The Köln Concert

Great album

Part I - 8/10 Part II a - 7/10 Part II b - 7/10 Part II c - 7/10 Was unaware of the backstory but its pretty incredible. If I hadnt known about it this would be pure background noise and probably wouldnt receive such a high rating but I thnk it gets an extra star just for being completely improvised.

Was a cool record and very impressive since improvised. Not sure how often I'd revisit but glad I have heard it

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

the next album i get better have words, preferably in english or i will LOSE MY MIND this is impressive musically i am sure, especially after reading that it is entirely improvised, but i am 6 minutes into the first song which is 26 minutes long and i need a break or something else to take my attention. overall this was good but definitely impossible to follow in the conventional sense

Calming if a bit unmemorable.

Förstod inte poängen med det här

Pleasant.

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

Reading a bit about this album on Wikipedia, I understand why it's on the list. But this album is just not for me.

Incredible musicianship and talent. Enjoyed from beginning to end.

Ayo, is this just a tired dude improvising on a low quality piano for over an hour?! Say no more.

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

Pleasant.

Pleasant piano music.

Not a fan of his style. Lot's of very heavy banging on the keys. The audience noise is also quite distracting. Almost like the concert was for a small audience, but they were encouraged to randomly whoop and hoot, and never clap.

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

An amazing talented musician and performance. I just wish the mic didn’t pickup his moaning. It really bothered me.

Why does this man have to be groaning so much. I kept thinking there was a weirdo next to me on the street as I walked through NYC. Otherwise, I liked it fine.

One of the better piano performances I have heard.

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

9/10

“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

The guy is obviously extremely talented, and I’m aware this is all improvised. It feels harsh to give this a low score, perhaps listening to this whilst working, proofreading a document, helped set the right mood for it. It’s not really something I would consider sitting and listening to but could easily provide background music.

<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>

Kori’s review is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. He’s having technical difficulties. I wonder if it’s because we lost 7 hours of our lives in the past couple days. I have actually listened to this album before! It was mentioned in a book called “Messy” by Tim Harford. Keith Jarrett showed up to perform this concert and was faced with a piano that was out of tune or broken or something and this was the masterpiece he managed to create. You can actually hear him kind of moaning and expressing the effort he’s exerting to bang out the melodies on the keys. I give it five stars as well.

Incredible! I don't know what style of jazz this is, but I love it. There's some classical in the mix, but also blues, and some other elements I can't put my finger on. Very improvisatory. Also I'm pretty sure I heard "the lick" at some point in the first song on the album lol (iykyk). IMO this is the best album on the list so far. 10/10

Wow, an absolute masterclass in musicianship! Every note felt perfect and the dynamic control often had me forgetting that I was listening to a solo pianist the whole time. On top of this having been executed live, the story behind how the performance came to be only deepens my respect for Keith Jarrett. Incredible performance/album and my first 5 star rating!

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

The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett I think is one of the most deserving of the title "album you must listen to before you die". It is one I probably would have never picked up or even found without this list, so unassuming. What a performance, I had chills. Just so everyone is in the know if not already, but the backstory behind this whole thing is NUTS. Jarrett was hired by an 18 year old concert organizer to perform in a opera house in Cologne, Germany for an 11:30 PM show following some other acts. In some confusion, the grand piano Jarrett was meant to play was not delivered to the opera house, and it was found out too close to the performance to deliver a new one (plus it was raining outside). Jarrett was driving in from Switzerland and arrived very tired, due to the drive and poor sleep quality from the last 2 nights. The guy gets barely anything to eat, since the show time is so close to his arrival. Then gets to the opera house to find out he will be playing this shitty rehearsal piano that has barely any cadence in the high and low sections of the piano (Oh also the pedals didn't work properly). He was about to not play the show, however this 18 year old kid convinced him to play since the recording equipment was set up and ready to go. To a sold out opera house of 1400 people, Jarrett whips out a 1 hour improvisation performance so that he can play to the strengths of the current piano he's playing. He scrapped his WHOLE plan and improvised, focusing on playing in the middle of the piano to avoid the higher and lower sections that didn't sound good. He then proceeded to blow the roof off with some absolutely beautiful piano playing. The story here is what bumps this all up for me, there's so much to it, such a once in a lifetime thing to occur, and to get it all recorded and put into the form of an album? What are the odds. How could I not give this 5 stars.

Awsome piano

Boring

Pleasant while walking but did drag a little by part IIc. Any other day it would have been a 2. Story behind it was interesting.

This album is personally significant to me. As a young piano player, I stole this album from my Dad’s shelf and became obsessed with it, even before I knew the story or that these were improvisations. It’s pure storytelling with an instrument. Very inspiring. Must-listen #227.

I appreciate the talent behind something like this but just can’t get myself into instrumental jazz despite the several I’ve already had on here.

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.

Nothing says 70s jazz like a dude groaning like he's gonna bust for an hour because he's so pleased with his own playing.

3.5+/5

Not a fav. Kinda monotonous

Im too much of a heathen for this i think. Sure keith isn't arsed about my opinion, and rightly so. Keep up the tinkling keithy boy

Nice bath music

A little too long for me. I wish I could enjoy these jazz albums more but I guess I have Gen Z brain. Similar to how I felt with Bitches Brew; there is clear mastery here but I can’t perceive it just yet.

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

I kind of enjoyed this. Pretty amazing that it was improvised.

Yeah an hour long album of just piano is not for me.

Sacrilegious as it is to rate this 1 star, I must keep to my tradition of doing so if I can't get through a whole album. It's GRAND, like, but dull and tuneless.

Hidden Gem!

Talent? Absolutely. Do I want to listen to it? At times.

Piano

I listened to the first 26-minute song on my drive to work and kind of assumed I got the gist.

Kül.

Not my favorite

¡Llegamos a octubre! El tema es en qué estado mental. La única certeza es la novedad de éste artista y éste disco. Automáticamente entro en estado de hipnosis con éste tipo. Me recuerda a Charly García. O Charly García me recuerda a él. Agradezco el mimo musical y hasta mañana

Sometimes you just aren't in the mood. Unfortunately for this album, I just wasn't in the right head space to have much appreciation for a full 60+ minutes of jazz piano.

i guess this is supposed to be really lengendary. anyway its legendary. 5/5

beautiful. loved the background noise

This could be amazing but idk, I'd listen to this but only while I was enjoying doing something more interesting

Keith said piano I said that was nice

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.

I don't really know how to judge something like this other than that I liked it. But couldn't see myself listening to it again.

I like solo piano in this style. I've been a George Winston fan since I was a little kid, and there are similarities here. It's pretty incredible that Jarrett improvised this whole concert, and on a shitty piano nonetheless. It does, however, sound like he's making it up as he goes, and maybe that's just how jazz works, but I wonder what this performance could have been if he had played composed works. I did listen to a bit of his prior studio album, though, and it wasn't as good ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Another one for the "fine" bin. Not my cup of jazz.

2- Stars (4/15)

Para estudiar es TOP

i dont wanna listen to 30 minute songs with no cohesion :(

My first LP to listen to was The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett. I've included a wiki link of the LP itself and a youtube link: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=c77djHcrmVE&list=OLAK5uy_nCadsSovaCieKT8xqxSZlxJgK1pg7Uw_c https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_K%C3%B6ln_Concert I'd Never listened to it before even though It had been recommended to me several times. It's Brilliant. What a shame I've deprived myself of it my whole life. The story behind the recording is just as remarkable. Like

I was surprised by this album being so jazzy

I was not aware of this album, and oh man, this is great. Definitely going to listen to this again.

This was great, beautiful playing but it got boring after a while.

I think this maybe piano but might need another listen to make sure b

The music itself was enjoyable, but I didn't hear anything particularly impressive or inspired,

Late night at the lounge.

Mostly piano, but quite pleasantly so. Very repetitive.

Superb. Nach wie vor.

I know that I liked this enough to give it a 3 but I wish I understood it enough why it should be a 5. I mean the fact that this whole album was improv is astounding but I wish I understood it a bit better.

3.1

Talent for sure, but just too repetitive to be enjoyable

I usually like instrumental music, but these pieces didn’t have much variety. I was expecting to feel something, yet I didn’t.

Pure unaccompanied piano for over an hour? Literal background music.

A real snooze fest

I am not a huge fan of instrumental jazz and while this is nice it just washed over me forgettably (I have made up a new word in Keith’s honour). The most exciting thing about it was the woos and shouts from either the crowd, Keith, or someone trying to tell a member of the audience that their aunt was locked in the lady’s toilet and needed to be rescued. I couldn’t tell.

THIS IS WHY I'M LISTENING TO THIS PROJECT! It's very rare that a piece of music can grab me so completely and so fast. I fell in love within the first 30 seconds and this album kept my attention for it's entire run time. This is some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. The fact this was improvised live on a crappy piano is unbelievable. This album instantly made it on to my top 10 list. I could listen to this every day for the rest of my life and still not get sick of it. 5 stars is not enough.

Classic

Astounding. I have no idea how I and my acquaintances missed this genius. Really worth a listen. Almost too intense and piano well played always is. Definitely should be in list

Good but not my thing 3/5 to be fair

The new Wednesday album came out but you told yourself you can't listen to it until you've finished your 1001 albums homework. This album of piano and moaning was the generator becoming actively hostile towards me. 1.5

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.

Best Track - N/A

Loved it on this fall feeling/ rainy day

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.

Love some jazz piano. Excellent atmosphere.

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

Meh

fuck I feel so classy after listening to that.

Extraordinary just by itself. I'm impressed by the recording quality of a live concert in 1975 - how!? And... it is a mind blowing performance if you know the story behind. True skill makes the best with what is at hand.

Loved this. Great backstory.

Beautiful piano playing whist drinking wine and reading a book.

A phenomenal listen, full of passion and interesting quirks, a legend, that I can't believe was improvised in parts. Jazz sometimes can be a little tough but not here, it's hopeful, it's bright, the piano sounds incredible, and the whole legend around that piano (it was a janky one, certainly not what he requested) just builds the myth that is that album. I understand fully why it is so popular and the best selling piano record of all times, it's full of little moments that you catch while going through it mutiple times and it i full of emotions. I can already tell you I'll be listening to it a lot.

GOOD

Gute Klavier Stücke aber meistens nicht meins. Maybe fürs lernen oder so gut

If I could play piano like this - no, if I could IMPROVISE on the piano like this - I would never, ever, ever stop playing.

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.

The backstory makes this album more interesting, but even without knowing it, this is a great album. I’m actually learning piano, so this is definitely inspirational.

Holy fucking shit. Bravo, Keith.

This here's some mighty fine piano playing. But if I was at this show I would not have been able to sit still for all 60+ minutes of it. 3/5

Inte alls min grej, tyvärr.

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

Not my cup of tea

75/1001 Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert Heart before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ It's quite clear the guy can play piano and there's a melancholy that I enjoy from the music. However, there was never enough variety to keep me interested for the full hour and six minutes of the record and just became background music.

Todo a piano, me gusto pero es para escuchar mientras pintas o lees o haces alguna actividad tranquila, no lo escucharía todos los días

Hienoa soitantaa.

Hienoa kuunneltavaa mutta vähän alkoi kuitenkin puuduttamaan.

Oikein miellyttävää kuultavaa!

The live performance captured on this jazz album is mezmerizing, made all the more impressive by the fact that all of it was improvised by Jarrett (who was also in a position where he had to perform using a piano that was not fully functional, making him have to compensate for things like pedals that didn't work). This is a masterwork by a highly accomplished musician at the top of his game.

Day 26 This album has a really interesting story behind it and the guy is clearly very talented but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me at all, glad I’ve heard it but very unlikely I’ll listen again. 4/10

Absolute genius. The backstory on this makes it even more special. A performer at the absolute top of his game captured giving a once in a lifetime performance. If you're coming to this cold you should google the story of the concert. It will help you understand.

Fantastic.

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

While an hour plus of this is a lot, this is some fine, impassioned improv piano by a jazz master. This must be what influenced the Windham Hill new age music label and artists like George Winston. Not something I would return to, but enjoyable background music. I love the little vocalizations and foot stomping at times. Kind of self indulgent but in a (mostly) good way.

First one i feel bad about giving two stars. The man can tickle the ivories, I just dont think i have a trained enough ear to enjoy it. I like jazz piano mixed in with other instrumentals quite a bit, but just having the piano for over an hour, i really didnt engage with it at all

Good

Nice background music

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

Jeg har hørt litt på Survivors’ Suite tidligere, og setter den gjerne på hvis jeg skal jazze litt. Dette er jo solo piano, så jeg savner litt av energien fra SS (kanseller meg gjerne for den forkortelsen), men det er om ikke annet et behagelig lytt. Spesielt er det partier på Part I som virkelig swinger. Dog ser jeg ikke for meg at dette er en skive jeg kommer til å komme tilbake til så ofte, men det gir jo mersmak, og jeg skal i hvert fall utforske mer av discographien til Jarrett.

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

Det er ingen tvil om at Keith Jarrett har en ypperlig hånd, og det er en fryd å høre han spille. Men han har bedre i andre improvisasjonsalbumer han har. Her syns jeg han ligger litt for lenge på temaene, og plata er generelt litt for safe.

Man plays piano for an hour. It's cool ig. Understanding the context of how and why it was improvised gives it a few points but realistically I was bored throughout the whole thing. Nothing wrong with it but just not something I could ever say I enjoyed 4.1/10

Good thing. I mean, it's allright.

Lirismo é o que melhor define esta performance absolutamente genial de um pianista de jazz que não se prende a um estilo ou forma. Disco simplesmente maravilhoso e indispensável.

great

I dove blind and discovered an extremely exquisite piece of music. Unsure the technical playing is good or not, but the feelings it transmits are everything. Definitively the kind of experience I joined this "challenge" for.

Okay

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 just can't understand it, I guess. But I totally respect the quality and importance.

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

Not my sound, but incredible execution

Bits were good Bits meandered

Started out interesting but got boring after a while.

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.

Beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous.

Just wow. Every time. Relistening to this is simply fantastic.

Very relaxing listen while I work my menial job.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of piano music, and this man can certainly play the piano. But a 67 minute piano solo is too much even for me. Come on guys good or bad let's get things back on track. From that you would expect a 1, but the man does have talent 2.

With jazz being one of my least enjoyable genres, and with this being a ‘live’ album too, I feared the worst. But I found it just a little bit enjoyable. The backstory to it is quite remarkable. 2 stars to respect the technical competence and for not making put my giant wotsits in my ears.

I was expecting very little from this and only get through the first five minutes before ditching it. However, i thought his piano playing and the understated jazz of his compositions were very pleasing on my ear. My only gripe was the funny noises Keith made every now ant then, but I'll forgive him for being in the 'moment'. All in all, a nice surprise.

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!

I found out about this album because of the story of the piano and the concept of creativity being bourne of constraint. I'm not a solo instrumental piano listener but this album changed me and I love that it exists. It is a perfect artifact of the moment. This is a required listen for sure.

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)

C'était sympa mais je pense pas que je me poserai pour le réécouter. 6/10

Really cool stuff

Chill didn't really make an impression

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.

Really incredible performance and a very interesting story! Will be the first thing I play in my new car

Not being a massive jazz fan, I was unaware of Keith and I've therefore obviously never heard or heard of this before. So I did a little research and found a great article in the Guardian about two films being produced about and explaining the story behind this live concert recording and it's pretty fascinating! https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/feb/10/koln-concert-keith-jarrett-jazz-masterpiece-piano So, it almost didn't happen save for the work of two diligent piano technicians and the 18yo promoter swearing in his face. > I went face to face with Keith Jarrett,” recalls Vera Brandes, “and I said to him, ‘Keith, if you don’t play this concert, I’ll be fucked. And you’ll be fucked too.’ The first 4 notes he plays are also a repeat of the 'jingle 'that the theatre play to instruct patrons to seat themselves and he develops the motif through the piece. A live piano album is always going to struggle with me though, it's something i'd much rather watch live and in this case... something I'd much rather watch one of those 2 films of. I feel much of the reason this is here is in the lore of how the concert happened rather than in the music itself, as good as that obviously is.

This was nice to put on while drawing, very calming. However, i'm not sure if i would return to this album, since i'm not a fan of classical music.

My first piano concert. In the right setting this is good background music but I don’t think I would put anything in my normal rotation.

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.

Meh

Hermoso álbum. El desarrolo motívico que hace Jarrett a lo largo de cada improvisación es impresionante. Todo interpretado con una fluidez sublime. Considero que a pesar de ser un álbum de jazz para piano solo en vivo, es de carácter accesible, con muchos momentos "pop", no es una obra controvertida. Me gusta la calidad de la grabación, el piano suena claro, y brillante pero sin que los agudos sean punzantes.

Nice

una garcha no me copo nada

First song was good, not anything mind blowing but solid. The rest of the songs carried on largely in the same vein so I might've been tempted to give a 2. Though after reading about how the album came to be from our favourite wannabe celebrity economist Tim Harford this steps it up to a solid 3 with 4 potential: a grumpy, high strung musical genius, a zesty, young jazz fan, a packed opera house and a soaking wet grand piano and a mucky, sticking, spare piano all that was left. The album does manage to rise and fall and feel satisfying for the ending songs which is surprisingly impressive given the circumstances and resources to hand.

tipo de música que toca no mercado central

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

No private session used for Spotify. Talented piano player, but not my thing. Maybe if someone was over and I wanted background music that might impress them, but that isn't my thing either.

lovely

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

impressive

Jag de första fem minuterna av Keith Jarretts Kölnkonsert: Wow vad bra vad jag älskar piano och jazz och vad kultiverad och duktig jag är som gillar Keith Jarrets Kölnkonsert. Jag minut 5–65 av Keith Jarretts Kölnkonsert: Nu vill jag lyssna på något annat än Keith Jarretts Kölnkonsert. Ja, det är lite orättvist, för det är väl inte tänkt att man ska ta till sig det här medan man håller på med annat i sin studentlägenhet, men nu råkar det vara så jag tar till mig musik. Hade jag suttit i en bar med tillgång till öl och en och annan virrepinne hade jag säkert tagit till mig varje ton. Jag kanske får testa lyssna igen när jag är full. För jag HÖR ju såklart hur bra det låter, världens bäst säljande solojazzalbum kan väl inte göra något annat, och jag förstår hur bra han är på att plinka på de där tangenterna. Jag har bara svårt att ta till mig det till fullo. Men, både Keith Jarrett och hans tydligen superberömda Kölnkonsert hade helt gått mig förbi, så jag tackar för konsten och allmänbildningen. Nu vet jag vad folk pratar om om de pratar om Keith Jarretts Kölnkonsert.

Epic long piano music, played solo. Boo! Hiss! However, this was actually quite listenable. Not in a actively sit and watch the live concert, but in a feeling stimulated while listening and doing other stuff. A decent housework or, in my case, schoolwork record. Korean coffee shops have given me a new appreciation for piano music. I'm not quite sure why the applause is so excited at the end of the record, but I get it. 3 Stars.

This album is like the start of a roller coaster, when your cart is getting hauled to the highest point, leading to the drop. You’re excited to get to the top and swiftly plummet into the actual ride, but this part is taking ages. Initially you’re filled with excitement, but as a couple of others on the ride with you start to groan impatiently, the thought does cross your mind that this is taking quite a long time.

Its fine. Not.my cup of tea. Would be great if companies used this for hold music over their regular stuff.

I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. Mixes melody, structure, tradition, and experimentalism in interesting ways.

Parfait

Impressive that it’s all improvised. Jazz piano is not really my thing. After a while all the songs start to sound indistinguishable. But obvious this is top of the form.

Nice and relaxing

Dafür, dass er eine Stunde auf einem Klavier improvisiert, hat mir das erstaunlich gut gefallen.

Lyrical without any lyrics. True spontaneity. Soulful. Sometimes fragile and intimate and at other times expansive and transcendent. Never quite sure where each moment will go next. A constant shifting, changing, flowing meditation. I love piano music. Usually more of a Chopin man and jazz piano can be a hit or a miss for me, but this is the right level of accessibility whilst still feeling truly improvisational. I love the sporadic noises he makes while playing, caught up fully in the moment. An example of the way music can take over, take hold. I have no doubt he felt what he played and so we can feel it too. Beautiful. 9/10

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

The fact that this piece of music was improvised makes it even more spectacular. I don't feel qualified to judge but it was very nice piano music. 7/10

I'm gonna sound uncultured, but it's so boring, it's not popular music in any way. I should appreciate the talent I guess

Niiice.

Improvised piano

Originally came across the Koln Concert when I was going through a list of the greatest jazz albums, and it was a standout and instantly became a personal favorite. Such a fascinating listen

piano album, clearly gifted, just not my favorite thing to listen to. i suppose a 3/5? idk

Nice study music

Začiatok nie zle ale nezaujímavé, ale ku koncu sa to pekne rozbehlo a sadlo mi to . Bohužiaľ nemôžem dať 4 tak dám takto

Felt like a rollercoaster

This one was great to listen to while driving!

Uno de los mejores álbumes de piano jazz que he escuchado. Que además sea en vivo, lo llena de una vibra increíble con las expresiones que lanza Jarrett cuando las piezas se ponen intensas. Un tremendo viaje musical que nadie debería perderse.

Wunderschön und zeitlos

Piano stuff, not for me though

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

Fantastic

Quite good

Banger live jazz piano, no notes

Some of the best piano playing in the history of ALL THINGS

It's albums like this that make this exercise worthwhile. I hadn't heard of Keith Jarrett before, had no idea about his art and am so glad that this list introduced him to me. His playing is soulful and beautiful and the story behind the album is a ripper. I'll be listening to this for a long time

he’s very good at piano i just do not like this kind of thing

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.

This would've been a 4 without the context, Jesus. Play your shit Keith.

Absolutely stunning! Keith Jarrett is one of the pioneers of the "ECM style" of jazz, and on this performance he demonstrates it perfectly. 66 minutes of improvised goodness, reportedly on the wrong piano while Keith was suffering back problems, expertly toeing that murky space between jazz and classical music. Nothing but bliss the whole way through.

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.

What an absolutely stunning performance. I was constantly floored by how much depth and variety Keith Jarrett can achieve on improvisation alone, under a heap of shitty circumstances, for an entire 66 minutes. Bravo Mr. Jarrett!!!

Holy hell, what a surprise! When I saw we were getting a 66 minute improvisational piano album i thought I would have to tank it at least a little bit. Absolutely not, it is amazing. What a journey. I don't think a piano album has ever held my attention like that. I will be listening again and again for sure.

Very piano-y, did get into it though. Needs to be listened to properly to appreciate it.

Nice piano music - good background music to put on during a cocktail party… Impressive to know that the artist did this all on the fly and it was improvised. It's interesting enough, but I didn't find the hour-long album to be dynamic simply because it's just piano.

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

Honestly I gave this a try but something about didn't hit for me.

love the way he moans occasionally

Soothing

Piano impro

background piano

In my husband's words, this is what a nice hotel lobby sounds like

Can I get your name? Thank you. Ok, I see you're here for 3 nights, perfect. Can we get a credit card for a damage deposit? We will just put a $250 hold on your account until you check out, then lift it. Great. Yes, it's a very nice piano. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Enjoy your stay!

The context behind this album is interesting, but the album itself is solidly fine. I listened to it in its entirety and I don't ever need to do it again. 2/5 stars.

Supreme talent, but doesn't get away from it saying....very little.

I looked at the context surrounding the performance of this album. The man is incredibly talented, and I'm sure the piano he was playing didn't showcase his talent. My humble opinion is that jazz piano is best when it's surrounded by a jazz band/orchestra. The improvisations make sense. A lot of this performance is confusing.

Doceniam, naprawdę, ale koncert fortepianowy to ja mogę słuchać na żywo a nie na płycie. Jestem mistrzynią w wytłumianiu takich bodźców, więc pomimo dużego szacunku jakim darzę artystę i jego umiejętność improwizacji ta płyta dostaje ode mnie 6/10

Nice background music

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.

Hoo boy. I think I may have just arrived at the final boss of this list. A live double album comprised almost entirely of 10+ minute songs – three separate things that give me a very hard time whenever I’m listening to music. In any case, I’m open to this one. The cool, confident album cover has somewhat wooed me. Oh lawdy lawd. It’s a JAZZ album, which only adds to my pile of musical grievances. Thankfully not the avant-garde stuff as that would have really given me a run for my money. Anyways, this is pretty alright! There’s a little bit of a pensive and contemplative mood to this music, which is generally the stuff I prefer wherever jazz is concerned. Admittedly, these songs lose me a little more than they win me over, but there’s some pretty good moments in here. I could see myself putting this on in the background sometime in the future. It's hard not to get lost in the "live" atmosphere of this album, which is something I can't really say about most of the other live picks on this list. I should probably timestamp these songs if I’m to discuss them in any meaningful way. As far as Part I goes, I like the piano at around the six-minute mark, as well as the soft percussion added to the track shortly afterward. The rising and falling piano chords from around the eleven-minute mark are great and mark my favourite part of the song. The lonely atmosphere the song takes on around the fourteen minute mark is nice, and I especially like what it culminates into at the seventeen-minute mark. Part A of Part II is solid. Much more lively and less pensive. From the get-go, the pianos are quite good, carrying a feel-good sound. The other pianos that are injected into the song at around the two-minute mark give the song a nice kick. The rest of the song is kind of the same thing throughout for a majority of the runtime, which loses me a little. However, the song fortunately breaks away to more of that pensive sound at around the eight-minute mark, which is where the song builds towards its best point. The eleven-minute mark is especially good, though the climax of the song at the thirteen-minute mark is truly the best part, and satisfyingly so. Part B of Part II (he really couldn’t have spared to name these four tracks?) took a little longer for me to warm to and didn’t manage to go the full mile for me. If the mood of the first two songs are pensive and carefree, this song has more of a precarious sound to it. The rising and falling pianos at the four-minute mark are good, as usual. The seven-minute mark is the best part of the song, where a beautiful, building piano uplifts the track and carries it onto second half. The pianos only build in intensity, and I enjoy the thudding, ultimate sound they take on around the twelve-minute mark. Part C is a good send-off to the album, and it’s nice to finally be given a song which I can easily summarise. It’s not bad, but at the same time offers nothing which hasn’t already been explored by the previous tracks. The moment where the song breaks away around the middle of the track is pretty nice, and it drives the album to a nice finish. Gonna read up on this entry in the book. “Musical lightning in a bottle.” “...one of the greatest jazz albums and one of the greatest pieces of extended musical improvisation”. Wait, he was winging it the entire time? “...one of the most versatile and creative pianists of his generation”. Damn. I’m not used to this book giving such lavish praise. The rest of the entry describes the background of this album, which is pretty interesting. The moans throughout the album were also apparently Jarrett’s - I thought it was just some German drunkard in the front row. The album sold well, too. Yeah, this is a solid pick. I’m grateful to have heard this before showing that bucket who’s boss.

An hour of chill piano instrumentals. Although it isn't what you'd usually call ambient music, it fits the criteria in that it can sink into the background but still rewards close listening.

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

Banging tbf just not my usual cuppa

Absolute masterclass of a piano performance

Beautiful - not usually my speed, but an enjoyable listen.

Beautiful. I didn't expect such an album to appear on this list.

Cool story and liked the album

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.

Nice but went on a bit

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

Listening to this during my lunch break while drinking a warm caramel macchiato while reading my kindle in my car, as it’s raining. The perfect song for a moment like this. I have a lot of homework for school to do I’m in grad school right now and I work full time as a business system analyst in IT for a natural energy company so the work is always spellbinding. Moments where I can be calm and present are super important to me, I like the particular song I’m hearing now, it’s really nice to hear able to hear it. It’s like becoming yourself again after now being so for a while. Atleast for me

Pretty and chill. Impressive that’s it’s all improvised as I understand it.

If I didn’t know the backstory, this might be rated only a 4. But I can’t separate the music from the story here.

5/5 - This is an example of why I started on this project — to be introduced to worthwhile recordings I would never have listened to on my own. This is way out of my usual listening tastes, but I absolutely enjoyed it. Would listen again.

Deeply underimpressed.

Sublime.

klavier prog/jazz

That’s a modern classic. I got lost in the music and didn’t notice that an hour flew by.

Just what I needed today - I had a headache and was feeling pretty lousy, and this went down smooth as I worked on an art project. When I was listening, I didn’t know anything about the backstory - I played it again after reading the Wikipedia article, and I enjoyed it even more after learning it was improvised in less than ideal circumstances. Part II a and b were my favorites. I got goosebumps toward the end of II-b. 4.5 rounded up

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

The fact that this is improvised is mind boggling AND on the wrong type of piano? I'm not super familiar with this genre but that's the beauty of this list I suppose. Proper gem

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!

Snooze

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.

Good jazz but got super repetitive

4 songs only!??!

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

Of course, I had heard about the album a long time ago. It's famous. I was curious. I listened to it for the first time as part of this project. Contrary to my expectations, I actually liked it quite a bit. I liked it even more after reading the background story. In fact, I would agree with Keith Jarrett and consider the whole thing a unique event. An amazing stroke of luck for those who were able to participate. In that respect, I find the story even better than the music. And only that should really be told. I can understand Jarrett's resistance to releasing the transcription of the concert very well. It's a shame that he gave in. 3/5

I had never heard of this album or this artist before, and initially I appreciated it for what it was - a nice jazzy piano album. But after hearing the story behind it and realizing it was entirely improvised? Definitely worth listening to!

1975. I've no idea who this is, and frankly I've no intention of finding out more. My word this is dull! Over an hour of tediuos charity advert piano music, spread over just for tracks. It got 30mins from me, then a scan of the remaining tracks to find out that they all sounded the same. I can't ever imagine a situation when I would crave this kind of background, hotel reception vibe. Anyway, I'm not a fan... Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️50% Revisit ❌️ not a chance ★☆☆☆☆

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.

Super cool and the talent is obvious. It just would never be in my regular rotation. So for that reason, 3 stars.

Piano improvisation.

Hes pretty good at the piano

Would have got a 4 but the grunting was distracting

This was wonderous, a fabulous entry into the 1001 list, made even better by the backstory. Like the pure symbiosis of human and instrument

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.

Pianorunkar'n, back on the beat! Good performance Bra inlevelse 20 mins in doesn't feel that jazzy Förstår och respekterar vad han gör men resultatet är ganska tråkigt

Not at all what I would normally listen to, but a great listen nonetheless!

When I first started listening to this I was not at all interested. As this dude banged on his keys more and more I couldn't believe how enthralled I was.

This album is entirely improvised and that's crazy. I love piano so I'm expecting to love this. Yeah, this was dope. He made some weird moaning noises throughout which was odd, but I guess that's his thing. This guy is nuts. 9/10

Really lovely stuff 4

Great

Piano album, it’s good as an instrumental and for relaxing purposes.

Very nice piano, good background music, but nothing stood out as special or unique

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

Sensationell!

Nice. Totally not for me though.

Cool. The story behind it is kind of amazing.

En av mina favoriter.

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

First thing I noticed was that it took place on my wife's birthday which is cool. Very relaxing sounds right off the bat. Absolutely gorgeous so far. I'm truly impressed. Surprised I had never come across this before. Way too early score: 5/5. Let's see if it holds up. Absolutely enjoyed this one a lot. Guess good things happen on Jan 24 5/5

I love this album!!! The backstory makes it even better, but even without the story, it's still an hour of some fantastic jazz piano improv. I should buy the sheet music for it some day even though Keith was kinda unsure about that.

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

Muy lindo. No se si obra maestra, pero lo volveré a escuchar si o si.

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.

This such a great album! A Milestone in Jazz Music!

This is an absolute masterpiece, a work of art in its improvisation and spontaneity, capturing a genius at his best. Just sit back and fall into Jarrett's world.

I really enjoyed this!