Keith Jarrett 80th birthday tribute and Köln Concert 50th anniversary at the Barbican

The Barbican and Serious have announced a series of special events to celebrate Keith Jarrett’s 80th birthday and the 50th anniversary of The Köln Concert, taking place in spring 2026.

On March 30, 2026, The Bad Plus will be joined by Chris Potter and Craig Taborn for a reinterpretation of Jarrett’s American Quartet repertoire.

On April 11, pianists Maki Namekawa and Thomas Enhco will perform a reimagining of The Köln Concert, with Namekawa playing parts of the original concert note-for-note and Enhco improvising.

Barbican Cinema will also screen Keith Jarrett: The Art of Improvisation (2005), the documentary by Mike Dibb featuring interviews with Keith, his collaborators, and biographer Ian Carr.

Thanks Håvard for the link.

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“The Köln Concert” chosen to join the National Recording Registry

This was announced in April 2025, but I missed it at the time, so thanks to David for letting me know that The Köln Concert is “among the 25 audio works chosen this year to join the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, which preserves works deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” that are at least 10 years old.”

The New York Times has an article about some of the works included in the registry this year.

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“New Vienna” album to be released on May 30, 2025

ECM will release New Vienna, a recording of the July 9, 2016 solo concert at Vienna’s Musikverein, on CD and vinyl. This is another recording from Keith’s 2016 tour, joining the three concerts ECM has already released from that year (Budapest Concert, Bordeaux Concert, and Munich 2016).

"New Vienna" cover
“New Vienna” cover

Thanks Michel, Matthias, and Daniel for letting me know about this release.

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February 2, 1975 concert to be broadcast on Bremen Zwei

Bremen Zwei will broadcast the February 2, 1975 solo concert in Bremen on Saturday, March 29, at 10 PM CET. This concert was recorded just days after the Köln concert.

Listen live at Bremen Zwei’s website.

Thanks Hartmut for the link.

Update (April 27, 2025). Due to technical difficulties, the concert will be broadcast again on May 29, 2025 at 10 PM CET.

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The New Köln Concert – Tribute to Keith Jarrett

To mark the 50th anniversary of The Köln Concert, the WDR Funkhausorchester has released Memories Of Tomorrow – The New Köln Concert, a 12-movement orchestral tribute based on Jarrett’s motifs. Composed by Bernd Wilden and pianist Stephan Görg, the performance was recorded live in Cologne on February 21, 2025.

Thanks Helmut for the link.

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