New Vienna is the fourth concert recording to be released from Keith Jarrett’s final European solo tour. It follows Munich 2016, Budapest Concert and Bordeaux Concert. Why New Vienna? As Jarrett aficionados will know, his discography already includes a legendary Vienna Concert (recorded at the Vienna State Opera) whose music, he once claimed, spoke “the language of the flame itself”, after long years of “courting the fire”. Keith Jarrett’s 2016 return to the Austrian capital brought the flames of inspiration to another historic location with lively acoustic properties, the Golden Hall of the Musikverein, where, at the start of the previous century, Schoenberg, Berg and Webern had premiered works that challenged and changed the course of modern music.
New Vienna, shaping its new music in the moment, is near-encyclopedic in scope. The long forms that typified Jarrett’s early solo concert journeys – from Bremen/Lausanne and Köln to the first Vienna Concert and beyond – had given way, in this concluding phase of his performing life, to shows comprised of shorter, self-contained and contrasting pieces which, in their totality, frequently attained an impromptu suite-like character. And so it was at the Musikverein on July 9, 2016. Part I – the first of nine parts – is a spontaneous whirlwind of sound, swirling, dense and complex – Impetuous as force of nature. Part II floats chords in silence, and slowly draws out a plangent melody. Rhythm is to the fore in Part III, an outstanding instance of Jarrett’s capacity to develop separate and interweaving patterns with each hand.
Part IV is hymnic, trailing clouds of glory, Part V pure balladry channelled from the ether. Part VI refracts the lyrical impulse, rendering it more abstract, and Part VII is a tender song one might imagine rescored for the Belonging quartet. Part VIII gets down to basics with the blues, and Part IX, with its hints of both gospel and country, reminds us of how all-embracing Jarrett’s musical visions could be. With “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”, phrased differently from the splendid versions heard on La Scala, a Multitude of Angels and Munich 2016, Jarrrett concludes another exceptional performance.
New Vienna is issued as Keith Jarrett turns 80. Although he has not played live since 2017, public interest in his solo music remains high, with this year’s 50th anniversary of The Köln Concert also generating worldwide media attention.
Press reactions to the 2016 Tour recordings
Munich 2016 (ECM 2667/68)
Jarrett’s solo concert recordings constitute a unique and continually evolving body of work in his discography. ‘Munich 2016’ updates this history with a recording of a concert Jarrett gave in the city where the ECM label was born. The unique intensity emanating from this performance makes this Munich concert immediately one of the most intense performances the pianist has ever given.
Alex Dutilh, France Musique
Munich 2016 features Jarrett at his fluent and inventive best (…) The pianist re-constitutes the core ingredients of his aesthetic in fresh and unexpected ways.
Mike Hobart, Financial Times
Budapest Concert (ECM 2700/01)
Das neue Album präsentiert einen Jarrett auf dem Gipfel seiner Kunst… ‘Budapest’ könnte sein Testament sein, dieses Rezital von stupender Vielseitigkeit: komplexe polyrhythmische und abstrakt ausgefochtene Dialoge zwischen rechter und linker Hand; feinsinnige pastorale Tableaus und Capriccios; selbsterfundene Quasi-’Standards’ von großer Schönheit und Einfachheit; elektrisierende Ernnerungen an die Pianokunst des Bebop; Blues in mehreren Spiel- oder Stilformen.
Peter Rüedi, Die Weltwoche
Keith Jarrett’s 2016 ‚Budapest Concert‘ spans the then 71-year-old’s spontaneous prowess from stalkingly dissonant improv to wry boogying with a headlong drive worthy of the best of his 21st century solo shows.
John Fordham, The Guardian
Bordeaux Concert (ECM 2740)
Consisting of a purely improvised 13-part suite, this intimate concert travels from knotty atonal (‘Part I’) to searching and pensive (’Part II’) to deeply lyrical and almost hymn-like (‘Part III’), with stopovers into the jauntily contrapuntal (‘Part V’) and sublimely restful (‘Part VI’). Jarrett also digs into some gutbucket blues and boogie-woogie flourishes (‘Part VIII’) while also touching on achingly beautiful melodic passages (‘Part IX’, ‘Part XII’) to rival his most affecting moments on ‘The Köln Concert’. […] Riveting and cathartic.
Bill Milkowski, Absolute Sound
‘Bordeaux Concert’ has several hymn-like meditations that seem so complete they would be construed as through-composed if performed by anyone else. [Keith Jarrett] shifts into short explorations like ‘VI,’ which balances gorgeous harmony against spiky atonality, and somewhat longer improvisations like ‘V,’ filled with so much thorny interaction and opposing movement that it sounds like it was inspired by Glenn Gould. He has succeeded in parsing the most compelling of his musical ideas. As such, ‘Part XII’ sounds as fully realized as some of the named compositions on 1972’s ‘Facing You’ — a rich, wistful ballad. While it’s a challenge to not delve into nostalgic rumination, knowing Jarrett will likely never perform again, his compulsion to throw himself into the unknown and trust his muse remains as enthralling a concept as it always did.
James Hale, Down Beat
New Vienna ist der vierte Konzertmitschnitt, der von Keith Jarretts letzter Solo-Tournee durch Europa veröffentlicht wird. Er folgt auf Munich 2016, Budapest Concert und Bordeaux Concert. Warum New Vienna? Wie Jarrett-Kenner wissen, enthält seine Diskografie bereits ein legendäres Wien-Konzert (aufgenommen in der Wiener Staatsoper), von dem er einmal sagte, seine Musik spreche „die Sprache der Flamme selbst“, nachdem er jahrelang „das Feuer umworben“ hatte. Mit Keith Jarretts Rückkehr in die österreichische Hauptstadt 2016 begab er sich an einen anderen historischen Ort mit besonderer Akustik, den Goldenen Saal des Musikvereins, in dem zu Beginn des vergangenen Jahrhunderts Werke von Schönberg, Berg und Webern uraufgeführt wurden, die die Musikgeschichte radikal und nachhaltig verändern sollten.
Die langen Formen, die Jarretts frühe Solokonzerte – von Bremen/Lausanne und Köln bis zum ersten Wiener Konzert und darüber hinaus – kennzeichneten, waren in dieser letzten Phase seines Konzertlebens Auftritten gewichen, die aus kürzeren, in sich abgeschlossenen und kontrastierenden Stücken bestanden, die in ihrer Gesamtheit oft einen suitenartigen Charakter erreichten. So war es auch im Musikverein am 9. Juli 2016. Teil I – der erste von neun Teilen – ist ein eruptiver Klangwirbel, dicht und komplex – ungestüm wie eine Naturgewalt. Teil II lässt Akkorde in der Luft schweben und entwickelt langsam aus dieser Spannung heraus eine klagende Melodie. In Teil III steht der Rhythmus im Vordergrund, ein herausragendes Beispiel für Jarretts Fähigkeit, mit jeder Hand äußerst unabhängig zu agieren und ineinander verwobene Muster zu entwickeln. Teil IV ist zarter, lyrischer Gesang, Teil V bewahrt den Balladencharakter mit frei schwingenden, erfindungsreichen Melodiebögen, Teil VI bricht die lyrische Grundstimmung und schafft abstraktere Gebilde, und Teil VII ist ein Stück, das man sich für das Belonging-Quartett neu arrangiert vorstellen könnte. Teil VIII kommt mit dem Blues wieder zu den „Basics“ zurück, und Teil IX erinnert uns mit seinen Anklängen an Gospel und Country daran, wie umfassend Jarretts musikalische Visionen sein können. Mit „Somewhere Over The Rainbow“, einer seiner bevorzugten Zugaben, die wiederum anders erklingt als in den anderen großartigen Versionen, die auf La Scala, a Multitude of Angels und Munich 2016 zu hören sind, beschließt Jarrrett eine weitere außergewöhnliche Aufführung.
New Vienna erscheint anlässlich des 80. Geburtstags von Keith Jarrett. Obwohl er seit 2017 nicht mehr live auftritt, ist das öffentliche Interesse an seiner Solomusik ungebrochen, und auch das diesjährige 50-jährige Jubiläum von The Köln Concert sorgt für weltweite Medienaufmerksamkeit.
Weitere Veröffentlichungen von Keith Jarretts Musik sind in Vorbereitung.
Presseauszüge zu den Aufnahmen der Tournee 2016
Munich 2016 (ECM 2667/68)
Jarrett’s solo concert recordings constitute a unique and continually evolving body of work in his discography. ‘Munich 2016’ updates this history with a recording of a concert Jarrett gave in the city where the ECM label was born. The unique intensity emanating from this performance makes this Munich concert immediately one of the most intense performances the pianist has ever given.
Alex Dutilh, France Musique
Munich 2016 features Jarrett at his fluent and inventive best (…) The pianist re-constitutes the core ingredients of his aesthetic in fresh and unexpected ways.
Mike Hobart, Financial Times
Budapest Concert (ECM 2700/01)
Das neue Album präsentiert einen Jarrett auf dem Gipfel seiner Kunst… ‘Budapest’ könnte sein Testament sein, dieses Rezital von stupender Vielseitigkeit: komplexe polyrhythmische und abstrakt ausgefochtene Dialoge zwischen rechter und linker Hand; feinsinnige pastorale Tableaus und Capriccios; selbsterfundene Quasi-’Standards’ von großer Schönheit und Einfachheit; elektrisierende Ernnerungen an die Pianokunst des Bebop; Blues in mehreren Spiel- oder Stilformen.
Peter Rüedi, Die Weltwoche
Keith Jarrett’s 2016 ‚Budapest Concert‘ spans the then 71-year-old’s spontaneous prowess from stalkingly dissonant improv to wry boogying with a headlong drive worthy of the best of his 21st century solo shows.
John Fordham, The Guardian
Bordeaux Concert (ECM 2740)
Consisting of a purely improvised 13-part suite, this intimate concert travels from knotty atonal (‘Part I’) to searching and pensive (’Part II’) to deeply lyrical and almost hymn-like (‘Part III’), with stopovers into the jauntily contrapuntal (‘Part V’) and sublimely restful (‘Part VI’). Jarrett also digs into some gutbucket blues and boogie-woogie flourishes (‘Part VIII’) while also touching on achingly beautiful melodic passages (‘Part IX’, ‘Part XII’) to rival his most affecting moments on ‘The Köln Concert’. […] Riveting and cathartic.
Bill Milkowski, Absolute Sound
‘Bordeaux Concert’ has several hymn-like meditations that seem so complete they would be construed as through-composed if performed by anyone else. [Keith Jarrett] shifts into short explorations like ‘VI,’ which balances gorgeous harmony against spiky atonality, and somewhat longer improvisations like ‘V,’ filled with so much thorny interaction and opposing movement that it sounds like it was inspired by Glenn Gould. He has succeeded in parsing the most compelling of his musical ideas. As such, ‘Part XII’ sounds as fully realized as some of the named compositions on 1972’s ‘Facing You’ — a rich, wistful ballad. While it’s a challenge to not delve into nostalgic rumination, knowing Jarrett will likely never perform again, his compulsion to throw himself into the unknown and trust his muse remains as enthralling a concept as it always did.
James Hale, Down Beat
