Reviews (page 2 of 14)
6.0/10
Wow. Instant 5, and the kind of 5 that rarely comes along and make you want to go back and downgrade a whole lot of your previous 5s to 4. Awe inspiring, outstanding. A candidate for what you would play to an alien species who asked the question "what amazing things can humans do?"
Although this is clearly an accomplished classical and jazz pianist, I soon tired of the sound of a piano by itself. Missed the beats of a drum and the carry of a bass.
Piano music generally doesn't do much for me, and I absolutely hated the random vocal exclamations. Honestly I was just waiting for this one to be over.
The music here is really "nice". Unlike other jazz albums (not sure if this is really jazz), I'd say this is more accessible for the casual listener (like myself, when it comes to this genre). Did I like it? Definitely. Did I love it? I would'nt say so. But, in any case, I think this is very good and I'm pretty sure I will listen to this again. In my opinion, it clearly deserves at least 4 stars.
It’s fine. Very well played with some good hooky bits but by its very nature it’s a bit one dimensional and really only serves as background music to me. Tough to rate. 2.4
Pleasant enough but I can only take so much piano music like this before zoning out.
glad to have read the very cool backstory here. 3 for the story, in actuality not going to really listen to an hour long piano solo if it comes on but
What a pretty sound! as though the piano is talking
Part 1 pretty good
I guess this story behind this album is supposed to sound inspiring but it comes across as a toddler having a tantrum and that's also what this album sounds like
it was alright work music but no standouts
I must admit that I didn't listen to the full album here—one-hour piano concerts aren't really my thing. But I can't deny that this was some great piano, just not really the thing I'd every sit down to listen to.
I really enjoyed this. The backstory probably makes it more interesting, but the way this guy can just rock up and play compelling piano off the top of his head for an hour solid is pretty impressive. I love the way the recording captures him tapping his foot and crying out at times, it makes you feel like you are right there on the stage with him. Not something I am likely to go back to a lot, but definitely worth my time to listen to.
He obv had a very unique style which is really cool. But to listen to it for an hour is exhausting
I mean... it sounds like jazzy piano music. I don't know the piano enough to comment on the quality. It sounds great. Not my thing at all.
Lovely, simple as! Makes me want to go back to playing piano.
I was not expecting to see a whole-ass piano concert on this album. I unfortunately do not believe it fits on this list, though, simply because it's just background music, essentially. The piano is nice but it doesn't really do anything for me. The intermittent moaning was funny, though. Favorite Track: Part II c - Not actually my favorite since every track on this pretty much blends together, it's just the shortest one so it fits best on my one-track-per-album playlist.
*1975. *70 minutes of piano is a lot. *It's pleasant, but not particularly moving or interesting. Just decent background music. RATING - 6.5/10
A discovered gem!
I am a big fan of piano so I really enjoyed this one.
It’s just straight up classical music with an interesting story behind it. Not that either of those two things are bad just that they seem a bit out place compared to other items present in this collection.
Now I like piano, quite happy with classical music, but I just fail to see the "must listen to" in this album. I guess I just don't have the jazz appreciation gene or something. I read the back story and yes it gives weight to the album but would never seek it our again.
The story is better than the album. I’ve heard them both enough and I’d be happy if they were both just left on the shelf now, thanks. Improvisation is great for “finding” bits that will turn into songs or “playing with” already existing songs to draw out novelty or create surprise. I’m not a fan of improvisation like this that feels like just noodling around. Also, improvisation for an audience shouldn’t be recorded - the whole point is to “be here now” and share an experience that cannot be recreated.
Jäzzz
Impressive playing, would have liked a bit more structure and variety but guess that's the nature of improvisation
Æ kan skjønne koffor det e en klassiker, for et behagelig album!
I need more instruments.
The story of this concert ups the rating by one. Being improvisation, it isn't completely smooth, and I like some areas more than others, but overall it's a pretty good listen.
This was kinda like if you took the composer for The Sims (original) build mode music and let him go ham. Interesting and just a lil exciting, but mostly kind of soothing background jazz.
An hour of beautiful, intricate solo piano. I'm sure a jazz fan or a piano player would love this. As neither of those, I struggle to find this as anything other than ambient music - sometimes I drift out and enjoy the noise, but when I'm actively listening I find it hard to focus on. This is no fault of Jarrett's, as I'm sure the playing here is inspired and creative. But with a lack of any evolution or movements, at least obvious ones, it feels like an hour of mostly the same thing. Of course climaxes or obvious hooks would ruin what this is, so I'm comfortable saying this is probably actually pretty good, but not for me.
This is very fucking cool
3.5
Amazing!
Good musician who sadly doesn't go anywhere. Stuck in the station. The signal says 'all clear'. Crack on lad and move forward!
The first music notes… l am fond in love of this piano music, kind of jazz and Mixed with classic elements. I think this will be a 5 Star Album for me… the first until now.
Wonderful!
Very pretty, and an interesting backstory.
I liked it! Good background music.
Un album que nunca hubiese escuchado si no fuese por esto. Está muy bueno para poner de fondo para estudiar o trabajar
Impressive solo jazz piano performance. Never heard of Keith Jarrett before today, will probably check him out later.
Part I - 4.5/5 Part II a - 4/5 Part II b - 4/5 Part II c - 4/5 The backstory on how this concert came to be I think is more fascinating than the album itself. An entire hour of improvised piano playing because the organizer got the wrong kind of piano, Jarrett being grumpy and hungry and hurt and only agreeing with hours before the concert went ahead. And the result? One of the best-selling piano jazz albums ever. I think the "jazz" label is slightly misleading, as it's less jazz as I know it and more classical-styled with the only instrument being the piano and Jarrett's occasional outbursts of ecstasy. The improvisation can get old if you're not into that, and certainly functions as background music to them. I think the first half is definitely better, as it drifts a bit more into lounge music than I would have like. Still, a phenomenal performance despite the circumstances. Overall: 4/5 Favorites: Part I
Великолепный лайв с часом искусно сыгранной музыки. Ох, сколько дней открытий чудных мне предстоит, поскольку с жанром я пока на "Вы". Это не совсем то, что мне заходит в джазе, обычно мне нравится эдакий диалог между инструментами, духовые, импровизация, выраженный грув, как нечто что я люблю у The Tony Williams Lifetime или Grant Green и Herbie Hancock, но эти филигранно сыгранные партии на клавишных не могут не впечатлять, правда завывания на фоне, немного подпорчивают экспириенс, что для меня является довольно спорной "фишечкой" исполнения. А потом ты вспоминаешь о том, что господин Кит выдал целый час полностью импровизированной динамической игры на фортепиано - думаешь, Да бог с ним, ну спорно и спорно. "Music is the best" (c)
Un concert de jazz au piano qui s'écoute super bien.
3.5 honestly- beautiful stuff
Great musicianship and soothing music. Loved it. Five stars
I mean, it's a piano concert. It's good, but it's not overly exciting for me. Can't grumble at it, but don't think I'd listen again.
This is a really great live piano jazz album from the mid 1970s. All four songs are apparently the same song, just different parts. I enjoyed it. I will also never listen to it again.
An hour of some damn fine piano work. What a musician. I liked hearing the occasional vocalizations and the damper pedal thumping in the background as well; emphasizes the live feel. I’ll be revisiting.
If you like listening to a piano go plink plink for an hour this might be for you. He certain plinked plinked very nicely but this did nothing for me.
I'm not used to this sort of music. Listening on Spotify meant it didn't have natural breaks like flipping the record over, which I would have preferred. Nice to work to.
I’m giving this a harsh - low 3. It’s excellent, but the hour did not fly by at all
This is a soothing hour of piano performed in front of an audience who are entranced and occasionally punctuated with vocal outbursts "urgh!" from Keith Jarrett, presumably pushing himself to his limit. Nothing particularly stood out to me but I'd take this any day over an algorithmic "calm piano" playlist.
The Koln Concert gets a solid 5 and is one of my favourite live records and one of my favourite jazz records
Love this one. The film is also great. Köln 75.
I appreciate what the artist had done to record this album and I enjoyed listening to it in the car, but I wouldn’t go to play it again
Oh wow this is lovely! I held off listening while on my trip to the peninsula so I could just vibe on my own. I can definitely see myself returning to this regularly // Update; holy fucking shit this was improvised?? // Update: the comedy of errors of this performance! This man also has a fucking “idiosyncrasies” section on his Wikipedia thank fucking god. “Jarrett is highly intolerant of audience noise, especially during solo improvised performances. He feels extraneous noise affects his inspiration and distracts from the purity of the sound. Cough drops are routinely supplied to Jarrett's audiences in cold weather, and he has been known to stop playing and lead the crowd in a group cough. He has also complained onstage about audience members taking photographs, and has performed in the dark to prevent this.” He also “frequently emits loud vocalizations” (involuntarily) during performances; king.
I didn’t hate it but an hour of piano sounds like an hour of piano. With the occasional grunt. Not bad for background music while building furniture, tho. Don’t ask me how I know that.
I guess it's... a nice piano piece, I don't really know much about it. But you really have to be in a certain mood to sit down and listen to the piano for a whole hour. Maybe I'm just not mature enough for this kind of music yet.
Man ska sitta på så sjukt mycket skills för att kunna framföra något sånt här!
Wow! Jävligt coolt, allt runtom också. Skicklig snubbe. Förövrigt: The lick 18:15 på spår 1
5/5 men det betyget går lika mycket till Keith Jarrett som det gör till just den här plattan. Helt sjukt hur en människa kan gå upp på scen och improvisera fram ett sånt här verk.
Tönk vad en ensam man med ett piano kan göra! Fyra plus
Doesn’t do anything wrong and is a pleasant listen, but an hour of improvised piano work is never going to be my thing. Certainly unique among the rest of the list though.
Need to listen
Pleasant enough. It wisps along without challenging the ears which i suppose is an achievement for a piano based collection of songs
After 15 minutes I couldn’t get myself into it I’m so sorry Keith but it’s just a piano why are you so excited
Mesmerizing.
Don't think, just play
One of the greatest pieces of art produced in its time. Repeated playback never gets old and rewards the listener w new discoveries. To think the entire thing is an improvisation is breathtaking. This recording caught lightning in a bottle, and we are forever the grateful beneficiaries.
I so look forward to more albums like this on this list
I feel ridiculously out of my depth talking about this album. This is a live recording of an entirely improvised solo jazz piano concert, over an hour in length, making it hard to pull out individual details or movements. What I can say about it, though, is that this album is incredible. Keith Jarrett has a lot of technical chops, with so many incredible complex melodic passages that it's hard to believe that this piece was entirely improvised. Being a piano solo, it makes for easy background music fodder, but closer listening reveals so many incredible details, and Jarrett's jazz sensibilities always keeps things interesting. The best way to describe the experience of listening to The Koln Concert is overwhelming. Once you're dialed in, Jarrett completely pulls you into his world and doesn't let you go for the entire runtime. I'm typically easily distracted, but I was never bored during my listen, and I think that's a testament to Jarrett's skills that he can keep me engrossed for this long.
I am not a huge fan of music without lyrics, because lyrics help me feel a song more through understanding the meaning of it. However, this made me feel everything I needed to feel, and I didn't miss any lyric whatsoever. The melodies are wonderful, and it's a very nice album to put if you're doing something calm and relaxing. Knowing how it was recorded is also super impressive. A musician on the road, tired and not given any time to prepare at all. Just a shitty piano (to the point where it was almost broken) and an audience who's anticipating entertainment. Hat's off to Keith Jarrett, every musician should aspire to be on this level.
Not bad background music. Would be tough to hold my attention on its own.
shout out to that one guy in the background that keeps going AOUHGH
Джаз це добре) Як би ще більше інструментів було)))
I like to read the little blurb and check the lengths of albums when I start before hitting play so I can make sure I incorporate it correctly into my day. For this a 70 minute long piano solo I was thinking "well this is immediately a 1 star but I'll give it a fair shake" About 5 minutes in I'm thinking this has some dynamic and pretty cool phrases. It's gonna be a slog but its probably two stars. It's not as bad as say the incredible string band. About 30 minutes in I'm thinking my favorite band is Phish which is all improvisational a lot of the time but with a general structure and this guy is just playing his song. That's kind of cool. 3 stars. By the end I was honestly pretty happy I listened to the whole thing. Excellent merging of jazz and classical piano and maybe I'll get this on vinyl. 4 stars. Then I read the story of the album and holy cow this may be 5 stars for sure
🥱
Proof that there's only so much you can do with a piano and nothing else.
uma organizadora de eventos jovem e inexperiente, um artista cansado de uma longa viagem, um concerto esgotado e um piano caindo aos pedaços. a fórmula perfeita pro desastre que transformou esse no álbum de piano mais vendido do mundo. histórias como a desse álbum são o que fazem engrandecer a música e mostrar que ela é uma arte perfeita nas suas imperfeições.
I was shocked at how good this was.
Really enjoyed this. Lively and pleasant.
7.5/10 - I enjoyed this. It was nice to have on while I did other things or while I sat reading a book.
The fact that this piece of music was improvised makes it even more spectacular. I don't feel qualified to judge but it was very beautiful. 7/10
yawn
beautiful ain't fitting on no playlist though
I respect the oomlaut, and this surprised me with long stretches of genuine joy. But between the occasional key-banging and Jarrett vocally celebrating his own performance, there’s only so much Schroeder even Peppermint Patty can take.
Would rate 3.5 stars. Enjoyed it on my run.
I never liked this album. It just sounds like Keith Jarrett banging on the keys for an hour. As an artist, he takes himself way too seriously.
Seeing that four songs are somehow an hour and six minutes, this listen was either going to be awful or amazing. It's safe to say it was neither. The first track is kinda boring, but the talent is definitely prominent. It could just be shortened a little, as it feels like the piece doesn't really progress at all. You can hear a melody and music peek through the playing, but it never fully comes out. He is also hitting the piano very hard at times. However after the second track kicks in, I was pulled right along. Something that makes this project enjoyable is that this guy is incredibly good at piano. It never gets too in your face, but it's enough chops to make me smile. The "vocals" that bleed into the songs are kinda weird though and sounds like this guys jerking off while playing piano for an hour. The flaws seen in the first song completely flip and prove my critiques wrong. I just wish that the whole album was a bit more consistent, and you know, maybe something more than just piano. But for its limitations, this album is pretty great. Very low 4.
This was so cool... it's amazing to me that someone can sit down and improvise at this level for this long. Part I had me captivated for the entire 25 minutes. Super glad this was on the list.
*Beautiful piano playing *Not jazzy enough for me to give it a 5, but this is an incredible performance
Kauniisti soittaa mutta ei ole oma juttu
Super beautiful
i knew i was gonna hate it when i saw the first song was 20 minutes. this was extremely boring
Good but prefer the non-live versions of these songs. Sam cooke good tho
Stunning album. Utter masterpiece
One of the best albums I’ve ever heard. Instant top 10 of all time. Maybe higher.
очень интересно
Hilarious backstory. A nice listen, though I might have found it less enjoyable if I wasn't so interested in instrumentals and classical music.
Not for me. After 30 minutes in I had to cry Uncle. 3 stars cause he is talented
A very competent pianist noodles for an hour. Occasionally, he strikes on something that verges on a fully-formed song. Mostly, it’s just a talented musician playing around.
So gorgeous.
395/1089 6 minutes in and i have to be honest… i don’t think i’m the right person to appreciate this album/music. it’s pretty and i’m sure skillful but not for me really. I’ll still listen regardless ofc also for projects like this where i might only like small sections, it’s a bit of a shame that the track lengths are so extreme so i can’t just save the, say, 3min section that stands out to me okay reading a little of the context and the improv nature of this live album has definitely softened my perspective a bit. to know that this was made up on the fly for a piano he wasn’t expecting etc does make this a more fun experience even if it doesn’t magically change my music taste, i’m doing this project for stories like this okay my opinion has done a pretty massive turnaround by the end of part 1, it’s so joyful and exciting and “new” idk it’s just lovely to listen to and that continued for the rest of the piece. what a fun and interesting moment to have captured forever for people to discover 64/100
Amazing! What an experience, at times joyful, at times deeply emotional, but always unpredictable. I loved it!
C'tu du piano? 2.5 étoiles
This is what I call lazy jazz...example: first selection which was 26:02 minutes of segments of music just strung together, not really one song, more like parts of songs....some I liked, some were just okay. I don't hate the album, but I wouldn't buy tickets to go to a concert. Actually, the whole album was like described above....I prefer songs with beginnings and endings.
Dense but beautiful. Not for all moments, but unbeatable at the right time.
Jazz man... I love it. This particular album, however, is a bit grating. At moments amazing... but is it just one man and a Piano? Lacking some texture. I found it hard to get through this... it just became painful.
It's easy to a call this pretty good and move on. But then you start reading all the craziness that lead up to this performance and it makes you want to go back for another listen. This prime movie material. A24 needs to get this thing into production already. It'll sweep the Oscars!
phenomenal talent and a nice instrumental respite in this daily album list. While technically a live album the class of people who attend such a performance limits the feel of why I typically hate live albums.
3 out of 5. Very pleasant and shows what a pianist can really do.
I don’t listen to a lot of classical piano, so I might be overrating this. The legend around this concert and its recording also may lead me to overrate it. But right of the bat the sound and playing is just magical. Crisp and clear. I did listen to a good amount of Jarrett’s jazz work earlier this year, especially his trio stuff with Jack DeJohnette on drums - which I just loved. Honestly I miss his little vocalizations and noises he would make during his jazz work. Even with all that being said - I’m still giving this 5 stars. I’m doing a music league right now where the prompt is a song you would add to a new voyager golden records. Something to send out into space with the potential that some unknown intelligence could find it and appreciate its beauty. Anything from this would be an excellent choice. (My pick was Freight Train by Elizabeth Cotten if you were wondering)
I loved this.
Beautiful and masterful
4.5
3.5
This album has to be an example where learning about the album infinitely changes how its received. To hear that this entire album was completely improvised absolutely leads to a significantly deeper appreciation. I'm not a huge fan of the instrumental albums (let alone, a single instrument). But to know that this entire set of pieces was improvised fills me with awe. The way the melodies, harmonies, and everything in between piece together is just simply incredible. I probably can't put it at the top of my list as it's not something I would typically put on for most reasons, but I certainly can and do appreciate the incredible talent that went into this.
Not my thing. Talent can’t be denied but too safe… can imagine my grandparents maybe listening to this 40 years ago. Doesn’t do anything for me. Meandering and bland.
Cool backstory and decent playing
And this, folks, is why great improvisation impresses me most. The concept of starting with nothing and painting everything in the next second. Gradually building ideas as they come. They can either fall flat or turn into something magical. The latter is what encapsulates this recording. Keith Jarrett is the Trey Anastasio/Jerry Garcia of the grand piano with his constant movement and feeling that can be heard from his voice. His little reactions scattered throughout are illustrative in conveying the essence of great improv. I feel that things are pure when both the audience and the artist don't know what they're getting themselves into. The results, then, reveal themselves to be true in passion. A building of intention and a piece of art that will never re-invent itself (unless it is transcribed, as this was). This is what I like most (10/10, 5/5 on this scale)
4 songs Stuff like this is what makes this project so great. Never would I have sought out something like this on my own. And while inevitably an hour long piano concert will become background music every now and then, it's very, very pleasant. Reading the story also transformed this from just good music into an incredibly impressive performance. Also extra score for the random OHs and YEAHs. Truly a master who is taken aback by his own greatness.
I judge anyone who likes this nonsense just a little bit.
Not typically my style, but this was great. If this was 45 minutes instead of 68, it'd be a 5/5
Objectively good, but piano jazz isn’t my thing
I enjoyed this more than I anticipated. Piano jazz is not my forte and this started out super mellow. But it is obviously well done and it picked up pace and energy moving into Part II. I enjoyed the bass drum thumps that occasionally accompanied the music. Not something I would seek out but it is very good.
Pleasant, kind of cool ... kind of atmospheric, like a soundtrack, kind of just one damn thing after another .... The little I know about Jarrett led me to expect something fairly abstract, subtle, and beyond me. So ... I guess -- expectations fulfilled.
Wow. I'm so glad to have had the impetus to finally listen to this album. I really liked it so much. Will definitely have to go back and hear it again. I don't know that I know how to appreciate it technically but on an emotional level I felt very moved by the music. I'll try to remember this feeling the next time I'm aggravated with this whole 1001 project.
1975. Best-selling solo album in jazz history and the best-selling piano album. Entirely improvised on the spot. Performed with a fulty piano, lack of sleep and physical exhaustion. Keith Jarrett used left-hand ostinato (a persistently repeated bass or accompaniment pattern played with the left hand while the right hand performs a changing melody, chords, or improvisational lines.)
Great musician. Just not something I would listen to
Yummy
Beautiful! not the most familiar with piano acts but this was quite nice.
Ugh, maybe it's me that I am illiterate or something, but I just wanted this to end. At least the guy is clearly enjoying what he does.
This is an amazing recording and performance!!! The story behind it is amazing as well!!
This was wild. I can’t riff on the technicalities of classical or jazz music, but I can speak to the feel, and this is full of feel. For this to be improvised, as someone who, again, has minimal technical music knowledge, is beyond my comprehension. Truly a master at work. I didn’t know him, but now I do, and mad respect. I think it’s rad that you can hear him stomping and vocalizing as he plays, because it’s a testament to how deeply he’s feeling what he’s playing. Really impressive. Will revisit this particular performance and explore others of his. What a great vibe, a nice easy listening atmosphere, and a real pleasure to listen to a true master.
Sublime
My parents listened to this a lot when I was young (and as a kid, I thought it was pretty boring). I also had a jazz piano teacher who warned strongly against getting into the habit of singing while playing, "like Keith Jarrett." So those were the associations I brought with me into this listen. Now, as an adult, I still think the album is quite long and meandering, and at times annoying. But I'll admit that it's cool that he was able to keep this improvisation going for an entire concert like this!
(4/7] I think some of this is nice, but the moaning is really self-indulgent and it's too long and meandering
Really nice background noise for reading. A lot of variety in the playing and classical was refreshing to hear for a change. Might get it on vinyl.
08/06/2026. Hypnotic and thalassic. Favorite track: Part 1
This was really easy to listen to while working. Favourite Track(s): Part I, Part II c Least Favourite Track(s): Part II a
Beautiful would likely listen to again
This is a live concert performed in 1975. I expected this to be hardcore jazz but it's not. "Keith Jarrett’s musical style is an eclectic, fluid blend of modern jazz, free improvisation, and Western classical music, infused with deep roots in gospel, blues, and folk." He also makes sounds as he plays which some people don't like. The amazing thing about this performance is that it's all improvised! He vamps on a progression and seamlessly flows from one idea to the next. I really enjoyed this.
An album for which I have zero expectations, which I always enjoy. I guess from the cover photo that this will be piano music. Well, I was right. An hour of improvised piano music with a mildly interesting story of how it came to be - he didn't just sit down and play, he was tired, a bit hungry, and had a bad back, wow! Also the piano was below his usual standards. But it's often been said that limitations actually inspire creativity, so that's there to hear. For me, though, this is all by the by. The music itself is fine, but it feels meandering and pointless, going nowhere, never developing into a memorable passage. By 10 minutes in I felt like I had got everything out of it that I was going to get out of it. Not unenjoyable, but once was enough. And his occasional grunts and moans were quite offputting.
So I read the background to this album and I feel like the story adds more to a person's ability to appreciate Keith's playing. With that being said, this isn't really my type of music, but it was pleasant to have on in the background. I feel like this would actually be a solid 3.5, if it were possible to rank that.
Not for me.
Another pleasant surprise! The best thing about this album was listening to it while reading the story behind it. Over an hour with 100% improvisation sounds heavy, but somehow it wasn’t that. I really loved the experience, however I don’t think I will go back to listen to the full album anytime soon.
This blew me away, the first part alone is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard. And somehow despite being 26 minutes, I wanted it to continue for longer. Then I read into the lore behind this album, how it’s played on the wrong piano, on no sleep, and very nearly wasn’t made at all. Improvised from start to finish, and as such feels impossible to ever recreate. Sensational.
I love when the pianos twinkle!
Pretty uninteresting as these things go! I love jazz and this is just one of the more boring formulations of it. It's not bad but it feels like a vinyl novelty. Easy listening. Give me something here I beg you.
es muy buen álbum, no soy de escuchar musica en la que no allá una voz, pero realmente nunca la necesito este disco, al instante de ponerle me quise informar un poco sobre su origen, un maestro Keith, enseñando a seguir sin importar las adversidades
Really impressive that this is all improvisation!
Jamais écouté avant. La voilà ma première claque jazz (mais est-ce vraiment du jazz ?). Et pourtant, en tant qu'album live d'improvisation solo au piano, The Köln Concert ne partait pas gagnant dans mon esprit. Il y a quelque chose de l'universalité de la musique, d'une beauté totale et époustouflante, à écouter Keith Jarrett se battre avec son piano pour en tirer le meilleur, avec force râles de frustration et une dextérité fascinante, sans pour autant céder aux effets de manche. Colérique et lumineux, intimiste et épique, intense et minimaliste, mélodique et expressif (si expressif !), jamais ennuyeux ou répétitif, The Köln Concert est tout ça à la fois. Tout ce qui fait, pour moi, de la musique l'expression ultime de la créativité humaine, la forme d'art la plus empreinte de notre âme d'êtres humains, est là. Incontestablement la plus belle découverte depuis le début de ce projet pour moi, et un choc dont je ne suis pas sûr de m'être encore remis. Top : - Flop : -
When I saw the length of the first song I was scared. But this was a really engaging live album. It’s not my style in music (shock horror) but I can appreciate the intensely good piano playing, especially to be able to hold an audience as a solo pianist I think is always impressive. Probs a harsh rating but from someone who knows little about the genre and performance style.
88/100. Spectacular music and the story behind this live album is fascinating as well. Everything felt so peaceful and beautiful when I had this on.
first jam was cool, got too long for my enjoyment
Incredible improvisation and backstory to this album. Constantly good the whole way through and downright inspiring
6. avgust 2026. 15.52h good fabulous great
Ok, the music is nice, but it's not something I would purposely choose to listen. Jazz piano, great. But for a very specific moment.
Not my style - like the Monsters Inc. cameo.
Ugh I tried. I fell asleep. I'm sorry!
I get that this is probably a concert album and more than likey music people are putting on as background music... but a 26-minute song is unnecessary.
When you do this list I've learned you got to understand a bit about the music to appreciate what you're hearing. Per example, as another reviewer discussed, this is a concert on the fly after the musician recieved the wrong piano and just spent the next hour and a bit fucking around. It's easy to appreciate the genius behind the music when you know this is just Keith Jarrett and his brain.
Beautiful classical music
Very pretty. Great thinking music.
Really incredible. I absolutely loved it
Can’t really say much about this that hasn’t already been said. Solo piano but so enthralling. Recorded beautifully. Been a while since I listened to it too, so this was welcome today. Is this the only ECM album on the list? Keith Jarrett is a mensch and this is absolutely a worthy addition.
Not my bag
it blows my mind that this was improvised?! that is impressive as hell and to be able to improvise something that sounds as good as this for over an hour is kind of insane. that being said, not totally my cup of tea. pleasant to listen to, but to a point feels like you are in the waiting room of a therapist's office, for better or worse. still, a super impressive feat!
Lovely joyful piano
Banger vibes
i can recognize the hype but i dont get it
That’s some amazing piano playing considering it’s all improvised. I suppose that explains why this album is the top piano record of all time. Additionally Jarrett had to play a banged up rehearsal piano because of a mixup by the venue. Also I remember Jarrett being the musical guest on SNL in the early years, although I don’t recall the performance.
Why Köln, Keith Jarrett? Is it the Budokan of piano jazz? Cute backstory on Wiki about how KJ was hungry and had back pain and they set up the wrong piano and so that's why he did so much jazz. If you say so, Wiki. This was very pleasant, but to be fair, I expect I'd say the same of most any piano album.
appreciate the music but not a genre I find myself reaching for
A wonderful journey in sound, marvellous tension and release, wave after wave of invention and development
Algo diferente y con una historia interesante
4/5. Honestly crazy how much mileage Keith Jarrett gets out of the piano during this performance. It’s over an hour long but I never felt bored by his playing, he manages to strike so many emotions with how intense/quiet he goes with it at different points. The highlight for me is the massive opener, titled “Pt. 1.” Which goes through a ton of different build-ups and phases. I’ll be blunt that I’m nowhere near a piano expert, I’m just a dumb little guitar/bass guy, but this album seems like the good stuff when it comes to piano playing.
Beautiful opening piano and an amzing piece of improvisational work given the story around the concert
Another reason why I love this project. I listened to this album off and on for 30 years, bits and pieces while doing something else, never giving it my full sustained attention and never really enjoying it. That completely changed in the last 24 hours, when I played it start to finish and was just utterly blown away.
A fascinating listen and an even more fascinating back story. The limitations that were imposed by the quality of the instrument defined the nature of the music he produced. The limitations imposed on himself by being a bit of an arsehole seemed to be even greater. I really enjoyed listening to this, particularly as it is capturing a lightning in a bottle moment. I appreciate it being something a bit different after a tough run of albums, as well as its influence on minimalist piano improvisation.
What a wonderful thing to come across. Nothing I’d heard before and so had to look into it a little more and this a great product of a great story. At no point did I even contemplate that this might have been improvised it is so well delivered. I’m sure this polarises many listeners as how good can solo piano be really? The answer is this good.
Keith Jarrett isn’t a jazz musician I’m really familiar with but this sounds like it will be something unique and interesting. It’s improvisational jazz piano. At times seemingly classical inspired and yet sometimes it’s a grand jazzy sound. It’s really amazing at times. It transitions so smoothly into its next section within these songs and you feel connected to the earlier sound. It’s a little overlong maybe. I thought the first song was the best. It had many parts and sections of it that kept my interest. It ends strong too, so guess the middle is the weakest. I’ll go 3. Hard to rate something like this.
A best-selling, or e'en just a high-selling, jazz record is paradoxical, v much like a book of poems that's sold loads: it's uncomfortable, not b/c we think jazz, or poetry, ought to stay underground but b/c it's difficult to make jazz, or poetry, speak widely. But Robert Frost & Anne Carson exist, poets in the realest & truest senses of the vocation, just as Kind of Blue, Forest Flower, & Head Hunters are albums worthy of their numbers. We can add Jarrett's The Köln Concert to that list, a sublime statement of solo feeling that ends & begins w/ the rebelliousness of an improvisational venture into the heart of the matter. I don't know enuf of Jarrett to say that this is overrated, e'en slightly, as compared to his other works, tho it might be. Whatevs. I love it.
3.5★/5 07.22.2026
Needs to create some better song titles. "Yo did you listen to part II b?" I'll look foolish
Fantastic album, amazing back story
naja
Excellent piano work
If someone had written the script for 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒ö𝘭𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵, nobody would have believed it. You have an exhausted Keith Jarrett battling severe back pain, a still-young ECM Records founder, Manfred Eicher, who had yet to discover that this would become his label’s defining success, and an understandably panicked teenage concert promoter, Vera Brandes, desperately trying to find a playable Bösendorfer grand piano on a January afternoon in Cologne after the wrong instrument had turned up. On paper, every ingredient for a complete disaster was there. In reality, it became one of the greatest improvised piano performances ever recorded. Jarrett somehow turned exhaustion, pain, and an imperfect piano into music of extraordinary beauty. Sometimes the best albums are meticulously planned. Sometimes everything goes spectacularly wrong — and the result is pure magic. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒ö𝘭𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵 belongs firmly in the second category.
This is #day711 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I find the story behind the concert rather fascinating. I can't say I'm a fan of the piano jazz, though, but I like the improvisation aspect. It was fun, albeit too long. This is a 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day712.
I'm so not a fan of 20 minute tracks. That being said, Jarrett is a talented pianist. I'm not sure why this is included in albums I need to listen to before I die- it was pleasant to listen to, but there was nothing groundbreaking.
Loved the whole album. The second track in particular - sucker for a drone! Makes my fingers yearn for keys!
I don't like it at all.
Maybe I'm just unsophisticated, but 20-minute meandering piano songs just aren't for me.
i just simply do not care
Listened to around 75% of it. It was great to listen to, amazing for improvisation. Listening experience: 3 (average, but not bad) Admiration as a musician: 5 Mean: 4
I love piano tunes as much as the next gay bastard, but this was a bit much.
Amazing
Ok, this album was definitely outside of my usual wheelhouse. Honestly, this one didn’t really strike a chord with me(insert rimshot here). Maybe it’s just because I’m not a big listener of jazz and or classical, but I didn’t really feel any emotional attachment to this album. I get that Jarret is a piano virtuoso and that, for what he was given to work with, he performed incredibly that night, with his playing itself being very strong, but to my ears it just sounds like background noise. Since it’s an hour of just piano music, it doesn’t really resonate with me in the way some other albums so far have. If you like this album, more power to you, but it’s not really my cup of tea.
This was quite cool, an interesting story about him having to improvise a whole set for a different instrument when the grand piano he wanted didn't arrive..shows what a skilled musician can do even with inferior tools. Not sure I'd listen again but appreciate the talent and it is something you could have on in the background while entertaining
Keith Jarrett drove 400 miles overnight from Switzerland to Cologne in an old car, in the rain, with a bad back, no sleep, and the reasonable expectation that a Bösendorfer 290 Imperial concert grand, a near ten foot eight octave instrument of extraordinary resonance and power, would be waiting for him at the Cologne Opera House. What was waiting for him was a small battered baby grand that had been left backstage for rehearsals, with keys that stuck, pedals that barely functioned, a tinny upper register, and a bass end so weak it was essentially decorative. A replacement piano was located across town. A piano tuner on the scene advised that transporting a concert grand in the rain at low temperatures without proper equipment would destroy it. The universe had made its position clear. Vera Brandes was 17 years old, Germany's youngest concert promoter, and the person responsible for organizing the entire evening. She stood in a parking lot in the cold and talked Keith Jarrett out of his car. This is the most important thing anyone did in jazz in 1975 and she has never received adequate credit for it. Jarrett sat down at the terrible piano, furious, exhausted, and in pain, and played for 66 minutes without stopping, without a plan, without a single note written down in advance. Because the instrument was so weak in the bass and so brittle in the upper register, he was forced into the middle range of the keyboard, where he developed rolling left hand rhythmic patterns to compensate for what the piano could not do. ECM producer Manfred Eicher later reflected that Jarrett probably played the way he did precisely because the piano was so poor. The instrument's limitations became the music's greatest strength. After the concert, Vera Brandes ran to the recording engineer and asked simply, did you get that. He had. The album became the best selling solo jazz album in history and the best selling piano album ever recorded. Four million copies sold. The Library of Congress inducted it in 2025, fifty years after it was made, deeming it culturally, historically and aesthetically significant. Rockers thought it was jazz. Jazz fans thought it was New Age. Classical listeners were reportedly blown away. Nobody agreed on what it was, which is usually a sign that something genuinely original happened. Keith Jarrett, for his part, said in 1992 that he wanted to see every single copy stomped into the ground. His complaint was that people were using it as ambient background music, a lifestyle soundtrack for the patchouli scented seventies. This is the most Keith Jarrett sentence imaginable and also the most accurate description of how a significant portion of its audience actually experienced it, which is not entirely their fault and not entirely not their fault. I came to this album fresh, with no history and no context and it is genuinely good. It is one man turning a bad piano and a worse night into something that 1,300 people in a German opera house and four million subsequent listeners found impossible to forget. I respect that enormously. But it is not my jam. If Leonard Cohen had been sitting next to Jarrett singing along it would have dropped to a 1, which tells you everything about my relationship with this record that needs to be said. 3 out of 5. One star for Vera Brandes, who stood in a parking lot in the rain and talked a furious pianist back inside, and who is the real hero of this entire story. One for the bad piano, which accidentally made the record better than a good piano ever could have. One for the 66 unplanned minutes, which have now outlasted almost everything else recorded in 1975. The remaining two stars are somewhere in that Cologne parking lot, waiting for Keith Jarrett to come back outside.
25 minute song brother....
A little long for it to only be piano. Didn’t hate it but can’t go above 3 since it wasn’t heat.
This is defintely a first on my journey through these albums, with the complete lack of vocals/lyrics and a composition that remains songless and on a single instrument. Was it terrible, no I found a perfectly fine time to listen to it during my reading which was suitable. However, when I seek to listen to an album I am seeking an artists intentianl craft of a series of songs that comtribute to an overall sound and hopefully message. This was not that. I likely would only relisten as background noise, or to accompnay an activity in which lyrics or signifigant changes between sounds would be disruptive, like reading or writing.
This is the type of jazz that people make fun of. An hour of just improvised piano with the occasional moan is not interesting. The piano playing is great, but at the end of the day, you can go to any jazz bar on a random Wednesday and hear something just as interesting. The story is cool, but it's not enough to save my boredom. I like that we later went on to sue Donald Fagen; that might give this album another star.
Love it now loved it before
658/1001 2026.07.15
Jazz is a genre I know despairingly little about. I sort of wish I knew more, to pick up on what I suspect are a whole host of musical references which are flying over my head. Many sequences and motifs which are ringing bells in my mind, hints, clues and shout-outs which are slipping through my fingers. Though, I think it's only fair that I go into these blind, as I have with the other albums to date. It's been a recurring theme through many of my reviews, that I've said I enjoy the instrumental tracks more than the vocalized ones. Perhaps, judging on my past form, the reader might expect that I'll look favorably on this? Well if so, the reader is absolutely correct. I certainly enjoyed this. For what is practically my first foray into the world of Jazz, I feel both exceptionally lucky, and unlucky. Lucky, in that I started out on such a dynamic work, which teems with emotion. Optimism, Power, Sorrow, Joy, Despair. And everything in between. Unlucky, in that I've spent decades of my life not knowing that this beautiful material was out there. I am genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I picked it out to do fairly late on a Saturday evening, expecting it to be relaxing, not especially intellectually challenging. I wouldn't call it challenging, but somehow, it's bewitched me. Coaxed me into writing a review longer than some essays I've written. It sounds like just an endless spray of words. But it's actually a love letter. A love letter to a genre that I never knew.
love it, even when i dont like piano music
jazz supremacy
*Pt.1 최고의 피아노 라이브
Me likey. I think it’d have to be background music, if you weren’t at the concert. 3.5-4.
what do i know about piano music? absolutely nothing
Keith Jarrett sounds awsome, and while he has disdain for this, most famous solo jazz album, I found it wonderful to listen to and not overly repetative. I would love to listen to more of Keith Jarett.
It was so lovely to hear something like this on the list. It was so refreshing. Beautifully done, it sort of just floated through the hour and a bit run time. This isn't something I usually listen to, but this has changed my view of piano centred pieces. When you really relax into something like this, its easy to get lost and float in and out of focus, which is great in my opinion. Some of the sounds are a bit jarring to get through, but there is definitely reward for these moments. Music should challenge, while sounding great, which is what this does.
Really loved this, thought it was excellent. Not something I'd heard before but bang up my street. Planning to listen again.
me bajo el cortisol, lo escucharia ne el auto
2/3
It's an hour of improvised piano
10/10 music for studying i think i'd finish all slides and still listen to the same song (i can FEEL each one's length) but i can only think abt the musician's immense focus while playing these tracks live
The story around this concert is as interesting as the album.
Actually really liked this! 4.5/5
Play me a song I’m the piano man!
Cool story behind this and I love Keith Jarrett, but to my ears, this isn't really jazz. Critically acclaimed for good reason though. Just not my bag of tea when I'm looking for piano-oriented jazz. More like free form improv which is cool in its own way.
Piano. Yep, that's all I can think. Perfectly fine.
Oh, to be a pianist and do whatever you feel like doing with your instrument! I think his little grunts of passion are adorable.
Kurang suka dengan tipe musik seperti ini
Rate: 8/10.
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...
There's some meandering on this album (as is often the case with improvised jazz), but it's not too bad. Apparently the piano Jarrett was playing on had a lot of issues, but it's not noticeable. The only thing that might've given it away was how the playing was mostly kept in the middle register which was really more of a benefit as it kept the playing tight and clean. My favorite part was the beginning of "Part II b". The combination of the melodies and rhythmic bassline are excellent. My biggest complaint with this album are the random noises that can be heard from the audience.
Great jazz album that shows how limitations can breed creativity which is always welcome in jazz.
Calm bits were great. Couldn’t be arsed with the jazz bits to be honest.
Enjoyed this! (3.5)
Enjoyable! Very easy listening
So musically pretty ❤️
Extraordinary, a revelation. I went into this with no expectations and no knowledge. What a fantastic surprise. The rhythms have a transcendental, spiritual feeling that work with the melodies and the occasional moans an hollers to create such an atmosphere... I can't say enough good things.
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.
Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett are the greatest jazz piano players of the 20th century. I had not listened to this in 25 years. Amazing!
Lovely.
It’s over an hour of very good piano! There’s nothing really else to say here. 4/5 ⭐️ 182/1089
Incredible pianist
najbardziej emocjonalne robienie gulaszu, przemyślałam kilka rzeczy 2/10
Sehr mitreißend, wirklich lusher sound dafür, dass es ein Solokonzert und auch noch improvisiert ist 🙏🏻
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.
This is the kind of thing where I can recognise his talent and admire it. However extemporisation is not for me and it’s not something I would ever choose to listen to. The sounds effects are quite entertaining though
Not for me.
meh
Knowing the backstory makes this better.
Just fantastic.
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.
Perfectly pleasant and in sure the artist is exceptionally skilled. But will not be revisiting.
I dont think im music-savvy enough to truly appreciate this album. I wouldn't listen to this intentionally
Great, enjoyed the whole thing, and will certainly listen again. I music that work as relaxing background/work music are always underrated. Also imagine just being able to vibe on a piano for an hour and twenty and have a room full of people clap for you every time you take a break.
Best discovery so far. Loved it.
Tinkly solo piano is not really my thing, wouldn't actively seek this one out but fine enough once in a blue moon ⭐⭐⭐
🎹
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.
good
Just not my style
It was nice to listen to but not really for me, soz T-T
2026.06.29.
Svaka čast na sposobnostima ali, kao što sam i pretpostavila, sam klavir nije dovoljan za uzbudljiv album.
it is jazz.
es mi tipo de musica para escuchar literalmente en vivo o en ciertos contextos. esta vez no fue el caso, pero sirve para estudiar
It was nice but I’m not much for jazz
Good album, very peaceful! 6.8/10
Would never have been aware of this album. Enjoyed it for a time but tired of it half way through
After reading the story of how this concert came to me, I can understand why it is culturally significant. But, this kind of music just doesn’t resonate with me.
Hermoso, te acompaña y lleva con la música. Incluso de fondo tiene presencia, me gustó mucho. Queda guardado
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.
Overall: 7/10 This one is an album that needs the context to really get the most out of the experience. Being able to improvise on the spot like this is pretty incredible, and I can imagine that if I was in the audience for this, it would be one of the greatest things I could ever experience. Listening to it decades later in my bedroom takes away some of the charm of that incredible display of musicianship, but I still really enjoyed it and I'm glad I got to experience this. Fav Song: uuuuuhhh, the first track
on ecoute du piano en 2026. part 2b; part 1
good
best song: PT2 B worst song PT 2 C great album overall, was not in the mood for jazz hence the 3 star review I will listen to this while studying thought
So, this is really not my thing at all I got through half the album. It was decent background, but I would not listen to this again.
There was some pretty movements in this.
When I was a kid in high school I got into the school jazz band. There was a drummer i really admired named Arion. He was brilliant and appeared effortless in his playing. In our 20s he suffered a drug addiction and met my dad in a 12 step program. He later died of complications from diabetes. Keith Jarrett was his favorite pianist and this recording blessed me with renewed grief. I feel alive.
I didn’t think I’d enjoy listening to a dude dick around on a piano for an hour but- this is great. It helps that the dude is a virtuoso, and he’s been put in a tight spot by the circumstances of the concert- but a lot of dudes would’ve folded, and instead he puts on a show for the ages. Excellent. FOUR STARS
Only listened to a bit, quite enjoyed what I heard. Potential for 4 stars but I didn’t hear it all
It's the story that make this album special. A sleep-deprived, underfed pianist in a back brace is given a crappy, ill-maintained rehearsal piano that can barely be gotten in tune before the show, and proceeds to improvise an hour of amazing music. You can hear him feeling out the piano in the early moments, determining what part of its range works best and how to compensate for its shortcomings. As he gets going, Jarrett emits a lot of his characteristic moans while playing - he's described it as being too full of emotion and having to let some out, and I get that. You can even hear the overly-loud shifting of the piano's pedals in places, and it sounds like Jarrett is almost turning them into a percussive instrument. I'm surprised that this is the best-selling solo jazz album and the best-selling piano album in history, as it doesn't strike me as the kind of thing that would appeal widely. I think it's pretty amazing, though.
Interesting, unique for this list. Good for background music.
Plan on relistening to whenever I get the chance. Absorbing album.
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.
66 minites of solo piano was a bit worrying, but I enjoyed it. Alof of variety in intensity, and changes in tempo,etc, keep it engaging. 4 Heard before? Some Owned: No 83/327 (25%) Will I get: Maybe
cant go wrong with a bit of piano. way too long loved the jazz tho.
Hypnotized me!
A very interesting and pleasant listening experience. Never listened to this kind of music before so it was good to get out of my comfort zone. Fav Songs Hard to rank since it's a live improv album so it's more just one big song Is it Top 1001 Worthy (is it essential)? Maybe, it's a very nice listen with a very interesting story but I wouldn't call it mandatory, would recommend if you like the style though.
A great jazz pianist. Was interested on the first couple of numbers but grew bored with it as it progressed. The piano was never one of my favorite instruments.
Nudy.
Interesting. I liked it.
Beautiful backstory and great album
lovely piano music for when one needs that
That's kind of piano that I needed
Great Songs: Köln, January 24, 1975, Pt. II B Good Songs: Köln, January 24, 1975, Pt. I, Köln, January 24, 1975, Pt. II A, Köln, January 24, 1975, Pt. II C Mid Songs: Bad Songs:
Truly great
Beautifully done.
It was enjoyable to listen to and good piano playing, but I am not going to look for it again. Standard Jazz 3 stars
Zalig!
Heel leuk! Eens iets anders, wel soms wat storende elementen