second half was better.

Förvånandsvärt mös

ok

Pleasantly enjoyable and never grating. Relaxing. Nearly fell asleep with it. Smooth, melodious. As a wise soothsayer one said, "if could choose any instrument to be a master of, it would be the piano."

It's quite nice and chilled out piano music. It's nice as background but I wouldn't listen to it again.

hmm, 3

Beautiful piano jazz. It just does not do much for me apart from being good background music. It gets a 3.5/5. Fav ‘track’: Pt. II B

I should say this first: he's a very talented musician and this is very impressive. Okay, now: what are we doing here? Where is the arbitrary line between classical performances (not allowed) and this? If I need to listen to an album of live piano music played on a stage before I die, shouldn't it be Bach? And if there is no Bach, leave this off. Weird rules, weird inclusion. Best track: I'd be lying if I said these didn't all blend together for me

Even iets heel anders. Een kale piano. Na een tijdje luister ik niet meer actief en wordt het wat gepingel. Prima op de achtergrond. Maar dit was een concert. Met publiek. Pfff...denk dat ik dan wel even was weggezakt.

Interesting album but after a while it feels like noodling

Klimper. Gut und hörenswert, aber nicht das Über-Album, zu dem es gerne hochstilisiert wird. Jarrets eigene Einschätzung, das Album sei zum Soundtrack verkommen, trifft es ganz gut.

Werkelijk prachtig! Alleen is twee uur aan enkel piano iets te veel voor mij

Du bon piano, mais une heure juste de ça ça fait un peu lassant, ça devient un peu comme un bruit de fond. Je m'attendais à de quoi d'un peu plus jazzy aussi (dans le sens plus de syncopes). 6/10

Very good, but kind of boring overall.

Technically very impressive but just not my cup of tea

Listenable.

I do like some Keith Jarrett, but not my fav

It's 1 hour of pleasant piano music. Very talented musician, this reminds me of building houses in the Sims 1.

I happened to listen to a podcast all about the making of this album, which was fascinating. The album itself, a little less than fascinating in and of itself. But then again, jazz is not my bag. Still glad I’ve listened to it. (The podcast was Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford, episode called “Bowie, Jazz and the Unplayable Piano” if anyone is interested.)

I really enjoyed this. Nice change of pace.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. It's all a bit flowery and very busy at the moment, a few minutes into the first track. This last track sounds like Elton John should start singing soon (I like Elton John). This is not the Jazz I like, but it's alright. 3 / 5 stars.

Beautiful

Background music I guess. Had to break it up though. No one's got time for pianisting for an hour sorry old fella.

i like piano but this was just ok I wasn’t wowed or anything

Extremely well done, talented, I’m sure really inspirational for people but I’m not going to listen to it again

Moans and groans throughout made me laugh. After enough time solo piano music becomes just background music no matter how talented the pianist is. Enjoyable background music though

I hadn’t heard of this album or this artist before, but I enjoyed it more than I expected I would.

a pleasant, “time pass me by” piano album. not my thing, but well done and executed live. smooth and clean. not too tacky, over done in its light jazz format. it is fine.

Jag önskar att jag också kunde spela piano så!!! De va nice att ha i bakgrunden när man läste.

I owned this album 30 years ago in the form of a pirate cassette tape from Bali - which demonstrates a certain status. I guess it is jazz in the miscellaneous sense. Anyway, I was happy to hear it here.

Refreshing. Not the type of genre I would ever listen to but after the dross of the last 10 days if was nice to hear something talented. First track was the best, but the other were pretty good. 3.5*

largo

I mean it’s good I guess?

This is miles outside my wheelhouse and realistically I'm unlikely to come back to it, except possibly as background music. BUT I thought it was good. Aside from the obvious musical ability required not only to play this stuff, but to improvise it in front of a live audience, I was impressed by the way he seemed to switch between several different styles - only a couple of which sounded like 'jazz' as I know it. I find solo piano can be quite meditative when it's slow and sparse, but the rhythmic, repetitive nature of some of the other sections was equally hypnotic in its way. Also, bits of it reminded me of the Breath of the Wild soundtrack. So that's good.

The moaning 🤣

Cool music to do my performance review to. Will keep this one in the back pocket for doing mentally taxing tasks and self reflection.

3.5

Þetta var vel áheyrilegt og oft ánægjulegt, einstaka sinnum töff. En berstrípað píanó er bara ekki mitt uppáhalds hljóðfæri.

Piano new wave sort of jazz.

Good music, unlike anything I've ever heard. Like a Jazzy Ludovico Einaudi. It certainly doesn't sound like it's from the 70s.

Favorita: -Köln, January 24, 1975, Pt.II B-Live

respect the medium and the craft, but piano-led music is just not for me.

Interesting mix of classical and jazz beautiful instrumental pieces great easy listening Can see how someone would enjoy this but not my cup of tea

Enjoyed this actually. The piano sounds bloody lovely. Won’t ever go back to it like but a pleasant listen.

Love a bit of piano. I am such a laymen though and whilst appreciate this music, songs that las longer than an episode of the Office is tough with just headphones. I feel I would enjoy this more to some imagery.

Beaitiful improvisational jazz piano, completely tonal and accessible with crazy impressive moments and reoccuring motifs. The grunts are bothersome but can be mostly ignored. Plenty of dull moments, especially in the latter half as the audience starts to tire, but there are still displays that pull me back in.

Can’t say I particularly enjoyed this but it sounded nice.

This was great, I've gone back and listened to albums I've missed. Good concentration music. Bit weird to hear the bloke groan and vocalise because he's so pumped playing the piano, but otherwise very listenable.

Nice music to work to.

One hour of solo piano improvisation is not my cup of tea. It’s ok as background music.

He sure can play that piano! But I still don't think I would ever choose to play this one again. Just doesn't hold my interest for over an hour.

- piano = nice but boring 😕

Best mooi op een goed moment.

Knap, mooi en nerve wrecking tegelijk.

Nice easy listening piano, bedtime music, or music to code to

I’m not a huge fan of jazz piano. That said, this feels like i’m listening to a story told by piano.

This did surprise me. Wouldn't be a go to, but definitely an enjoyable listen.

Very relaxing

Pleasant listening, much better than I expected, accessible jazz, but it's still a piano for an hour and repeating themes. It's great that this sort of album got made, reached a big audience and exists but it's not something I'm going to play over and over. I can appreciate it but that's as far as it goes.

While Jarrett is an accomplished pianist, his work with other Jazz innovators and groups stand out more than his solo work. As a pianist myself, it is difficult to see where Jarrett is actually flowing along his pieces or strictly vibing out which leads to a lot of circular movements that would be amazing with any other instrumental accompaniment. While this is a great piece, it doesn't set a new elevated bar for modern piano.

Sounds almost more classical than jazz to me

pretty

Don't get me wrong, the playing was amazing and the spirit was there but damn if you must because I felt like I was at an piano I'd been forced to attend to part of this.

The piano playing was beautiful, but it's pretty difficult for me to relate to a solo instrumental performance meaningfully when I don't know the music

It's piano

I wish i could play piani that well!

I acknowledge that Keith Jarrett is a talented and well accomplished musician. I love the back story of this album... gig from hell. I'm not sure I could sit through a concert of this new age style jazz but knowing it took place at 11:30PM after the opera might give it a different vibe. This is background music for a relaxing environment. I get the intellectual elements of this music but can't decide if it's actually interesting or worth talking about.... and I love talking about everything.

Masterful, dynamic and engaging - yes. An album I needed to hear before I die - no. After I listened to it I read about the album and artist. He deserves all the stars for his skills and playing this concert on a sub-par instrument. And for doing it while in pain and wearing a back brace.

There's a great episode of the Cautionary Tales podcast about the making of this album. Def worth hearing. I do enjoy this album. It's impressive that the dude improvised a double album on the spot. And I dig it as background music. But for a focused lesson, not so much. It's a lot of the same thing over and over again. I don't mean that he doesn't vary things up; there are stylistic and dynamic changes throughout. But at the end of the day, it's just one dude playing a piano for an hour. Having heard this album before and knowing that it's a lot to take in at once, I spread out my listening over the course of the day, which helped. Anyway, I admire this album more than I like it. And again, it's cool background music.

That was painless. If you are a fan of piano or jazz then this is for you, it is just not for me. I didn't interrupt it but it left little to no real impression on me

Background jams

Not usually a jazz guy, but I really enjoyed listening to this while I worked.

i’m not really in a position to judge this

Good

The music has its moments, as does all of Jarrett's ever improvisational style, but perhaps the most interesting thing about this record is the story surrounding the circumstances of its recording. Certainly says something about the triumph of the creative spirit in the face of adversity.

It's fine and somewhat interesting but, overall not my cup of Jazz tea.

Part 1- loved it. Part 2a- not my fave Part2 b and c- they were fine. What was with all of the huffing and puffing throughout.

Before I learned that he came up with this on the spot I was a little bored, but i feel as though that information has tainted my opinion because making up any music on the spot is so challenging and impressive. this style of music has never been my favourite, but the fact he did this one try is crazy.

piano

It was a piano concert. It was pleasant.

Talented? Yes! Backstory? Yes! The reality of listening to an hour of live improv piano solos? Maybe in the right setting, late at night with a whiskey in hand, sure, less so on this particular Thursday morning.

not my thing but pretty

Very chill jazz album

liked, didn’t love.

This is somebody's jam. Not mine, but somebody's.

Yes, very nice. This is something you have to properly listen to though, I guess it's not the best sign that Spotify played 3 or 4 other similar tracks by different people after the album finished before I noticed.

6/10 interesting

Chilling

Never really given instrumental piano a chance before. This was beautiful and perfect for getting work done.

came for the fantastic piano playing, stayed for the strange little yells he was doing

Quite pleasant piano playing

Nice jazz. 3/5.

Meh

As soon as I see the word "jazz" a chill runs down my spine - it is, without doubt, my least favourite type of music - and that's why it's taken me 6 weeks to get round to hearing it. I enjoyed it more than I expected to (and the story behind it is incredible) , but like all jazz I do find that it drags on a bit too long. Went into it expecting to give it a 1. Came out surprised to be giving it a 3!

Great moods. Nice harmonies. Extremely talented guy. Did get a bit dull for me in places, but letting it wash over me I enjoyed it quite a bit

Nice easy jazz

Sikkert bra til å drikka whiskey foran peisen til. Synd eg verken har whisk eller peis, spesielt ikkje på jobb

Pretty dope piano music. Dude was going off. Probably way better live and maybe a little high. I listened to it in the gym so maybe not the perfect listening environment.

Obviously he's a great pianist. I enjoyed hearing this, but not my preferred genre. Good for background music at a cocktail party.

I'm not sure what to make of this exactly. It's very different from the jazz album we heard yesterday and even more different from anything else we heard as a part of this project. I had this on while I worked and it was a good companion as it did not distract me too much. However, I don't think I would be able to just sit and listen to this for its full 70 minute run time.

I enjoyed the album. I’ve Seen All Good People… is a great song. Nothing stuck out to me as being notably different or experimental but maybe for its time.

This albums greatest strength and greatest weakness lies in the fact that it is an hour of improvised piano. On one hand it's a very impressive display of Jarrett's immense talent. On the other hand it can't be much more than a display of Jarrett's talent. It's pretty enjoyable music but it's not like the albums about anything and since it's just a piano for an hour it ends up being more of a background listening experience.

Unexpected! Enjoyed this far more than expected, not a jazz fan but could listen to this. Expressive and interesting.

Long solo piano jazz

Best Song: Pt. II C. These terms don't really apply here, but it's the shortest, and most "song" length. Worst Song: N/A Overall: It's pleasant to listen to, but I don't think I know enough about classical music to appreciate why this particular album was selected over any other. Nothing stood out to me as ground breaking, but it's certainly something I could imagine returning to for chill reading atmosphere.

In the realm of Windham Hill though sometimes more percussive with his keyboard usage. Excellent and sensitive recording live, can only hear the audience when you want.

Beautiful piano soloist - not really my thing 3/5

Sonido de fondo para trabajar, relaxing piano

An hour of a single instrument is too much. I don't care what the instrument is, who's playing it, or how good they are. I'll admit that, of all the instruments, piano is the most likely to be interesting the longest... but it's still too much. To be clear, Keith Jarrett is clearly a phenomenal player. Just fantastic. But it's still boring after about 15 minutes which doesn't even get you out of the first track. On top of that, it's jazz. Which means that, rather than have things like, I don't know, structure or melody, it's just a series of wandering chord variations which are fascinating to play, I'm sure. But not so great to listen to for an hour. There are moments, though. Moments of shocking, crystalline clarity when Jarrett steps out of the chord-fog and everything suddenly snaps into focus. Those moments are electric. Shocking in their intensity and, unfortunately, in their brevity. They're not enough to pull this thing entirely out of the self-indulgent nose-dive but they are enough to let Jarrett stick the landing on a middle-of-the-road score.

Classical

Super Jazz, pianiste incroyable. L’album étant live, le son n’est pas « exceptionnel », mais ce donne un certain charme. Seul point négatif, aucune chanson m’a transporté au point où j’ai eu envie de l’ajouter à mes playlists de jazz. Conclusion: c’était un bon moment, mais je ne vais sûrement jamais le réécouter.

Really cool solo piano jazz album, oscillating between melancholic, exstatic and epic tracks. Some parts feel pretty experimental and bring an overwhelming with nuances of sound. Some really dope chords progression as well on slower m tracks Il est chaud le batard Kinda hollowknight vibe meme si j'imagine que c'est dans l'autre sens que ça marche

Jazz, 1975. An enjoyable live album, but not one of the best jazz record of that period. The performance is undoubtably good but the project is quite normal.

Not bad

Beautiful performance. A bit to monotone to keep me coming back, but it was nice to work to and listen in intently every once in a while.

Piano bonito, buenos momentos pero nada que me volviera loco. Sí lo puedo volver a escuchar.

relaxing

improvised piano!

3 I'm not familiar with Keith Jarrett, but I buckled myself in once I realized it was going to be an hour of instrumental piano improvisation, genuinely unsure of how I would feel about it. One of the first things I noticed was how much this album benefits from the live setting - some people may find the crowd noises and applause annoying, but I thought capturing the captivation Jarrett had over the audience added to his already impressively flawless live performance. While I enjoyed the album, I mostly found it mostly to be relaxing background music while I got work done. I could see myself listening to it again in that scenario, but I don't ever see myself sitting down to listen in my free time. Part 1 was a quick half hour for me, but by the end of Part 2 you definitely feel the full hour. As far as instrumental piano records go, this has gotta be one of the best I've heard (possibly the best), but I just really feel like there's a cap on how floored I can be by that kind of record. Favorite song: Köln, January 24, 1975

A live album, but really not your typical live album. Sort of like that live jazz album we had, this one is, as far as I could tell, a solo piano concert. The talent here is off the charts, some phenomenal playing. I liked two of the four songs, but they also spanned 26 and 15 minutes each so I'm not sure how much of those two songs really caught me. Regardless, this was a pretty cool and easy listen. Favorite tracks: Pt. I, Pt. II. Album art: Nothing to write home about, just a guy at a piano. Then again, that's exactly what we got, so no hard feelings. 3.5/5

Sólo piano. Se hace aburrido.

He is obviously very good. A very listenable album but the structure…free flowing, stream of consciousness…makes it difficult to really focus and it all gradually just melts together.

I was expecting something more jazzy... The recording is great, so is the songwriting, but I felt it lacked more energy. Listened to this while reading, and it quickly merged into the background (not necessarily in a bad way).

first listen nice textures but very repetitive

I'm not good at rating solo piano works but this was pretty enjoyable. Least favorite part: the groans(?)

3, this would be nuts live

Easy listening, beautifully tickled ivories. If this album contained the same pizzaz in a studio recording, I would enjoy it better

Alright for a piano album.

Genre: ECM Style Jazz 3/5 The Köln Concert, a 60+ minute improvised solo performance, performed by a damn good pianist in Keith Jarrett, is pretty good. It also holds the distinction of being the highest-selling album in its field: solo jazz, as well as the best-selling piano album ever. Widely renowned, and loved by many both in and out of the genre, it has enjoyed a cult status unlike any other jazz album preceding or following it. Released by ECM Records, a label known for mainstreaming the jazz sounds of the time, it fit perfectly amongst a wide variety of releases that the general populace were beginning to enjoy. For my tastes, though, this is an album where I can 1. note how genuinely tremendous the playing is here, and how amazing it is to consider that it's all improvised, and 2. say that I enjoyed it just fine. Ranging from near-pop vamps to smooth jazz piano licks, the entire performance spans the emotional strata, and features some interesting artifacts in the mix, including deep breaths in and out, acoustic foot tapping, and brief moans as Keith starts to really dig his own improv work. Playing on a piano in the middle of a German concert hall, it's impressive to hear the quality of performance that it is, but most of that is clearly studio manipulated reverb. No puny concert hall in Germany is that echoey. Overall, this is an album that I don't think I'll necessarily revisit, but one that I think will REALLY hit some other jazz folks well. Good listen.

The story is really interesting, you should Wikipedia it.

Actually pretty lovely background music. Has its charm in a "monkeys with typewriters" kind of way. Most of the time it's regular piano playing, but then he'll randomly use some kind of black magic piano cheat code that makes me feel emotions, and I'll be like "God damn okay. Please continue, Keith Jarrett at the Opera House in Cologne".

really pleasant

Listened Before? N Well, this was a surprise. I actually enjoyed this jazz piano album more than I thought I would. It does feel very 70s to me, but that may be because I've heard it before when I was a kid and didn't realize it or something. Anyway it was solid and not boring or repetitive. My highest rating for an album without vocals. Added to Library? N

Love the man, love his improvisations, put up with his strange howling. However, I much prefer his trio settings. I know everyone loves this record, but I find it a bit ponderous.

Not bad really. Not something I’d listen to generally, but listened all the way through and was impressed.

Interesting, but not really for me.

Relation amour haine avec ce pianiste Génial mais insupportable J'aime bien ses albums trio jusqu'à ce qu'il se mette à couinner sans bon sens. Ici le vocal est supportable. Impros assez épiques mais pas mal diatonique, frisant la musak à l'occasion. On l'entends se battre avec la pédale du piano qui n'allait pas bien. Étonnant qu'il ai joué le monsieur qui annule le concert si qqun déballe un bonbon ou tousse (mon fantasme secret) Une étoile en bonus pcq ça s'approche du jazz et cette liste en compte trop peu

2e écoute de cet album en peu de temps. Voici ce que j'en avais dit: "J'aime comment il chante ce qu'il joue. C'est fou de penser que l'ensemble de l'oeuvre est improvisée et qu'il a adapté son jeu à cause des contraintes techniques de l'instrument. Pour un live, c'est un bon enregistrement."

I’ve heard about Jarrett for years. This is the first time I’ve sat down and really listened. Great performance!

I listened to it, I liked it...but I think I like the story behind the work more than the performance itself?

J'aime comment il chante ce qu'il joue. C'est fou de penser que l'ensemble de l'oeuvre est improvisée et qu'il a adapté son jeu à cause des contraintes techniques de l'instrument. Pour un live, c'est un bon enregistrement.

This was good, nothing amazing.

Nice playing but didn't like the length and relative similar sound of the pieces. Would have liked more themes and versatility

A bit of an atypical ECM album, yet very typical ECM album: none mainstream jazz packing a punch that makes one wonder why, exactly, it isn't mainstream. Not my typical kind of music, yet made of stuff that could warm a soul on a dark cold night (with the help of capable hi-fi).

Made me want steak and red wine -

Very enjoyable … for about 20 minutes.

The man can play a mean piano. And that’s about all I have to say

Cool jazz and pop piano grooves and melodies. Pleasant to listen. I think I liked the first 25 minutes best and then some later bits of the album which reminded me of Rachmaninov's piano concertos. A high 3.

nice. a little bit boring.

I found this best listening late at night when I could concentrate. It grew on me as initially I hadn't the patience to sit for 26 mins when I tried it in the morning. The guy is just so talented and the back story to the concert makes you wonder how good it could have been although maybe it was amazing because of the adversity?

Un magnifique concert de jazz totalement improvisé de la part de notre Keth Jarrett. Celui-ci a ce-jour-là remplacé George Michael au pied levé qui devait à l'origine se produire devant le public lgbt-friendly de Cologne mais a eu un empêchement de dernière minute. N'ayant rien préparé, Keith s'assoit devant son piano et se sent très vite galvanisé par les « youhou » et autre « youhihou » émanant de la fosse. À mi-concert, il est déstabilisé par la montée sur scène d'un fan bien décidé à lui couper ses pointes abîmées à l'aide d'un peigne et d'une paire de ciseaux. La sécurité intervient très vite et le concert se ira jusqu'à son terme sans encombre.

Cet album, comme de nombreux autres, a été marqué de la patte du célébre Jim Morrisson. Nous sommes en 1975, dans le célèbre RheinEnergie Stadium. Après une victoire de l'Allemagne face à la Suède scéllée grâce à un doublé de Lukas Podolski, enfant de la ville, un concert sera organisé mettant en scène le jazzman Keith Jarett. Ce dernier devait venir proposer une heure de show, offrant son fabuleux piano-voix à la population homosensible de Cologne. Ce dernier sera accompagné de Jim Morrison à la technique, qui devra s'occuper de toute l'ingénieurie sonore, comme à son habitude. Quelques heures avant le concert, Jim monte sur scène, équipé de son crayon derrière l'oreille, et procéda aux derniers ajustements. Il tourna notamment le microphone en orbite sur 3.5 tours, avant de s'écrier "Là c'est bon, tout est prêt". La suite, vous la connaissez certainement désormais. Keith Jarrett va chanter une heure durant dans le micro, sans se douter que ce dernier ne captait absolument pas sa voix. Le public, un peu décontenancé, apprécia cependant cette heure instrumentale.

Not my thing - it was nice piece of music though

nice and then fairly irritating

Well folks, you heard it here first. I like a solo jazz piano album. Dude's complex with his whole orchestration, and the story of how this album came to be is also great. I also like that Keith Jarrett sued Steely Dan.

Pretty cool he improv’d this whole shiz!

Above-average background piano jazz

Nice

improve jazz kinda brazy sometimes. couldn't handle this regularly. but it hit somewhat for a focused work sesh

Relaxing.

Just not my cup of tea

Wow, that first song is amazing

חמוד ממש

Really grew on me as I listened throughout the day. Brings up emotions unexpectedly.

3. very pleasant, though nothing i'd go back to in the future I don't believe.

It was enjoyable to listen to, but I wouldn't revisit it again.

Classic mid-70's piano jazz..

What a great, relaxing album. Very enjoyable. First time I've heard it. 3/5

Meh. Very nice, very impressive, but just doesn't move me in the way that guitars and vocals do. Interesting story behind it though, with the wrong piano being brought, and then needing tuned, and then ... just read the Wikipedia page!

Lovely piano

Relaxing album, classical not generally my genre, but enjoyed it well enough

74. The Köln Concert - Keith Jarrett - 4 tracks The best selling piano recording in history? It's ok, but it doesn't do it for me. It's good, of course it's good, but it doesn't make me want to listen to it again. 3/5

Good, not my genre.

This was pretty good. I found out after listening that it was all improvised which is impressive. I could personally have done without the moaning and wooing throughout. Still, music was pretty.

Different

Tak koscistego zywca jeszcze na plejsce nie bylo, tylko jeden artysta, jeden instrument i podowjny krazek jest ich wynikowa, artysta jest Keith Jarrett, ktorego nie kojarze, bo solowego materialu nie ma az tak duzo w porownaniu do tego na ilu albumach wystepuje lacznie, bo gral nawet u Davisa czy z jazz messengersami, natomiast jego instrumentem jest pianino, czyli rowniez pojecia o nim nie mam, opis albumu mowi o jakis zamiankach pianinowych, graniu na sprzecie ktory mozna se rozbic o kant dupy, o tym jak Keithowi sie nie chcialo nagrywac jakiegos koncertu dla smarkuli w kolonii, ciezko stwierdzic jaki to gatunek, bo chyba nigdy nie sluchalem solowych klawiszowych jazzow, ale najblizej kojarzy mi sie z evansowym graniem na postbopowych albumach, chociaz jazz to jednak nie jest to malpia improwizacja barowa, a jednak koncert operowy, wiec i publika odzywa sie jedynie nagrodzic brawami na koniec traka, sam muzyk tez nie wchodzi w interakcje z publika poza sama muzyka, calosc podzielona jest na dwie czesci, przy czym pierwsza ma 26 minut jako jeden trak, wiec naprawde potezna improwizacja, druga czesc jest podzielona na trzy traki, najkrotszy ma 6 minut, wiec jak znalazl na plejke, nadal nie jestem przekonany do klawiszy, ale jednak sluchalo sie dobrze albumu jako soundtracka do lektury, moze niezbyt gatunkowo trafilem, bo czarny jazz z napoleonska rasijom, ale jednak sprawdzil sie wysmienicie, pewnie nie bedzie mi dane zrozumiec fenomenu tego picku na liscie muzyki rozrywkowej, bo az 104 wydania tego krazka i nadal pojawiajace sie nowe musza o czyms swiadczyc

chill piano music

Quite enjoyed this as background music but wouldn't call it anything more.

Piano was nice. Weird human noises in there tho

It's okay

Some nice jazz piano, I like it. The crowd is quite enough that the live element doesn't bother me. You can hear him humming along to his playing sometimes..

Мне кажется я не понял

While I am not a fan of classical music, I can not deny the incredible talent for music that Keith Jarrett displays on his live Koln performance. The variety he displays in his music with just one instrument is absolutely awe-inspiring. It is even more impressive when you consider the amount of improvisation that went into this performance, and the circumstances under which Keith had to perform. I have to adjust my rating due to some parts sounding very repetitive and some 2-3 minute stretches droning on, while not introducing a novel idea or pleasant groove.

Beautiful concert piano. A bit too relaxing for a work setting, but perfect for background music at home.

This album was fine, but it's not particularly my style of jazz

Virtuosismo al piano. Atemporal

got pretty intense in the middle. the guy has some mad stamina.

Ich kann hier nun wirklich keine kompetente Bewertung bezüglich Könnens, Genrebezeichnung (Malo, das ist doch Acid, oder) und Verortung des Keith Jarrett im Musik Zirkus abliefern. Mir gefällt aber das flirrende, wiederholend variantenreiche Spiel. Klavier ist eh ein riesentolles Instrument, alle Komponisten und Spieler werden jedoch immer eine Welt für sich bilden, die zu erkunden wohl eine Lebensaufgabe darstellt, wie mit Ü40 Chinesisch zu erlernen. Deswegen bleibt die qualifizierte Meinung darüber aus, ob Keith gut spielt, welche Fehler eingepreiste Varianten sind und welche nunja Fehler sind und ob das kitschig oder virtuos sei. Mir gefällt es, jedoch ohne die große Dringlichkeit seiner Performance. Salomonische 2.5

This is a perhaps the most iconic solo piano album ever. It was interesting to read on Wiki about all the screw-ups that preceded this concert, very impressive that he was able to pull it off despite all the adversity. My only complaint is Jarrett's trademark moaning and wailing while he plays which is a bit distracting. Favourite track for me is Pt II, C.

I enjoyed listening to this. Part I in particular sounded very… lyrical. But I have to be honest, I started to lose focus on it somewhere in to part II. I think if I was there at the concert I would have appreciated it more.

2/3

Oh, to be a pianist and do whatever you feel like doing with your instrument! I think his little grunts of passion are adorable.

I knew his name, but I don’t think I’d ever really listened to his music before. I reckon this makes for great background music. Two stars...

Calm bits were great. Couldn’t be arsed with the jazz bits to be honest.

Piano Music! Not my thing! Not smart enough for it or something idk I was mostly bored. Still prefer it over literally every album made from 1968-1970 and every album made by a British band from the early 80's that populate most of this list. 4/10 one of the tags for this was jazz. Should have been way more jazzier and I think I could have gotten into this.

najbardziej emocjonalne robienie gulaszu, przemyślałam kilka rzeczy 2/10

I LOVE the orchestra and attend regularly. I'm less enthused when it's been stripped down to one piano. It just ends up sounding like you've stepped into a fancy hotel lobby.

I feel like I walked into a fancy department store, but the piano player isn’t fully warmed up. The pause before the applause is kind of telling, “was that the end?!… I don’t remember the crescendo?” Jarrett is without a doubt a talented musician, but this album falls very short of a piano performance that I would want to revisit.

I dont think im music-savvy enough to truly appreciate this album. I wouldn't listen to this intentionally

I don't normally enjoy instrumentals, and having just a piano can be a difficult thing to make interesting to me. This is, however, not as jazzy as some jazz which is a good thing. Album is actually a quite cool background listen.

Just not my style

It was nice but I’m not much for jazz

2.5 Was impressive to learn the story behind this and there's no denying how skilled a player he is. However, this is still ultimately 67 minutes of one man playing one instrument with occasional breaks for 3 minutes of clapping.

on ecoute du piano en 2026. part 2b; part 1

3/10 I'm not going to sit here and try to tell you this isn't fantastic art - but at the end of the day it's not the type of music *I* seek out or listen to.

cant go wrong with a bit of piano. way too long loved the jazz tho.

The CEO of the company I used to work for was in the middle of a midlife crisis that lead to the end of his marriage and him eventually getting kicked out of the business by the board made the entire company sit in silence and listen to this record once

Sería mucho mejor invertirle más tiempo a esto después.

long as fuckkkkkk and just Piano Tunes. not for me

Not sure why, but this just didn't do it for me. It felt all over the place. I'm sure there's a genius behind the work, but this is me ranking the albums for me, so 2.

I know this has some sort of mythical status and the background story to the piano used in the concert and the improvisation that took place is now legendary but that doesn't make it necessarily an all time classic IMHO. The first and last pieces stand out but for all the talent on display, this mostly leaves me a bit cold. I've tried several times but it's not my bag, and I generally like piano...

Not bad on a broken piano!

Really impressive when you consider this is a love improv solo piano album that clocks in at over an hour. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough for this but it's also as exciting as that sounds. Good but hard to appreciate, especially without context.