Piano Solo
On January 24, 1975, exactly 50 years ago, the legendary Köln Concert by pianist Keith Jarrett took place at the Cologne Opera.
On January 24, 2025, exactly 50 years later, pianist Greg Baker will perform this legendary concert as a tribute to Keith Jarrett in the baroque hall of Schloss Vietgest.
The Köln Concert is also the album recording of this improvisational solo concerto, the best-selling jazz solo record and the best-selling piano solo record.
In the solo concertos, Jarrett's aim is to create music "out of nothing" without any musical forethought or plan.
The recording of the Köln Concert took place under extremely adverse circumstances.
The musician had hardly slept the night before, as he had been traveling from a concert in Switzerland in a rickety Renault 4 since the early morning.
The Bösendorfer 290 Imperial concert grand that had actually been promised by the director of the Cologne Opera could not be found that day and he (the director) had a day off on that date.
There was only a Bösendorfer Stutz grand piano available, which was actually only used for rehearsals, was out of tune and the pedals and some keys were stuck. A piano technician brought this rickety instrument up to playable condition.
By then, it was already 11 p.m. on January 24, 1975, and the concert was fully booked with around 1,400 visitors.
Due to these circumstances and the desolate condition of the Stutz grand piano, Jarrett did not want to perform and return to his hotel.
It was thanks to the organizer Vera Brandes, who was almost 18 years old at the time, that she was able to convince Jarrett to perform after all. Jarrett agreed and said to her: "Okay, I'll play and I'll play it only for you".
It was against this background that the magnificent Köln Concert was created.
In 1991, two Japanese musicologists procured a sheet music edition of the Köln Concerto, which was published by Schott Music as an original transcription authorized by Keith Jarrett.
Jarrett writes in the preface that he only gave permission for the publication of a transcription at the insistence of musicologists and pianists because
"...this improvisation already exists in a concrete form and the transcription is only a description of the music".
Previously, he was of the opinion that the product of a single improvisation concerto could not be recommended for replaying.
Jarrett also writes in this foreword to the transcription:
"So here we have before us, as it were, the image of an improvisation (comparable to the print of a painting),but all we see is the surface - the depth remains hidden from us.
As a consequence, I would recommend this recording as a definitive reference for any pianist who intends to play the KÖLN CONCERT. Good luck!"
This is the basis for Greg Baker's pianistic empathy in bringing the Köln Concert live to the stage after exactly 50 years on January 24, 2025 in the Barocksaal Schloß Vietgest. He does not want to cover Keith Jarrett, play after him or cling to his transcription.On the contrary, he will remain true to Jarrett's main themes, but will give space to his own freely improvised pianistic course in the improvisation sequences, without losing sight of the full effect of the holistic nature of the Köln concert.
