Keith Jarrett

The Köln Concert

First released1975

The Köln Concert was recorded on January 24, 1975, at the Opera House in Cologne, Germany, in a single live performance. The concert was captured on a Studer tape recorder, with engineer Johannes Weisser handling the technical recording. Producer Manfred Eicher of ECM Records oversaw the project, which resulted in a double album released later that year. The recording featured Keith Jarrett performing entirely improvised solo piano music without any predetermined composition or arrangement. This spontaneous performance became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time and stands as a landmark example of free improvisation in contemporary classical and jazz music.