Keith Jarrett

Bordeaux Concert is a special document from Keith Jarrett’s last European tour. Each of Jarrett’s 2016 solo piano concerts had its own strikingly distinct character, and in Bordeaux the lyrical impulse is to the fore. In the course of this improvised suite, many quiet discoveries are made, and there is a touching freshness to the music as a whole, a feeling of intimate communication. Reviewing the July 2016 performance, the French press spoke of hints of the Köln Concert and Bremen-Lausanne in the flow of things, and extended sections of Bordeaux are beguilingly beautiful. Tender songs are pulled from the air, “rousing a community of listening at the edge of silence”, as Le Monde put it, “an awareness of time out from the noise and weariness of the world.

‘Bordeaux Concert’ demonstrates that, even as Jarrett aged and cultivated his repertoire, he never let intellect overpower spontaneity. ‘Bordeaux Concert’, like all the pianist’s solo outings, is a voyage of discovery. […] The extensiveness of Jarrett’s spontaneous creations continues to be a marvel. Even in the shorter-form pieces that he favored in his later performances, he succeeded in mingling styles, from gospel to classical, blues, jazz, and free improvisation. ‘Bordeaux Concert’ is an intriguing masterpiece, rapturous, enthusiastic, and creative on a scale which few can relate to.
Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz