Jarrett, Keith: Koln Concert LP

On Friday, January 24, 1975, legendary composer, pianist, soprano saxophonist and bandleader Keith Jarrett gave his famous, freely improvised solo concert at the Köln Opera House in Germany on a Bösendorfer baby grand. The captivating four-part set clocked in at 67 minutes and has since become the bestselling solo piano and jazz solo record of all time.

 

“Again and again it’s like stepping onstage naked. The most important thing in a solo concert is the first note I play, or the first four notes. If they have enough tension, the rest of the concert follows almost as a matter of course. Solo concerts are about the most revealing psychological self-analysis imaginable.” - Keith Jarrett

"From the glistening, patiently developed opening melody, through sustained passages of roaring riffs and folksy, country-song exuberance, the pianist is utterly inside his ongoing vision of the performance's developing shape – a fusion of the freshness of an improvisation with the symmetries of a composition that's central to the album's communicative power." - John Fordham, The Guardian / 50 Great Moments in Jazz