The Köln Concert

Not something I’d seek out, but serious talent on display

relaxing and nice

Who doesn't love some chill piano music?

Great background music. I wish it wasn't live though, only because I don't want the jarring audience applause when I am listening to fine piano work.

Kann man gut laufen lassen, aber wo jetzt die Genialität ist, weiß ich nicht. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This album was great and just the change up I needed in this challenge. Beautiful tunes and incredible improv

Muy denso y emocional

9 / 10

It’s a hour on piano improvisation so that’s cool. Maybe I’m not classy enough to totally get this album but to me it’s just another full piano album. After a bit it’s hard to focus on it and it ends up as background music.

7.5/10

I'm always curious why certain albums get popular within the public consciousness. The Koln Concert was the best-selling solo jazz album in history, not that I know who the other contenders for that title are, other than it would have to be another piano player, right? Can't imagine solo drums charting very well. But this was a relatively big thing for jazz in the mid-70s and I'm mostly curious how that happened. The circumstances were hardly ideal. The wrong piano was provided, a rehearsal piano that had to be tuned for several hours to make it even playable and it apparently sounded like crap at the highest and lowest registers and the pedals didn't work. Jarrett himself wasn't feeling great, nursing a back injury. Also, the concert was at 11:30 at night. Who starts a concert that late? The seventies were a weird time. Jarrett's a great pianist and one capable of making this car crash of a baby grand sound great, although the problems with the piano do explain why he mostly confines himself to the middle register. But achievements aside, the question is whether or not it's an engaging listen or just serviceable background music, and the answer, I'm happy to say, is definitely the former. Jarrett isn't content to just sit back playing pretty melodies, instead vamping over set chords throughout and doing interesting things with them. This is proper jazz music, not instrumental pop, not easy listening. It is not instrumental music to accompany you while you're studying. I should know, I tried to do other things while listening and kept getting drawn back into the music. And to be clear, that's a good thing! This also isn't some Cecil Taylor level of atonality that might put you off. Jarrett is rhythmic and soulful in his playing, creating interesting textures throughout. That he did it under such trying circumstances is a credit to his skill and adaptability, but you won't have to care about that. What matters is that it's a great listen.

Wonderful piano, cool story, I'd be pissed too

Extremely impressive when you know the story behind it, overall just very very good.

This one is great. 4 stars

Before: Hhmm, wasn't expecting this one. My mom had this album back in the late 70's and I listened to it many times. I have not listed to it since then. During: Some incredible playing for sure but it's not the kind of thing I usually listen to. At some points I'm wondering, how may many hands does that dude have? After : I didn't know about the back story until I started reading the reviews. I get it now why so much of this sounded like improv. I'm giving it a 4. Sure, it deserves a 5 but it's not something I really enjoy listening to that much.

Nice background music for studying or doing work. Really solid album.

Didn’t know this one before I started and needed a few goes to get my head around it (and am still probably some way off completing the task). Beautiful rhythms and movements, it’s hard to fathom it’s a spontaneous performance.

This is tough to rate. Its a well-crafted piece of music with a fascinating backstory that makes it even more impressive. That said, an hour long solo piano performance is a tough sell. On personal enjoyment I'd give it a 3 but I'll give it an extra point for circumstances under which it was created.

Repeat

muy relajante, interesante

This was a very good piano improve album. I enjoyed this alot. It's kind of something you need to sit and meditate with a bit, but it's very worthwhile if you do. Nice.

Amazing

Quite special

Fascinante 1 hr y 6 min de pura improvisación con Piano? Eso es una locura Además de que el concierto casi no ocurre por múltiples razones La historia detrás del concierto ya por si sola es muy buena. Ya cuando entramos en materia musical, se percibe como Keith está en un proceso de adaptación con el piano defectuoso y viejo que tenía a su disposición, como buscaba domarlo, y cuando se llega a la parte II B, minuto 14 se percibe la paz y la victoria de todo lo que se había hecho hasta el momento El álbum me dió mucho que pensar y mucha admiración hacia el artista Repetible totalmente

Very relaxing, but also lively. Reminded me a lot of Mannheim Steamroller's "Fresh Aire" albums.

Absolutely beautiful, especially so with the context of Jarrett playing this at the request of a young fan, on a broken down, shoddy piano which was the only equipment avalible.

Very good

Dope

Great for in the car during rush hour.

That all of this the fullness of this album is just one guy improving on a crappy, practice piano is nuts.

The background story to this and the resulting performance is astounding really. This is an artist, story and album I'd no clue about until today. Amazing.

4.4 What has two thumbs and is going to smoke a joint, lie on their living room floor and blast this next time I have an afternoon to myself? This guy!

Phenomenal. Dude was cooking with gas

Sublime, what an experience. Mid 4s.

Kliver upp och stumt improviserar. Extremt äkta av maestro. Det vackraste är ju nästan ljuden han själv gör av sin egen känslighet. Omöjligt att blunda för skickligheten men det blir eeeen aning bjäring efter 26 minuter på två ackord, oavsett hur sjuk Keith är. Precis som med Kind of Blue lär ju dock poängen vara vad han gör med dom.

Did not expect to like this. But I honestly really did. It’s beautiful!

Vastly different from everything else I've seen on here so far. Just beautifully done.

This is FANTASTIC. How I had gone the last 50 years without hearing this is a mystery. About 4 minutes in I started looking for a copy of this on vinyl. THIS is what should be on a list like this.

This has been a lot better than what I expected. I mean, the guy can play, jesus. The fact that this is all improvised is extremely impressive, and even more so now I've read the story about how he ended up having to use a very poor piano that wasn't really fit for performance purposes. I saw the term "jazz" and expected just a bunch of noodling around being technical but not musical (apologies jazz fans if I'm wrong - I'm not well versed with jazz but this is the impression I can get). However this couldn't have been further from that. It was technically amazing but the way he blends so much emotion into it is very well done. The way he progresses each piece and often sort of dances around before continuing on. In truth this is just a lovely listen.

Zum Teil zu übertrieben. An ein paar Stellen etwas gefühlvoller gespielt, und es wäre perfekt gewesen.

Great concert recording. Especially the first track is stunningly good. I guess i have to check out the movie Köln 75 now, that touches on the time and the young woman who organized this gig.

great

Having never heard of Keith Jarrett, this was a really pleasant surprise, though the fact I had the Residents yesterday probably also helps, after which almost anything would seem transcendently beautiful… Joking aside, much of this album genuinely was beautiful, and I was amazed by Jarrett’s ability to improvise so brilliantly. Despite being classed as jazz, to my (albeit untrained) ear this seems overly simple; I hear lots of classical influences. This might also be an example of how knowing an album’s backstory can enhance my enjoyment of it (the Wikipedia article is a fun read). Definitely one I’ll revisit.

A classic!! Seems like every woman I dated in college had this album—on vinyl, of course!!

POPPY! NOT MY FAVORITE BUT HAS TO BE SENTIMENTALLY A FO!

Sweet piano playing.

The fact that none of this was written in advance and that Keith Jarrett just made this up on the spot on stage is incredible alone, but the fact that along with that it’s very good is just astounding. The fact he was able to create such emotive motifs and compose them in thin air is incredible, and I found myself constantly impressed by the emotions the music would conjure. That first track really is something, and definitely the emotional core of this album, but that doesn’t mean the other ones are bad. So impressed by this.

A remarkable musician, 80 minutes of extended improvising. Heavy going and quite immersive, and an insight into spontaneous creativity with an underlying structure and method.

Only listened to the first song and a half (so basically half an hour) and I was surprised at how amazing it was. Don't need over an hour of it though

Starting out slower than I thought, not crazy 'jazz' piano but more peaceful. Good background music, this guy can slap some keys.

Beautiful best paired with a cold morning snuggled up with a tea and book

Not a classical or piano music listener at all, but this is was a nice experience, esp Part I. Loved hearing all the stomps, the vocalisations, just pure emotion flowing on the piano. While Part I felt very dynamic, Part II was a bit tiresome, as the underlying rhythm melody felt a little too repetitive. Overall, a good experience, def would think about grabbing this on vinyl if i saw one

An improvisational wonder.

This may be one of my favorite listens in this project. I love the exuberant live performance, and you can hear Keith Jarret vocalizing during crescendos which is highly effective in hearing how vital he feels that moment of the music is. 4.5

Kind of a different sound than what I thought I was in for. It's very good though.

I really, really enjoyed this. I also admire the talent it takes to do this live, but I will say, the occasional moaning pulled me out of it juuust a little bit.

Very pretty and relaxing. Fit well with the cold weather I think. I loved hearing the applause honesty it added to the experience. Still a little boring but my attention span is probably to blame.

I remember hearing snippets of this on FM in 1975 and thought it was pretty. Then I heard Patti Smith and the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, and that was it for me and pretty music for a long time. I assumed this was just going to be snoozy New Age crap. It's not. It swings and drives and drifts compellingly for most of the journey. There must be a half-dozen throwaway melodies here that REM could've made into songs, plus others that could've been chopped up into Top 40 hits sprinkled amid blues and pop and some jazz and some classical influences. I'm sorry I wrote off Jarrett for all these years.

I was quite taken by this immediately and enjoyed it till maybe P. II B which felt like it has less direction. Overall still impressed with this, in general I find piano music super boring and this maintained interest without feeling challenging constantly.

Favorite songs: Pt. II A, Pt. II B

Wow! This was an excellent listen. What a talent! Though I must admit, every time his vocalization came through it took me out of the experience. Still a solid 8/10.

Jazzy PIANO, j’apprecie

An excellent Jazz piano album, made even more excellent by the story behind it. Albums like this are why I keep doing this project, even after a full week of British rock

Lovely to listen to

Was excellent. Hard to have "saves" with a piano concert but would listen again

Didn’t have a chance to listen to it all. Will finish today.

Good

Not my style, but very beautiful ;) 7,3/10

esta bien pero tantísimo tiempo no hace falta

wonderful! i think its an album that i enjoyed more after knowing the background behind it. its crazy that the whole thing improvised, with conditions that would make me jump off a cliff- instead of banging out one hour of beautiful piano jazz

This had never been on my Radar and was a pleasant surprise indeed. I doubt I would ever had heard it without the 1001 albums project. Exquisite piano playing improvisations across an hour from a Live Solo one-off concert really impressed me. Whilst described as Jazz I thought this felt almost classical in many places (though maybe not the whelps and grunts that suggested how much Jarrett was getting into this performance himself). I listened to both the original recording and the 50th anniversary master. This album is a great listen without knowing anything about it but once you start reading the backstory the improvisations take on a whole new relevance and it adds to the overall appreciation of the album. It’s worth a read. No spoilers here. I know some will think the backstory shouldn’t change what you think of the music but for me I am a whole package person and it’s all part of the art. If you’ve appreciated the Divorce Album or enjoyed an album because you knew about creative tensions of the band or understood what pharmaceuticals or personal demons then appreciating the context under how this recording was made is no different. Will I play this new discovery again - Yes

Classic jazz piano... Such a random album I didn't expect to find on this list. Super good but I love piano music to begin with.

beautiful piano

so so beautiful

This first piece was not for me but it seemed as I got past the first one the next two pieces were more to my liking. The playing is brilliant. Just beautiful music that is soulful and heartfelt. This is one of my favorite albums I have listened to so far. A cohesive brilliance harmony and melodies are evoking emotions in me that I can’t explain. A really good album. I could listen to it again.

The playing is fantastic. It is something you have to commit time to and listen to the whole thing, which would make repeat listens a little tough. 3.5/5 Might listen again

Lovely piano music. An enjoyable listen. Perhaps good for background music in a relaxing setting.

Very lovely album. I wouldn't have known it was a sub-par piano if I hadn't just read about it. He handled it very well.

Beautiful. A piece of history.

Listened to it at the HNL museum of art, relaxing

At first listen, it kind of put me off guard. Yes, the playing is incredible, but it didn't stick to me. However, when you learn more about Jarrett and the buildup to this concert, it all comes together. They even made a film about it. All in all, the playing is beautiful, the fact that it's all improvised for the entire playthrough is something else. Incredible!

Is me thinking this is increible background music a reflection of my impatience? Pian-i RYM: Y (#882) Saved a song: N

Pretty good

un clásico en mi casa porque es de los favs de mi jefe. no sé si es nostalgia o qué, pero me encanta. y el soundtrack de monsters inc no sería nada sin este concierto!

soul jazz

beautiful

nice but just feel like the jazz on this list is so goofy and specific

Captivating, soulful, beautiful all the way through.

The only time I love hearing a LIVE album is under these circumstances

This man can play piano like a madman

This is an incredible achievement and an incredible story. I can’t quite get past the moaning to really love it but I’m go glad I listened to it!

Im not educated enough to know the difference between a 5 star and a 4 star jazz album. I enjoyed it

Wonderful 4/5

Really good. More "pop" piano than Jazz, but pure improvisation and remarkably melodic themes pop in and out throughout. As the only solo piano album on the list so far, I'm thinking that maybe more pianos should be de-tuned and forced to be played by jazz masters (if you don't know the story of this album, definitely look it up)!

Will return to this, incredible to work To

peaceful

When it's an hour of just piano, it's hard for me to get into it. But somehow it was so well done that I actually enjoyed myself. There weren't many dull moments and it felt very emotive

Not my usual listening, but it was an excellent chill album

Such a calming relaxing album!

3.5

Mesmerizing piano playing! Wonderful! 4.5 stars

Super talent

It’s a great album but I have to admit Jarrett’s noodling and noises whilst charming detracts from the focus.

This is great, I was going to give a 3 but after reading the back story, a bonus point for being 🤯improvised🤯 on a bad piano. Pretty mind blowing. But I'd argue this this is more classical than jazz and as such I'm not sure it's place is on this list?

This is great to put on when you want to concentrate - it doesn't go anywhere specific and when you catch on to where it might be going, he changes - with long spells of skilled improvisation but more new age than jazz to me. Piano for piano's sake.

The yelling when he’s really feeling it is good stuff.

Only great piano can make you moan that much

It probably says a lot about me that although I've heard of Keith Jarrett (and even own a Jarrett/Peacock/DeJohnette album), I've never heard of this, the world's best-selling piano album. Nor did I really understand until I read the entries on this album that the entire hour-plus session is a master class in pure improvisation from start to finish. I have no idea where he got his inspiration, but it was a lot of fun to listen to the various parts of this album, and hearing him audibly enjoy what he was playing. It's also amazing to read (mainly in the Wikipedia entry) about how ill-fated this session was. The most striking aspect is of course that the Opera House staff and the 18-year-old promoter completely botched the piano selection, providing an old and out-of-tune practice baby grand piano that was apparently so weak and bad that Jarrett had to change his whole approach and played mainly on the middle keys to avoid the weakest parts of the piano. And he had little sleep, little food and a bad back on top of all of that. It makes you wonder what might have been if things had gone to plan....

Lush, inspiring, bonkers

This was great.

Beautiful album, enjoy this for work but as it’s limited in usability for me it stays off the highest tier

Absolutely stunning.

Do you like listening to a world class pianist vibe on a piano? Then this album is for you. All piano, all the time. He's good at it. Good background music for a fancy dinner party.

This is good.

Me gustó, muy ambiental y para estar en casa a la mañana. Nota: 3.9

It’s really beautiful and I feel like there are so many ways to listen to this - background, half-engaged, fully-engaged and can hear something different everytime. Just love the skill, the phases, the feel, the pleasure and would always have something new. And would never have come across this otherwise. One track in and already ready for more (and to listen to the first track again, already) And the structure and phases of each track are fantastic. Really build a journey and get sucked into it and it’s magic. Lots of lovely turns and hooks. Love hearing his little chirps every so often. Enjoyed the third track the least. Felt a little more disjointed, endless and dissonant, feeling a touch more tense listening to it. And fourth track also maybe a touch inferior. Got the gold in 1 & 2

Pure music!

Now THIS is interesting! This might actually be the most interesting album I've gotten from this list all year. This is a recording of a live solo piano performance that was entirely improvised by Keith Jarrett. The context behind this one is super interesting. Apparently the piano that he had to play on kinda sucked, which makes the high quality of this performance all the more impressive. Yeah, I really enjoyed listening to this. I will say that it's probably more suited for background music than a full-focus album, but that doesn't mean there aren't things to appreciate here. You can tell that Keith Jarrett was really good at piano. Like, this might be some of the best piano playing I've ever heard. His fingers must be pretty fast. The chord progressions and such are sonically captivating and demonstrate a number of cool musical ideas that I'm not enough of a music theory nerd to understand. And he gets into it too! You can hear him reacting to what he's playing and it does a great job of making the performance feel special. I will say that it is pretty long and isn't the most exciting thing to listen to, but I still think that this was a worthwhile way to spend an hour of my time. You know, in addition to the Balatro run that I had going while I listened to this. Light 4/5.

Pretty good! Definitely a passive listen at times due to the length but even when focusing on what's being played there is a lot to offer. 4 stars.

Beautiful.

This was great. I listen to a lot of classical music during the work day and particularly like piano pieces (I get that this is more jazz than classical). His playing is incredible and he has some cool variations on themes throughout the piece. My only quibble, which makes this a 4 star is that there is a fair bit of background noise in the concert hall which comes through on the recording (reading after writing this tells me that is actually him making the noises while playing)

This is what this project is all about for me - would probably have never known of or listened to this on my own (despite playing piano myself and this being, apparently, the best selling solo piano album ever?) His playing is so impressive, especially for an extended improvisation, and he finds these mesmerizing sort of grooves in parts. Runs that display his virtuosity but also slow and atmospheric vibes as well. Very cool chord voicings (I heard some echoes of this in Hornsby's playing). Really really enjoyed this one.

Masterful piano playing & improvisation. Great tunes. I’ll have to give this another listen or three before it can come to the desert island with me. But i *will* listen to it because it’s so interesting and i know there’s more to discover. A classic 4.

When you have the right kind of performer, improvisation can be really impressive. In the case of Keith Jarrett's Koln concert, it was never the plan. A series of errors led to Jarrett not having the piano he needed for the planned show. After nearly pulling out, he was convinced that the show must go on. It's one thing to go into a concert knowing that you'd be creating as you went along but it's particularly impressive to know that it was a last minute decision. The music is beautiful and must have been exciting for the audience to hear for the first time. As an album, it's more background music than anything but it has some gorgeous moments. It would be worth revisiting this some day.

Really cool. This is totally new for me, will listen again. 4.25 stars

Not actually my favorite from Jarrett but a great album

Nice to have something a bit different. Good for concentration

I liked this as I listen to classical to help me sleep when I'm anxious

Perhaps the story behind the album is better than the album itself. At times, the music reminded me of Minecraft (in a good way - fond memories of playing with the kiddo) and it was nice. 4/5

I found it kind of hard to rate this album. It's so different from everything else I've listened to so far. The story behind this album is interesting. The piano is beautiful and it's amazing that the whole concert was improvised. The songs were really joyous although it did get a little repetitive.

Great jazz record

I'm not sure if I would call this Jazz, but it's still an interesting album. I was expecting more dissonance and tension for some reason, but it was still good. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I love Jarrett's vocalizations as he really gets into his improvising. Liked Songs Added: Köln, January 24, 1975, Part II b

Spirit, beauty - evolving over and over and over..........

4.5 πολυ καλό μόνο πιανο

Really enjoyed this

I was already familiar with this album. It is a solo piano performance, but I feel like that kind of undersells how good it is. It contains a good deal of improvisation which I appreciate, but is cohesive and tells a story in the music. I would listen to this again for sure.

The name sounds somewhat familiar but never listened to him before. Legit really fascinating, ahead of a concert he was hungry, had a backache, and the only readily available piano was of poor quality. He still gave an hour's worth of improvisation that could work with the piano's limitations, to great applause. I love these "lemons into lemonade" stories so this definitely will stick with me

Good piano, I might even relisten.

Супер класика, залюбки переслухав

Sauceometer: Upper Borderline Vibe: staring out a suite while holding a glass of whiskey pondering your actions that got you where you are today What was I doing: showering/commuting to TJ's Favorite Song(s): N/A Blurb: As good as a classical album can be but it does all blend together a little and isn't an album you can listen to whenever

very enjoyable to have on in the background. 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A beautiful tool for the musical toolbox. Creative, calming.

This album is exactly what this generator is all about. Such a joy.

Damn, this guy is good at playing his instruments. Very good. After over an hour I still didn't get enough.

Including 2mins of applause is a power move. Loved the piano, the noises of effort and being in the zone. Runs tickle ears

8.3/10 i love concerts! first time i’ve heard of this guy, and was very impressed. will be listening to more of his stuff for sure

“The Köln Concert” is a live recording of improvisational pianist Keith Jarrett. While it was certainly exciting to listen to without knowing what to expect that evening, I would classify the recording as somewhere between easy listening and deep focus. Jarrett's broad stylistic repertoire means that the music shifts between different styles and is therefore mostly unpredictable. On the other hand, he manages to weave influences from romanticism to jazz into a harmonious whole without any real breaks. I find it challenging to rate because there are only a few comparable albums on the list—most likely other concert recordings such as “Live at the Regal” by B.B. King. In this context, my conclusion would be something like “nice, but not groundbreaking.”

Beautiful piano ballad, perfect hour long track

<span style="color:blue"> Beautiful textures and layers of harmony. I enjoyed the changes in tempo and style throughout the first track. The album is made even more enjoyable and impressive knowing the backstory of this concert. There is admittedly a lot of repetition and heavy use of ostenato, but I personally really enjoy repetitive musical ideas that morph over time so this album really did it for me. I knew of Keith Jarrett, but I'm surprised I hadn't heard this album before. Also just psyched to have some jazz on here. Bonus: the phrase that starts at 3:30 into the first track ends with The Lick™ </span>

This was such a beautiful live performance. There were so many points that you could hear the improvisation

Awsome piano

I came into this album totally cold. I read the Wikipedia to get some idea about what kind of music this was and to see the running time. While I am not a fan of this style of music and even more so feel incapable of rating this in comparison to its peers, I can rate it with the other almost 200 albums I've heard on this lost thus far. I am really impressed. I like the spontaniety and the parts where you can hear Keith grunting and stomping make this more than I would have anticipated. Really well done album with a cool backstory.

3.5+/5

I really liked it. It's a bit long, but the general flow of it al was gripping. Really nice!

t’s hypnotic: sometimes whispering, sometimes pounding, always teetering between fragility and grandeur. It feels like listening to someone dream in real time. Rating: 5/5 Short Review: Proof that genius can be born from inconvenience; the wrong piano, the right night. Favorite Track: Part I — the opening cascades sound like sunlight finding cracks in a cathedral.

This Album is a phenomenal body of work! I felt immersed in the room as if I was at The KOLN Concert. I’m going to continue down the Keith Jarrett trail. Great Album

Hidden Gem!

beautiful. loved the background noise

The story behind this performance is remarkable and reflected in my rating.

Interesting back story and the piano playing is insane!

ok, this was objectively beautiful <3 I'm glad I heard this album. I think I need to listen to it many times to fully get it.

yeah!

really beautiful and impressive! just maybe not in the mood for piano always but if i am, this would be it.

A bit too cerebral for my tastes. That being said, I suppose this album/music has it time and place. I can't judge whether his playing is phenomenal or not, but for just over an hour I was engaged enough to lose myself in his playing. I'll definitely listen to this again, right time and all.

The album itself is enjoyable, but the backstory is what really makes this album. This is exactly the type of music that I’m glad this list has shown me, as there is no way I would have ever heard or found out about this otherwise.

Definitely an interesting and unique listen. You can hear and feel the man's soul pouring out of him. 4/5 #186

Loved this. Great backstory.

A gorgeous peice, the entire hour is fantastic. Not my usual go to but I could sit and listen to it if in the right place.

I enjoyed it! I felt myself getting somewhat lost in the tracks, but it was impressive.

Hienoa soitantaa.

Oikein miellyttävää kuultavaa!

Headphones required Sonic waves rise, shift, recede Breadth of life from keys

Good

At first I thought it was nice background music with a nice story, but I really enjoyed it more the longer it went on, fantastic listen

pretty classic, calm

Dette var fint. Får nesten dårlig samvittighet for at jeg bruker jazz som bakgrunnsmusikk, men det er i det minste fin bakgrunnsmusikk.

Good thing. I mean, it's allright.

Nice

4.2/the reviews for this really made it seem like the moaning was gonna be way worse. a nice piece of piano, pretty enjoyable

I enjoyed that. To be honest when I started the project I thought there would be more like this.

A good album, and while I know it's an important and landmark record, it does not resonate as much to me because it does not swing like bop and post-bob records and does not have the tension and dissonance that like in most free-jazz type records (e.g. Cecil Taylor). It feels a little pretty for me.

Very relaxing listen while I work my menial job.

A lovely live performance from a master of his craft.

background. chill. not bad.

Undeniably a work of art. While I'm not a big piano fan it was lovely to listen to (no matter how intimidating a 26 minute song is lol). Reading the the other reviews detailing Keith Jarrett's creative process was so awe inspiring and just reminded me how cool music is. Definitely a high 4 from me!

Day 46 First listen- Learning about the background of this album makes me respect Keith and everyone else involved so much! The album itself was majestic and I am stunned and speechless with tears. (4.5/5)

It was nice piano thingies! Would be great to have on in the background

Gutes Solo Album an einem klapprigen Piano mit unvergesslicher Story. Gerne mal Wiederhören.

Fascinating - solo piano concert, but with some really bluesy, honky tonk style links mixed in with the more traditional classical type styles. Admittedly, it runs out of ideas by the end, but a great example of how much you can do with one instrument. A low 4.

Nice

Some delicious jazz to fill my soul today. Remarkable that this is all improv. Blows my frickin mind. Very delightful stuff :)

Enjoyed it and the story behind it is great. Not sure it is one of my top ones though

lovely

i don’t often listen to concertos so my room for judgement is pretty limited but i didn’t flat out hate anything

I’ve never personally sought out to listen to a solo jazz piano album. I’m shocked at how talented this musician is

Niiice.

Improvised piano

Nice study music

Soft, melodic. To my shame, I knew nothing about this previously.

Fantastic

Okay this would be a 3 if not for the backstory, which is very cool. Props to Mr. Jarrett for that. The piano is pretty solid as far as I can tell, just not my thing.

Incredibly annoyed guy has Murphy’s Law happening repeatedly to him over the course of a few days, shows up to a concert in Germany to find out he has to use a much worse rehearsal piano than the one he wanted, absolutely crushes the performance anyway, leaves.

the most context dependent album so far. good if you listen to it under the exact right circumstances.

love the way he moans occasionally

Piano impro

Woahwawoah

It is absolutely insane that this was 1) entirely improved, 2) live, 3) last minute under unexpected and challenging circumstances. Hearing his voice come through was so human! This is the type of album from this that I love because I would never have known about him on my own.

I don't have the musical language to adequately tell you what's lovely about this recording but it is. It's lovely and it's peaceful -- two things that you would not expect out of Keith Jarrett if you read about the circumstances of this concert. This is a wonderful introduction and I'll seek out more of Jarrett's recordings. 4/5

Absolute masterclass of a piano performance

This is hard one to judge - I’m not sure how to categorize it. An entertaining listen for sure and clearly the man plays mean piano but it’s not really piano music, classical, jazz (as I understand it) or rock. I can’t imagine a venue where I’d put this on. It’s not really fancy car date night appropriate. It’s too fast for dinner party. It’s not jazzy enough to rock out to. 5/5 for performance but 3/5 for not sure I’ll ever listen again / can’t figure out where to put it. I’ll give it a 4 to encourage relisten later.

Me pareció algo súper personal o íntimo. Obviamente el hecho de que sea live le da ese toque (sobre todo por los ruidos de fondo), por lo que puedo imaginar que haber escuchado esto en vivo pudo llegar a ser una experiencia muy cercana hacia Keith. Tiene un agregado especial el que sea una improvisación de más de una hora. Esto hace que, a pesar de no ser un álbum con ideas predefinidas, sea algo que en general suena compacto y directo. Guardé las 4 canciones. Nota: 4.5/5

Por primera vez tengo la oportunidad de escuchar un proyecto de solo jazz, y para muchos, The Koln Concert es lo mejor de lo mejor A pesar de en momentos ser repetitivos, el trasfondo detras de esa repeticion es sacar el maximo provecho de una limitacion tecnica, y la ejecucion es espectacular. Un disco bonito y la gente en la audiencia se nota que lo disfruto, porque se logran escuchar gritos de emocion. Viva el jazz! Mi nota es un 7.5-8/10

klavier prog/jazz

Beautiful jazz piano playing. This is an amazing and relaxing album.

Beautiful, if a bit distracting with the slight vocals present on the recording.

Piano.. All piano

for my first EMC Jazz album, it's pretty nice. The piano soloing is pleasant and doesn't feel like it's too much in the cool jazz territory that usually puts me off with some jazz I've heard. I think the history behind this album also complements what you hear, since it explains some of how Keith plays. Generally, really good!

Really nice improv piano. Jazz usually leaves me bored, but this was easy to listen to. Maybe because the improv part is jazz, but the sound is more modern (contemporary?) classical. I'm not sure it's something I will come back to, but I enjoyed it.

4 songs only!??!

That was.... awesome?!? Best Song: Pt.2 C Rating: 7/10 Stars: 4/5

I mean? I’m only 6 minutes in and I already love it. But I’m into jazz. Love hearing new to me great jazz albums.

Hes pretty good at the piano

Loved the random yelling and noises from what I assume was audience. Piano is beautiful but second or third one was too repetitive.

A perfect piano solo.

Really lovely stuff 4

Great

We don't have enough of this type of music in modern popular culture. More please!

Cool. The story behind it is kind of amazing.

Klasse Piano!

# Album Name: The Koln Concert # Artist: Keith Jarrett # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: A very peaceful and enjoyable album. Interesting back story too. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? Yes

4.5 stars. Stunning live solo album by world-class pianist, incredible improv.

Sorti en 1975 sur le label ECM, le double album live "The Köln Concert" de Keith Jarrett est l'enregistrement d'un concert en piano solo entièrement improvisé, donné à l'Opéra de Cologne (Köln) en Allemagne. Il est devenu l'album de piano solo le plus vendu de tous les temps, et l'un des albums de jazz les plus vendus de l'histoire. Le concert du 24 janvier 1975 a failli ne jamais avoir lieu. Keith Jarrett, alors âgé de 29 ans, était exténué. Il souffrait de terribles douleurs au dos et n'avait pas dormi depuis plusieurs nuits. Pour ne rien arranger, le piano qui l'attendait sur scène n'était pas celui qu'il avait demandé. Au lieu d'un majestueux Bösendorfer 290 Imperial, il a découvert un petit piano à queue de répétition, désaccordé, avec des notes aiguës stridentes, des basses faibles et des pédales qui ne fonctionnaient pas correctement. Furieux et épuisé, Jarrett menaça d'annuler. Ce n'est que grâce à la persévérance acharnée de la jeune organisatrice du concert, Vera Brandes (alors âgée de 17 ans), qu'il accepta finalement de jouer. Les techniciens firent de leur mieux pour accorder l'instrument, mais le piano restait de piètre qualité. C'est de ce chaos et de cette adversité qu'allait naître un moment de grâce musicale absolue. Contraint par les limitations de l'instrument, Jarrett a dû adapter son jeu. Pour compenser le son métallique des aigus et le manque de résonance des basses, il s'est concentré sur le registre médium du clavier, développant des ostinatos (motifs répétitifs) puissants et des figures rythmiques dans la main gauche pour donner du coffre à la musique. Cette contrainte a forcé Jarrett à explorer de nouvelles voies, à puiser au plus profond de lui-même pour faire chanter ce piano récalcitrant. Le concert est une improvisation totale, divisée en deux longues parties (Part I et Part IIa/b) suivies d'un court rappel (Part IIc). Jarrett y déploie un langage musical unique, fusionnant des éléments de jazz, de musique classique, de gospel et de folk. La musique ondule, passant de passages méditatifs et lyriques à des explosions d'énergie rythmique et virtuose. On peut entendre Jarrett gémir et chanter en jouant, une de ses marques de fabrique, témoignant de son immersion totale dans la musique. Les rires du public, audibles au début de la "Part I", ne sont pas une moquerie, mais une réaction surprise et charmée par la mélodie enfantine que Jarrett joue pour commencer, inspirée par la sonnerie de l'Opéra annonçant le début du spectacle. À sa sortie, "The Köln Concert" a connu un succès critique et commercial phénoménal et inattendu. L'album a touché un public bien au-delà des cercles habituels du jazz. Sa beauté mélodique accessible, sa profondeur émotionnelle et l'histoire fascinante de sa création ont contribué à son statut d'œuvre culte. Au final, ce sera une note de 4 sur 5 due essentiellement à la nature même de l'improvisation totale. Si l'album contient des sommets d'inspiration vertigineux, il n'échappe pas à quelques longueurs. Par moments, on sent le pianiste chercher son chemin, se reposer sur des vamps et des répétitions qui, si elles installent une atmosphère, frôlent parfois l'étirement. Dans ce long flux ininterrompu, certains passages semblent moins essentiels, moins inspirés que d'autres. Ce sont de petites vallées entre des montagnes majestueuses.

I really enjoyed this!

This was a perfect listen for a Sunday morning. Way more enjoyable than I expected from reading about it. Melodic, and enough variation to keep it from being monotonous for an hour long listen.

I really enjoyed this. I felt like it helped me remain calm and slowed me down - in a good way.

Favorites: Part I, Part IIa, Part IIb It's really easy to admire the genius level of improvisation in The Köln Concert, especially considering Jarrett's influence in minimalist electronic and jazz music as we know it today. Stunning and alluring, and it's often difficult to tell that this was a live performance.

Surprisingly good listen. Hearing that this album was just piano I was expecting to be pretty bored but the intricacies and melodies here are really nice to listen to 8/10 Favourite: Part 1 Least Favourite: None

Wow! I didn’t have high expectations for this one. Some bloke noodling away on an old piano, even if that bloke is Keith Jarrett! But again wow absolutely stunning, musical genius in its purist form!

hell yes, legenden på jazzpiano og flygelet som ikke hadde alle tangenter som fungerte. tror ikke jeg har hørt konserten, faktisk. Det er ganske nice. Drømmende, glemmer at alt er tatt i et take. Fuck han er god

A really good album that I didn't expect to like as much as I did. Perfect to have on in the background and I enjoyed the different paces of the songs. It's probably a little too much piano in one sitting for me but man this was good. 8/10 (4/5)

Better and better the more I listened to it. The way it takes shape as he plays was pretty amazing.

I went in to this album having no idea what it was or to expect, because I have to admit in my relatively surface-level knowledge of jazz, pianists are not artists I dwell on very much if at all. I was very pleasantly surprised by what was in store for me. I don't really have anything insightful to say about this album. I felt like it strikes a very successful balance of meandering and intense so as to both provide space for introspection and command your attention and thought, which is what I love about a good jazz record. Some really cool chord progressions. Definitely has replay value.

Wow! Totally caught off guard and surprised by this. Not sure I’d call it jazz more contemporary classical? I get hits of Rachel’s and post rock piano crossed with thelonious monk. Then I read it was all improvised?!? Brilliant!

Fantastic playing to my ears but I’m not very good at piano. The ideas he really rides here are super fun, I wish this was the kind of playing people lined up to see and smile to more

There's just something about this is just can't place but its enjoyable. I'm guessing it's all improvised so quite impressive

A classic!

An amazing jazz piano album with wonderful improvisation and a surreal mythos.

It was a bit of a journey, enjoyable but couldn’t listen every day it was that intense.

A guy noodling away for an hour, to make great background music.

Really enjoyed this, felt like somehow familiar, perhaps it's inspired many later songs. Will listen again, good option for background music without the distraction of lyrics

Very pleasant album and dude is ridiculously good at his craft

Cant believe i've go to this age and never heard this. Fantastic piece of beautiful music. Wow.

I liked this more than I expected. It is really cool piano music and the story behind it is also quite special.

I missed my subway stop x2, engrossed listening

Excellent album and groundbreaking for its time that it deserves its place as the best selling piano album.

Really really solid stuff. beautiful melodies throughout the entire album and it’s fantastic the entire way through

I listened first, then read the Wiki - improvised !?! This is a beautiful captured moment of extraordinary musical virtuosity. Whether or not this is your type of music, it is absolutely something you need to hear, and I am glad the list made room for it.

Cool record. First time listening to it since 'you'll hear it' doing facing you. That helped me understand Keith Jarets thing a bit more. Some really beautiful transitions between parts. Harmonicaly complex, completely improvised, but often doesn't feel like jazz - the swing I guess. Must listen to it more.

MEga fire live koncert hvor han åbenbart får leveret det forkerte klavér, han er mega meget i smerter og det tvinger ham til at spille på en helt anden måde og det er stadig totalt improviseret det hele. Føles virkelig organisk og livligt og at man selv er tilstede og at det nærmest er skrevet til én selv. Næsten helt filmisk.

Quite beautiful

a truly beautiful album. this is the kind of stuff i really appreciate being in this list. its super wonderful to listen to. its almost like through this piece, its like seeing a friend after a lot of time has passed. this album has such a unique way of wrapping you up in it, and holding you close throughout its runtime. beautiful, majestic, and simply wonderful.

Incredible musicianship and even more impressive that this was recorded live. Without knowing any significance behind this performance or album I still feel comfortable giving it a four.

Loved it!

I'm here for unique, pleasant music like this.

great for the work day

Great melodic music for work

Lovely sound and vibe, amazing piano work

This was sick. I like the improvisation of the piano. He kind of takes this into some really rad movements. It builds and crashes and goes on side quests. I loved it.

К сожалению, я не умею подробно описывать впечатления от музыки, поэтому скажу просто - альбом неожиданно интересный и слушается на ура. 7 из 10.

Hard to believe that this is one person playing all this and that it was all improvised as well. It is definitely impressive for sure

Really beautiful piano concert

I did not realize until the end of the first track, that it had been one continuous track-26 minutes long! So yeah, this is a piano concert album, it's not bad. It was a beautiful album, very peaceful. I enjoyed it. Yesterday's album and today's album both generated AMAZING algorithm based playlists after they finished playing on Spotify. That's the goal of this whole endeavor, to escape the algorithm dead-end.

Shame about the recording quality, the artistry is stunning, given the circumstances of this concert its a truely amazing piece

A very interesting story around this album but it's enjoyable and makes for a nice mood. 3.5*

Very nice! Fun, playful, interesting, instrumental piano stuff. I'd give it five stars if it didn't have the annoying cheering and stuff in the background. I DO NOT like a live album for this very reason.

I acknowledge just how good the piano playing is here. It was nice, relaxing, beautiful, and great music for ambience. It was by no means a boring listen, and it brought me back to years spent listening to my great uncle play the piano. Is it an album I would ever just sit and listen to? Probably not. Am I happy I was introduced to it? Oh absolutely.

Very lovely playing, lots of different modes encompassed in the performance, the shifts and accelerations to create differing sentiments is stunning. A great performance to listen to while working

Great story behind the performance

Not an everyday listen for me. Lovely

This has a surprisingly high average rating, for what people tend to like here. The backstory explains a lot of this though. I feel the story behind how this album was formed really enhances what would otherwise not be the most memorable listen. But considering the horrible situation in which this was performed it's amazing how well it sounds. Jarrett's playing is absolutely brilliant, the seeming lack of other clearly defined instruments being more than made up with his talent. This album never bores even though it's a one hour, 4-part listen. The piano is just mesmerising and you can really get caught in listening to it.

This album features a cranky, tired, hungry Keith Jarrett jamming out for a solid hour on the wrong piano. Adversity breeds success. No wonder Jarrett hates this album. He gets four stars just for showing up and sticking it out.

Beautifully instrumented jazz piano instrumental

I was often overwhelmed by this record. Musically, it is sublime. So much so that I feel unqualified to say too much more about it; if it sits on a shelf above most “greatest of all time” albums, then it’s several floors above many of the records I hold closest. Its story is utterly ridiculous. It’s not so much the heroism of Keith “conquering” the circumstances that appeals to me; it’s the idea that so much had to go wrong for something so perfect to ever have been given a chance to emerge in the first place. To put it briefly: you’d need to be in some sort of mood to deliver a performance like this. And speaking of – Keith himself; his powers of articulation, his freedom of expression. Can you imagine being able to not just take yourself to these soaring, aching places – but also to be able to describe them so poignantly, in the moment, to anyone lucky enough to be sitting within earshot? And then, the questions. I find myself, in the gaps between phrases, thinking about intimacy; the limits of self-expression; the endless potential of music to create something in a listener, and the extent to which each time a song is listened to something new is created. I think about how it is that, from that perspective, a song is never really finished; it’s always in flux, reacting to the conditions it’s being introduced into, taking on new dimensions. And at point – listener and creator joined across space and time by something that they share – it’s manifestly obvious that this idea of “improvisation” isn’t a novelty. It’s the whole point.

Much like the Bob Dylan Royal Albert Hall 1966 show, I find the story behind the album much more fascinating than the album itself. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this recording, and I don't want to take anything away from the talent of Keith Jarrett. I knew nothing of him or of this album before today. Anytime I can get some education on musical history, and enjoy a good piece of work, that's a win win in my book.

I liked I better than IIa/b Very cool. 4

Had never heard of this but love it and the story behind it.

I enjoyed this album. The play varied and the crowd was in to it, which made it more interesting.

He sounded great, love the feel, really well performed. I do wish each song wasn’t as long or that the album wasn’t as long but it was nice. Good background dinner music.

It's clear this guy is talented. VERY talented. For me, this is akin to listening to Joe Satriani or Steve Vai. Very talented musician noodling away on a piano. BUT... piano never did anything for me. Sheer musical talent: 5/5 Good music: 5/5 Would I listen to it again?: Probably not. Should it be on the list?: Maybe not, but I'm glad it was. My rating: 4/5

Surprisingly great. Relaxing and much more melodic than most jazz. 4/5

4 estrelas

What a nice surprise

Beautiful and hypnotic - how it is this sounds so good would be way beyond my musical knowledge to articulate. The story behind the concert is interesting and if by chance it's all true it's a great example of the artistic power of working under constraint, but really I just think this is tremendously passionate improvisational piano playing by a savant. The vocalisations are where he loses me - major douchechills. But it's no big deal. I'm glad I found this.

#365 5.8.2025

Incredible pianist with an incredible flow. One hour felt like 5 minutes on this journey.

Nothing mindblowing, it's an hour of piano after all. But hey, at least it was good music for a change.

A "go-to" for me when I'm in the mood for a piano album, and strictly piano. Keith Jarrett delivers four absolutely magnificent, meditative, and hypnotic improvisations, recorded live.

Really surprised by this one. It's just beautiful piano music. I'll definitely be coming back. Favorite track: Part I

Was not the sound I was expecting. Very much enjoyed it though.

This was the longest I have ever listened to a single piano. It was a good listen. At some point it felt like he was running out of Ideas and just started banging the same pattern on the keys. But it picks back up and was a fun experience. I won't go back to it. But it was cool to have heard once.