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. 1976 · ECM Records ECM 1064/65 ST · Stereo · Germany (West Germany) - pressed domestically for the German/European market · 2xLP, gatefold · 33 1/3 RPM
Pressing details
| Label | ECM Records |
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| Catalogue number | ECM 1064/65 ST |
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| Year | c. 1976 |
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| Mono / Stereo | Stereo |
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| Country | Germany (West Germany) - pressed domestically for the German/European market |
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| Format | 2xLP, gatefold |
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| Speed | 33 1/3 RPM |
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| Genre | Jazz - Solo Piano/Post-Bop |
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| Producer | Manfred Eicher |
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| Composer | Keith Jarrett (improvised) |
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| Musicians | Keith Jarrett (piano) |
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Matrix / Runout
Side A: 1064/65-A 2301 064 S1=8 20
Side B: ECM 1064/65-B 2301 064 S2=4 320
Side C: ECM 1064/65-C 2301 065 S3=3 320
Side D: ECM 1064/65-D 2301 065 S4=6 320
Condition
- Cover
- EX
- Vinyl
- NM-
Variant chronology
1975 - US, Columbia Terre Haute/Pitman pressing (Sterling-cut, T-etched runouts)
1975 (Nov) - Germany, laminated gatefold, "ECM Records" wordmark label, no label code
c. 1976 - Germany, boxed "ECM"-only logo label, GEMA box, no label code <- this copy
c. 1977-1980s - Germany, grey "ECM" label with LC 02516 code
1979 - Spain reissue - no documented sale found
1984-2005 - Germany/US CD and later vinyl reissues - no documented sale found
2010/2015 - 180g audiophile vinyl reissue
This Pressing
c.1976 German pressing - boxed "ECM" logo label, GEMA box, no LC code; later than the Nov-1975 German first issue, earlier than the LC-coded German pressing.
The Album
Recorded live at the Cologne Opera House on 24 January 1975, The Köln Concert captured Keith Jarrett's completely improvised solo piano performance, played on an undersized, out-of-tune rehearsal instrument substituted at the last minute after the concert grand promised by the venue was unavailable. Jarrett, exhausted and reportedly ready to cancel, was persuaded by an eighteen-year-old promoter to go on anyway, and the resulting concert became a landmark of spontaneous composition, blending gospel, folk, minimalist vamps and classical figuration into long continuous arcs. It arrived at a pivotal moment in Jarrett's career, following his American and European quartet work, and established him as the pre-eminent solo improviser in jazz. Produced by Manfred Eicher, it became ECM's best-selling release and remains the best-selling solo piano album and one of the best-selling jazz albums in history. Critics praised its lyrical, meditative sweep, and it is widely credited with bringing improvised piano music to a mainstream listening audience well beyond the jazz world. Its influence persists in the solo-piano concert tradition and in the broader crossover appeal of instrumental music.
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, Part IIb (19:19)
Side 4
1. Köln, January 24, 1975 - Part IIc (6:59)
The Label
The label photographed is teal/green with the boxed "ECM" logo only (no "ECM Records" wordmark), a GEMA rights box, "33 M" speed marking, and rim text beginning "ALLE URHEBER- UND LEISTUNGSSCHUTZRECHTE VORBEHALTEN" - no LC label code is present. The very first Nov-1975 German pressing carried an "ECM Records" wordmark logo, which was replaced by the box-only "ECM" logo in 1976, while an LC rights-society code was only added on subsequent German pressings; the absence of both the wordmark and an LC code places this copy in that 1976 window, after the true first German issue but before the LC-coded pressing represented by the collection's other copy. Deep groove is not present on this copy. Back cover carries the German sub-catalogue number 2641 064 and the München address used on early-to-mid 1970s ECM German pressings, confirming domestic German manufacture.
Fidelity
Mastered by Sterling Sound (for the US pressings) with German pressings cut from the same ECM master tapes at a German facility; ECM's own engineering (Martin Wieland) produced the warm, reverberant piano sound collectors associate with the label's mid-1970s solo recordings. Collectors on the forums rate original US and German pressings as sonically comparable and both superior to later CD transfers and most digital reissues, with individual stamper variation (some copies dubbed "hot stampers" by dealers) accounting for more difference than country of origin. The 2010s 180g European reissue is generally considered a solid but not clearly superior remaster next to a clean original German or US pressing. This copy, an early-to-mid 1970s German pressing, sits within the well-regarded vintage tier, below only the very first German and US issues in strict chronological terms but not in sonic quality.
Notes
This copy's runout numbers ("2301 064"/"2301 065" prefixed) and "MADE IN W. GERMANY"/München back-cover address show it is a German-manufactured pressing, not the US Columbia Terre Haute pressing (Sterling-cut, T-etched runouts, Polydor Inc. distribution). Within the German pressings, the boxed "ECM"-only label logo and absence of an LC rights code place it after the Nov-1975 first German issue (which used an "ECM Records" wordmark) but before the LC 02516-coded German pressing represented by the collection's other copy of this catalogue number. This copy shows no deep-groove, promo, or eye-count markings.
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