Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep with the record.

— Paul, Vinyl Curator

Keith Jarrett

The Köln Concert

c. 1977-1980s · ECM ECM 1064/65 ST · Stereo · Germany · 2xLP, gatefold · 33 1/3 RPM

Pressing details

Label	ECM
Catalogue number	ECM 1064/65 ST
Year	c. 1977-1980s
Mono / Stereo	Stereo
Country	Germany
Format	2xLP, gatefold
Speed	33 1/3 RPM
Genre	Jazz - Solo Piano/Improvisation
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Musicians	Keith Jarrett (piano)

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  ECM 1064/65 A111 -1044- KT SST
Side B:  ECM 1064/65 B111 -1044-11 KT SST
Side C:  ECM 1064/65 C111 -1044-11 KT SST
Side D:  ECM 1064/65D 111 -1044- KT SST

Condition

Cover: NM
Vinyl: NM

Variant chronology

1975 - true first pressing: laminated gatefold, "ECM Records" script wordmark on labels, no label code, rim text opens "Urheber-" without "Alle"
1976 - transitional/mixed-labels reissue: LP1 retains the "ECM Records" script logo while LP2 already carries the new plain "ECM" logo introduced that year; still no label code
c. 1977-1984 - German pressing (catalogue chronology #26241) with the plain "ECM" logo, GEMA credit, "Alle Urheber-" rim text and label code LC 02516 added
1978-1984 - US-distributed pressing manufactured by Wakefield Mfg. for Warner Bros. Records, "Manufactured and distributed by Warner Bros. Records Inc." on labels
1984 - "Big Side Numbers" label variant, licensed from Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft mbH, Hamburg
c. 1990s-2020s - later European repress carrying the same GEMA/LC 02516 label design but with an updated back cover: barcode, www.ecm.com web address and the "Postfach 600 331 81203 München" contact block matching ECM's current-era address format, used as late as 2025 releases <- this copy
1980s-2000s - Japanese Polydor K.K. pressings and CD/other-format reissues in various territories and catalogue prefixes

This Pressing

Later German pressing (post-1976) - ECM logo label with GEMA text and LC 02516 code, not the 1975 first issue.

The Album

The Köln Concert captures a solo piano performance Keith Jarrett gave at the Cologne Opera House on January 24, 1975, an evening that nearly did not happen: he arrived exhausted after a long drive, and the venue's staff provided the wrong instrument, a small, out-of-tune rehearsal Bösendorfer with sticking keys. Rather than cancel, Jarrett improvised the entire concert around the instrument's limitations, leaning into its bass register and repetitive vamping figures to compensate for its thin upper end. Producer Manfred Eicher, who convinced Jarrett to go on despite his reservations, recorded the performance for ECM, and it was released later that year as a completely improvised, wholly spontaneous double album with no pre-composed material. The record became the best-selling solo piano album and the best-selling ECM release in history, introducing a mass audience to long-form free improvisation and cementing Jarrett's reputation as the preeminent solo improviser of his generation. Critically it is regarded as a landmark of the ECM aesthetic and of 1970s jazz more broadly, prized for its lyrical, folk- and gospel-inflected melodic invention sustained over sidelong stretches. Its legacy endures both as a commercial phenomenon and as a touchstone for improvised solo performance across jazz and beyond.

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Köln, January 24, 1975 - Part I (26:15)

Side 2

1. Köln, January 24, 1975 - Part IIa (15:00)

Side 3

1. Köln, January 24, 1975 - Part IIb (19:19)

Side 4

1. Köln, January 24, 1975 - Part IIc (6:59)

The Label

The labels on this copy show the plain grey ECM wordmark (not the earlier ECM Records script), GEMA rights-society text, a P 1975 ECM Records GmbH line, and the rim text beginning Alle Urheber- und Leistungsschutzrechte, together with the label code LC 02516 printed at the bottom. The true first pressing carries the ECM Records script wordmark, no LC code, and rim text starting with Urheber- (no Alle); a transitional pressing from 1976 already carries the ECM logo and the Alle rim text but still lacks the LC code. The presence of LC 02516 here places this copy after the LC-code was added to ECM's German pressings (mid-to-late 1970s onward), making it a later, non-first German pressing rather than the 1975 first issue.

Fidelity

This is an analog German ECM pressing (Pallas or a comparable German plant, based on the stamped -1044-/-1045- style matrices for this title) and not a remastered audiophile edition. ECM's late-1970s German pressings are generally well regarded among collectors for quiet vinyl and reasonably warm, detailed sound, though the true 1975 first pressing with the earliest lacquers is usually rated by collectors on the forums as the most transparent-sounding cut. Later audiophile reissues (e.g. 180g Made in Germany pressings) exist and are sometimes preferred for surface noise, but collectors still rank the original-era German pressings, including this later-1970s variant, above generic later reissues and well above the CD for warmth and tape-like presence. Within the ECM pressing family this copy sits in the middle of the fidelity hierarchy: below the true 1975 first pressing, but above later reissues and the digital editions.

Notes

This is a German ECM pressing of The Köln Concert bearing the plain ECM wordmark, GEMA rights text, and the label code LC 02516 in the rim text. The true 1975 first pressing carries the earlier ECM Records script wordmark, no label code, and rim text without Alle; a transitional 1976 pressing already shows the ECM logo but still lacks the LC code. The LC 02516 code on this copy places it after that transitional window, making it a later (non-first) German pressing. The matrix (-1044-/-1044-11 across all four sides) also differs from the -1044-/-1045- split found on some copies, consistent with a different stamper/press run rather than the earliest lacquers.

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