Album Of The Day

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.

Exquisite piano playing.

Beautiful music, and not just sleepy piano music. It held my interest for all 4 tracks. Then I found out that it was 100% improvised and recorded live--this is what makes it so memorable. I've never heard this album before and I don't recall anything I've ever heard by Keith Jarrett before (although I may have been exposed to his music). But this album goes on my wantlist and I'll keep an eye out for anything else he made.

A very pleasant background to work this morning. Despite reading that most of this was improvised, I’m not sure what separates this from other general piano music though.

It took me a minute to appreciate it, but the melodies were really infectious.

Sounds like building mode on the origins Sims game, and I mean that as a compliment

Very enjoyable. I wish I was in a more thoughtful headspace when listening to it.

I won't pretend to know a tenth of what's going on here, but I know good sounds when I hear them. Then I read the wiki entry and it's all improvised?! Jazz is wild man

'Legendary Crash Outs' has been a bit of a trend on twitter the last few days so seeing this and reading about the circumstances behind his performance really did improve my appreciation for it. As pleasant as it was however, it does sort of dip a bit into jam session territory for me where after listening to more or less the same instrument for an hour it started slipping into the background for me a bit.

If I’d reviewed this without knowing it was entirely improvisational I would have scored it more harshly. I was unexcited by the prospect of an hour of piano solo with no accompaniment but Keith Jarrett is evidently a talented musician as it managed to hold my microscopic attention span for the majority of this performance. Don’t think it warrants a repeat listen for me.

There’s a lot of Jarret concert albums and a lot of them sound fairly similar, so you probably don’t need that many. This is one of the best. Doesn’t outstay its welcome, like the longer ones. A classic for a reason.

Beautiful with a cool back story

Beautiful album, very impressive that it was completely improvised, and Keith Jarrett being able to consistently play piano for half an hour without stopping is awesome.

Solid classical pianist 3.5/5

Beautiful. I appreciate the jazziness without it being in penetrable.

This almost feels like it could go on forever. Cool story about the piano being wrong and him calling an audible and improvising it all. I enjoyed the listen but am surprising myself vs all the acclaim that I don't hear the 5/5 in it. May be one I come back to and find more in later. Good one to have on the list.

Sure does make you feel classy and cool listening to this. Like your a mysterious man bathed in shadows in the back corner of a bar, smoke rising from the cigarette slowly smoldering into the ash tray in front of you with wisps gently floating past your darkened face. I'm just a dude walking my dog around the neighborhood. So many little sections that nicely flow one to the next. And I think I read this was all off the cuff which is insane. Dude is seriously talented. Being an instrumental purely drops it ever so slightly. That's just a thing I need in music 99% of the time. And it's just piano. An hour of very good piano but it can't be more than that. Damn good stuff though

Loved this album. A complete unknown to me! Wonderful sound. A real find!

excellent piano piece

I've always wanted to visit Germany. It sounds fun.

I feel that this might be the best jazz album I might ever get and that feels like it’s cheating. Most of the jazz albums I’ve gotten are your typical jazz albums: saxophones, drums, syncopated beats, etc. Some of it was good, some of it was not, and most of it I have not retained. Truthfully, it’s been kind of a boring genre and seeing my next album be an hour-long live jazz album, I wasn’t super confidant that I would like it. This, however, isn’t standard jazz. It’s something more, that I feel that the basic label of jazz doesn’t do justice to this album. This is background music that refuses to be background music. It’s insane to believe this was entirely improvised. The music just naturally comes to him and it never gets tiring or boring or one-note; the same trappings some other jazz albums I’ve encountered fell into. That audience got more than what they paid for, despite the story of how Murphy’s Law nearly fucked this concert over. I will say that, as a hour-long concert with some long songs, there might be some very slight dragging here and there. And I’m not really a fan of the moaning Keith does every so often. It’s his thing, I know, and I respect that it means his getting into the music himself. But it still feels really weird to me and it’s a little distracting. However, this might be the peak of jazz personally for me. Favorite track: Part IIc Other hits: the rest of the concert

Beautiful music, and the story behind this whole concert is wild too. It's almost hard to believe that it's all improvised and not just put together from pre-prepared segments Standouts Part I 4/5

Beautiful and relaxing.

Never listened to piano by itself for extended periods of time before, it was very enjoyable though, very relaxing, but I have nothing to compare it to since it’s my first time listening to something like that.

This was soothing. I love a good instrumental album. A nice change from screaming guitars and screaming humans.

That was quite pleasant. Definitely a needed chillness.

****a beautiful piano instrument al album

Sophisticated music for sophisticated people. I always enjoy hearing this. Couldn't hum a single second of it, but I can't deny it's obvious quality.

Great start of the album. Loved it overall, but it got a but too busy hearing it back to back. To listen to again.

It's a really nice album, it highlights how a master of a single instrument can create an incredible experience. The back story about the recording makes it even more impressive. There were periods where it got slightly repetitive, but nothing too bad.

Gear: DCA ÆON 2 Noire Artwork: 🎹🧔‍♀️😑 Production (50): 🎧😘🤌 Music: 🎹🌀😌 Rating: 🏰🏰🏰🏰(🏰)/5

Wasn’t really into Jazz before but then I heard this and was stunned, it’s good background music while doing dishes and cleaning up around the house

Для того чем является - хорошо. Но так как это лайв альбом то естественно нашёлся какой-то индивид который периодически выкрикивает свои восхищения. Я конечно все понимаю, но знай мужик из 1975 года, ТЫ ГАВНЮК!!!

Wow, the story behind this is kind of wild. The music is incredible as well. This isn't the type of music I typically seek out so there's a good chance I would have never heard it, but this is exactly the kind of stuff I love finding in this list.

Sweet piano music, highly recommend.

This piano man did not sing us a song tonight. And I’m kind of OK with that.

Just an amazing album. He's a genius.

I really liked this. Not normally something I would have listened to, but I'm glad I did.

As a jazz fan, this is one of those albums that I've always heard of it and have thought I really gotta check it out one day but just never have for whatever reason. I'm glad I did though because it's totally incredible. And the history is even more incredible, considering he almost didn't play that night, improvised the whole thing and his piano pedals were broken. It's obviously the kinda record you gotta be in the mood for given it's just a dude and a piano. But man, it's good stuff

This one-man jam session is a lot to take unless you are really invested in the nexus of jazz, minimalism, and new age as well as advances in recording piano overtones in a room. I bet 25% of the people in Köln that night had their life changed and the other 75% were looking at their watch and questioning the renewal of their season tickets. I'm into it, but I get why you aren't.

This is nice. I read that this performance was 100% improvised, which is impressive. I'm also guessing from the crowd noise that the Part II c/the fourth movement/whatever you want to call it was an encore.

I always grab ECM releases when I find them out in the wild. To mixed results. But always a fun gamble. I don't know that this feels like jazz to me, but it's nice. Really glad I listened to this one. This is the kind of discoveries I was hoping to get out of this list. The Wikipedia article is worth a read, BTW. Sounds like everything that could go wrong did go wrong with this concert and yet, he pulled off something pretty amazing in the end.

puh

Leuke piano gepingel

Perhaps right place right time, but found this album beautiful and relaxing, except for a few random out bursts that happen throughout. But not sure if I could be able to name the album or artist if I ever heard the pieces again

Another jazz album I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. Maybe I just like jazz. If in 50 albums time, I decide I actually like prog too then this project will have been truly life-changing.

I truly never know what I'm about to get when I see the "jazz" genre tagged. And here I thought the purpose of genre was so you knew what to expect. I dug this. A lot. I found myself closing my eyes so I could concentrate on the music. Before today I would have said jazz wasn't for me. Maybe it's the piano? Maybe I just need to be exposed to more jazz? Maybe it's me who changed? (doubt)

Very pleasant piano concert. A lot more interesting than other piano sets I've come across. Nice!

Terrific talent. Keith Jarrett has been recommended to me for a while but this was my first listen and I was impressed. I want to explore more of his discography.

I really enjoyed this. Lovely piano, kept going. I think I was in the right mood for it. I found the random vocals completely unnecessary though.

quite nice ackshually

Of course, the story behind this album is incredible, as is the talent of the artist. Who could believe that this is a musical stream of consciousness and not a carefully composed suite, sweated over for weeks on end? I think the greatest moment for me was when the audience began the rhythmic clapping, in appreciation of music by a true master. The only reason I will not give this album five stars is because I would not actively seek to listen to it again, just because I'm more of a strings than piano person, and, anyway, I don't think the artist intended for the music to be heard more than once. All in all, it is awesome, and I did spend much of the listening time in a reverie, alternating between sheer appreciation of what Jarrett was doing, and a musing on the circumstances under which he produced such a masterpiece.

The definition of locking in. Jarrett runs the gamut here, switching effortlessly from classical to jazz to even gospel, and it works brilliantly.

Absolutely brilliant. Improvisation is no easy task for a short solo, I cannot fathom the tremendous pressure of doing an hour long concert of improvised music. Jarrett is clearly a master of his instrument, and the time he put in shines in the way he plays.

Une improvisation solo fluide qui démontre une maestria impressionnante

Very nice!

If you are in the right mood, this can be a really rewarding listening experience but, if not, like a lot of ECM albums, it can dissolve into background music. The story is excellent - the tired pianist, the subpar piano which meant he had to concentrate on the centre of the keyboard - and the improvised music is really well played. But there are no individual moments, at least for me, that linger beyond the listening. I would have loved to have been there, and I’m sure I will continue to enjoy it on the odd occasion. But I have a lot of great jazz albums, and there are lots I have not heard. If this hadn’t popped up, I wouldn’t have gone looking for it.

Absolutely beautiful.

3 Sterne normalerweise, aber für die Wikipedia Backstory gibts einen Extra-Stern

Wow - how did I not know about the best selling solo jazz album ever. Very hard to argue with.

I enjoyed this a lot and an interesting back story. Not sure I would classify it as Jazz though, more just piano music.

nice sound

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett

Reviews (page 5 of 13)