Keith Jarrett: "The Köln Concert"

"It is the most successful solo jazz album of all time, but Keith Jarrett wants to see each of the 3.5 million copies of 'The Köln Concert' stomped into the ground. Recorded on Jan. 24, 1975, in front of a live audience in the Cologne opera house, the hauntingly lyrical free improvisation became as much a part of '70s ambiance as the scent of pot and patchouli. In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel in 1992, Mr. Jarrett complained that the album had become nothing more than a soundtrack. 'We also have to learn to forget music,' he added. 'Otherwise we become addicted to the past."



But much as his admirers might like to honor Mr. Jarrett's wishes, his 'Köln Concert' is not likely to be forgotten any time soon. In fact, what makes the album extraordinary is that the music, created out of nothing over the space of an evening decades ago, has stood the test of time as a lasting work of art. Far from being a memorial monument, the record gives the listener the opportunity to witness the act of creation itself, to participate in the making of art."

-- Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, on one of TMR's favorite performance albums, for the Wall Street Journal.