** Contains an 8-page booklet featuring a new liner essay in English and German and an art print with a photo and printed signature by Keith Jarrett. ** The 50th Anniversary Edition of The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett emerges as a vital milestone for both aficionados and newcomers to one of jazz’s most significant live documents. Originally recorded on January 24, 1975, at the Cologne Opera House, this impromptu performance overcame logistical setbacks and a famously subpar piano to yield a work of rare clarity and exuberant improvisation. The 2025 celebratory edition restores Jarrett’s iconic concert in a deluxe double LP set, housed in a tip-on gatefold sleeve with an eight-page booklet, featuring newly written liner essays and extensive visual documentation. An included art print, autographed in facsimile by Jarrett, further commemorates the occasion, making this edition highly collectible for enthusiasts of jazz and modern classical music alike.​

From its opening notes - reportedly inspired by the opera house’s chimes - the performance unfolds in sweeping arcs between gospel, minimalist repetition, and bursts of bluesy lyricism. Jarrett’s approach, blending prolonged vamps over simple chord structures with dazzling melodic invention, continues to be the subject of scholarly and listener admiration. The original live atmosphere, with its late-night energy and palpable tension, is restored in the 50th anniversary master: every passage carries forward the immediacy, fatigue, and triumph that colored the night of its recording. The tracklisting remains faithful to the original, featuring Part I and the multipart Part II, including Jarrett’s encore “Memories of Tomorrow,” all presented with the careful attention to sonic detail that ECM Records is known for.

Critical and popular response, as documented over decades and revitalized by this new edition, attests to the concert’s lasting influence. It holds the title of best-selling solo jazz album and solo piano recording, having sold millions and entered the annals of the National Recording Registry for its cultural significance. The 2025 edition coincides with commemorative live tributes, documentaries, and a feature film premiering at the Berlinale, underscoring Jarrett’s breakthrough achievement and its continuous relevance. Whether approached as a vital historical artifact or as a still-fresh artistic statement, The Köln Concert (50th Anniversary Edition) remains a high-water mark in modern music - gathering new listeners into its expansive, improvisational embrace.