Best of Jazz

Keith Jarrett is clearly a monument, a cornerstone in jazz. If you have been following him for a while, every new release tends to feel a bit like a gift. Even when it is another full concert of untitled tracks that looks, at first, slightly intimidating, you press play, and very quickly, something happens.

But coming to his music for the first time is something else entirely. It is vast, and it is not always obvious where to begin. Solo concerts, standards, quartets, classical recordings… it can feel like standing in front of something you are not quite sure how to approach.

So the question is simple: where do you start?

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I – Start with the obvious… or not?

The Köln Concert is the obvious place to begin. It is the record everyone points to, the one that seems to stand above the rest, the one that, even outside of jazz, has reached something close to iconic status.

And for good reason. There is something immediate about it. The opening notes, simple and almost fragile, pull you in without effort. The music builds slowly, patiently, repeating, expanding, finding its way forward in real time. You don’t need to “understand” anything to stay with it. It just works.

So yes, you can start here.

But at the same time, it might not be the easiest introduction to Keith Jarrett. Because what you hear on The Köln Concert is a very specific side of his music: a long, fully improvised solo performance, without interruption, without titles, without clear landmarks. It asks for time, for attention, and maybe for a certain kind of mood. If you are not used to that format, it can feel a bit disorienting.

“Since it is all improvised, every second may contain a hundred choices for me. It’s a course of thought and thought, decision and no decision.”
— Keith Jarrett

And yet, that is also exactly what makes it so compelling. So maybe the right way to approach it is not as the starting point but as a possible entry point. If it clicks, it can open the door to everything else. If it doesn’t—at least not yet—that is perfectly fine. There are other ways in.

What you hear on The Köln Concert is just one moment within a much larger body of solo recordings. Over the years, Keith Jarrett has developed this format extensively, across decades of live performances. If you would like to go further, we have explored this period in more detail here: Keith Jarrett – Piano Solo (1972–1998) and Keith Jarrett – Piano Solo (1998–2017).

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II – Start with something familiar: the Standards Trio

If The Köln Concert feels a bit too open, too unstructured, then the Standards Trio is probably the most natural way into Keith Jarrett’s music.

Formed with Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums, this trio does something very simple on paper: they play standards. Songs you may already know, or at least forms that feel familiar: clear themes, recognizable structures, a sense of grounding that makes it easier to follow what is happening.

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What makes these recordings so compelling is the balance between structure and freedom. The melody is there, the harmony is there, but within that framework, everything is alive. The trio listens, reacts, stretches time, and subtly reshapes the material.

It also gives you a different perspective on Jarrett as a pianist. You hear how he interacts, how he leaves space, how he pushes and pulls the music forward with the others.

If you are looking for a clear entry point, Standards, Vol. 1, is the perfect place to begin. You don’t need to overthink it; the familiarity of the material will do the rest, and from there, you can start to hear what makes this trio so special.

Accessible, grounded, great first step

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III – Start with space and lyricism: the European Quartet

Another way into Keith Jarrett’s music is through what is often called his European Quartet.

With Jan Garbarek on saxophone, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums, the sound is immediately distinctive. Lighter, more transparent. The compositions are clearly defined, often lyrical, sometimes almost meditative, but always leaving room for the music to expand and move in unexpected directions.

It is also a different kind of listening experience. Less about following a structure you already know, less about being carried by a single improvisation, and more about letting the music come to you.

“You know, when people look at a tree, they look at the leaves; they don’t look at the spaces between the leaves. They’re focused on the tree. I think there’s an awareness of spaces or it wouldn’t look like a tree to them.”
–Keith Jarrett

Belonging is probably the best place to start here: strong themes, open spaces, and a sense of quiet intensity that runs throughout the record.

If you are drawn to something more atmospheric, more reflective, this might be your way in.

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IV – Start with intensity: the American Quartet

If what you are looking for is something more direct, more physical, then the American Quartet is another way into Keith Jarrett, and a very different one.

With Dewey Redman on tenor saxophone, Charlie Haden on bass, and Paul Motian on drums, the music moves with a kind of urgency that you don’t really hear in the European Quartet. It is denser, more grounded, sometimes rougher around the edges. And at times, it can feel almost overwhelming.

The compositions are often more extended, more layered, blending written themes with open sections that can suddenly take off. It also reveals another side of Jarrett. Less lyrical, less “floating,” and more anchored in something earthy, almost raw. The energy comes as much from the group as from the piano.

The Survivors’ Suite is a great entry point here. If it clicks, it opens up a whole different dimension of his music. This might not be the easiest place to start, but for some listeners, it is the one that makes the strongest impression right away.

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V – Another path: Jarrett as a classical pianist

It is easy to forget, but part of Keith Jarrett’s discography has nothing to do with jazz.

Alongside his improvised concerts and his work in trios or quartets, Jarrett has also recorded a significant number of classical pieces by Bach, Mozart, and Shostakovich, among others. And he approaches them with the same level of attention and commitment.

There is no improvisation here, no stretching of form, no interaction with other musicians. The music is written, and demands a different focus. What remains is touch, phrasing, and a very direct relationship to the score.

“If I’m not a jazz player all the time, I’ve at least been cued in to what I do by jazz.”
–Keith Jarrett

It might not be the most obvious place to start. And if you are coming to Jarrett through jazz, it can even feel a bit surprising at first.

But for some listeners, it can also be a very natural entry point. Especially if you are already familiar with classical music, or simply curious to hear another side of his playing, more inward, but just as distinctive.

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VI – One Last Way In: Keith Jarrett as a sideman

Before becoming the towering figure many listeners associate with solo concerts and long improvisations, Keith Jarrett also appeared as a sideman on several major recordings.

And in some ways, this can be one of the easiest ways to approach his playing.

Because within another musician’s framework, Jarrett reveals different sides of himself. Sometimes more direct, sometimes more restrained, and even in a supporting role, his phrasing, his touch, and his sense of movement through the music stand out almost immediately.

His work with Miles Davis remains one of the most fascinating entry points. Albums like Live-Evil or The Cellar Door Sessions have Jarrett in a completely different environment: electric, dense, unpredictable, and far removed from the lyrical solo piano recordings many listeners first associate with him.

But there are many other paths as well, whether with Charles Lloyd, whose quartet helped bring Jarrett to wider attention in the late 1960s, or through various collaborations across his early career.

It is another reminder that there is no single version of Keith Jarrett. And sometimes, hearing him through someone else’s music can be the perfect place to begin.

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So, where should you start?

In the end, there might not be a single right way to start with Keith Jarrett.

That is probably what makes his music both so fascinating and, at first, a little difficult to approach. Each path leads somewhere different. A solo concert won’t give you the same experience as the trio. The European Quartet doesn’t sound like the American one. And even within each of these, the music keeps evolving.

So rather than trying to find the perfect starting point, it might be better to simply choose one that feels right to you. Something familiar, something more open, something more intense, whatever draws you in.

Because with Jarrett, what matters is not so much where you begin, but how you listen. Taking the time to stay with the music, to come back to it. Some recordings will connect immediately. Others might take longer. And some may only make sense later. That is part of it.

So pick a starting point, press play, and see where it takes you. And if you already have one, an album you keep returning to, or the one that first made it all click, feel free to share it.

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