The Köln Concert

Infobox Album |
Name = The Köln Concert
Type = live album
Artist = Keith Jarrett


Background = darkturquoise
Released = 1975
Recorded = January 24, 1975
Genre = Jazz
Length = 66:05
Label = ECM Records
Producer = Manfred Eicher
Reviews =
* Allmusic ({1|5}/5) [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:6ad5vwvta9yk link] |
Last album = "Personal Mountains"
(1974)
This album = "The Köln Concert"
(1975)
Next album = "Death and the Flower"
(1975)

"The Köln Concert" is a recording released through ECM by the renowned jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, who performed solo improvisations at the Cologne Opera House in Köln/Cologne in 1975. The album is one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, and the most sold solo album in jazz. The recording is in three parts, lasting 26 minutes, 34 minutes and 7 minutes, respectively. As the concert was originally published on LP, the second part was split into parts labeled "IIa" and "IIb". Part IIc actually is a 3rd part, the encore. The Köln Concert has been hailed by critics as a masterpiece "flowing with human warmth." ["Jazz: The Rough Guide", Rough Guides Ltd, London, 1995, p326]

Quite a notable part of the sublimity of this concert is Jarrett's ability to produce seemingly limitless improvised material over a vamp of one or two chords for prolonged periods of time. For instance, in Part I, he spends almost 12 minutes vamping over the chords Am7 (A minor 7) to G major, sometimes in a slow, rubato feel, and other times in a bluesy, gospel rock feel. And for about the last 6 minutes of Part I, he vamps over an A major theme. Roughly the first 8 minutes of Part II A is a vamp over a D major groove with a repeated bass vamp in the left hand, and in Part II B, Jarrett improvises over an F# minor vamp for approximately the first 6 minutes.

Since the release of "The Köln Concert", Jarrett has been asked by pianists, students, musicologists and others, to publish the music. At first, he resisted such requests since, as he said, the music played was improvised "on a certain night and should go as quickly as it comes." However, this improvisation already existed in recording, and the transcription only represents the music, so he finally came around to publish an authorized edition, but recommended that every pianist who intended to play the concert should use the recording itself as having the final word. A transcription has also been published by Manuel Barrueco for classical guitar.

Track listing

All of these composed/improvised by Keith Jarrett:
#Part I – 26:02
#Part II A – 14:55
#Part II B – 18:14
#Part II C – 6:57

Notes on the music

On first listening to the recording, one might hear subtle but quite audible laughter from some audience members at the very beginning of Part I. The reason is that Jarrett quotes the melody of the signal bell in the Köln Opera, which announces the beginning of an opera or concert to patrons. Years after Jarrett improvised the Köln Concert, Part II C also became known as "Memories of Tomorrow." Although Jarrett's unpremeditated improvisation came first, the song can be found in certain fake books in lead sheet format under that title.

Personnel

Keith Jarrett – piano

oundtracks

* The Nicolas Roeg movie "Bad Timing" has part of the Köln Concert on its soundtrack
* The Nanni Moretti movie "Caro diario" (Dear Diary) has part of the Köln Concert on its soundtrack

Notes

External links

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0w5zeflk7gf5 All Music Guide review]