Events

Köln Concert 50 celebrates the 50th anniversary of Keith Jarrett’s iconic 1975 Köln Concert.

The live recording remains the bestselling solo album in jazz, and the bestselling solo piano album in history, in any genre.

On the day of the original performance, Jarrett threatened to cancel the concert. He was faced with a rehearsal piano rather than the Bösendorfer 290 Imperial concert grand piano he had requested. It couldn’t be tuned and the pedals were sticking. He was frustrated, hungry and in pain, wearing a back brace after a 350 mile drive. It was only thanks to the persistence of the 17-year-old promoter, Vera Brandes, who had sold 1400 tickets to this late-night solo performance in Köln’s opera house after that evening’s show, that Jarrett performed.

In a special concert performance, internationally acclaimed jazz pianist Dorian Ford honours this historic masterpiece. Creating a rare opportunity to hear Jarrett’s brilliant original, Ford fuses it with his own inventive grooves and improvisations.

Dorian first encountered the recording of the Köln Concert 40 years ago and his admiration for Jarrett’s genius has endured. He began to learn Jarrett’s improvisation note for note, working from the authorised transcription, until he could perform the entire concert from memory with meticulous accuracy. He began giving concert performances of the Köln Concert in 2011.

However, as he engaged more deeply with Keith Jarrett’s work, Dorian realised that this was not true to its improvisational essence. In the true spirit of jazz piano, he needed to allow Jarrett’s music to inspire his own creative journey. By weaving sections from Jarrett’s original with his own improvisations, Köln Concert 50 was born.

Köln Concert 50 celebrates the 50th anniversary of Keith Jarrett’s iconic 1975 Köln Concert.

The live recording remains the bestselling solo album in jazz, and the bestselling solo piano album in history, in any genre.

On the day of the original performance, Jarrett threatened to cancel the concert. He was faced with a rehearsal piano rather than the Bösendorfer 290 Imperial concert grand piano he had requested. It couldn’t be tuned and the pedals were sticking. He was frustrated, hungry and in pain, wearing a back brace after a 350 mile drive. It was only thanks to the persistence of the 17-year-old promoter, Vera Brandes, who had sold 1400 tickets to this late-night solo performance in Köln’s opera house after that evening’s show, that Jarrett performed.

In a special concert performance, internationally acclaimed jazz pianist Dorian Ford honours this historic masterpiece. Creating a rare opportunity to hear Jarrett’s brilliant original, Ford fuses it with his own inventive grooves and improvisations.

Dorian first encountered the recording of the Köln Concert 40 years ago and his admiration for Jarrett’s genius has endured. He began to learn Jarrett’s improvisation note for note, working from the authorised transcription, until he could perform the entire concert from memory with meticulous accuracy. He began giving concert performances of the Köln Concert in 2011.

However, as he engaged more deeply with Keith Jarrett’s work, Dorian realised that this was not true to its improvisational essence. In the true spirit of jazz piano, he needed to allow Jarrett’s music to inspire his own creative journey. By weaving sections from Jarrett’s original with his own improvisations, Köln Concert 50 was born.