As comfortable playing Mozart concertos as jazz- funk workouts with Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett had already established himself as one of the most versatile and creative pianists of his generation by the time he took to the stage at the Köln Opera House on January 24,1975. On that auspicious night, he cemented his reputation as one of the all-time greats.
The concert was very nearly canceled however, as Jarrett felt ill and the piano he had ordered failed to arrive on time. With the top and bottom ends of the substitute piano far from his satisfaction, he built his improvisation from scratch-around the piano's middle keys.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Keith Jarrett's spontaneous composition and thrilling performance was drenched in lyricism and had an unusually optimistic streak to its sense of adventure. This exuberance can be heard through his audible groans, whoops, and sighs as he plays; he was as excited to hear this music for the first time as the audience was. The Köln Concert is a monument to musical possibility, the sublime sound of a peerless talent playing his music from the inside out.
With more than one million copies sold, The Köln Concert remains Jarrett's highest selling album. For non-aficionados it is an opportunity to be seduced by a musical form that might otherwise pass them by.
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