Bordeaux Concert Explained

Bordeaux Concert
Type:live
Artist:Keith Jarrett
Cover:Keith Jarrett Bordeaux Concert.jpg
Released:2022, September 30.
Recorded:2016, July 6.
Venue:L'Auditorium de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
Length:77:30
Label:ECM
Producer:Keith Jarrett
Prev Title:Budapest Concert
Prev Year:2020

Bordeaux Concert is a solo piano album by Keith Jarrett containing music recorded live on July 6, 2016, at L’Auditorium de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, during a European tour. It was released by ECM Records on CD in September 2022.[1]

This concert was produced by Jazz And Wine Bordeaux Festival for the opening concert of the 2016 edition and celebrates the 10 anniversary of the festival. The festival rented the Bordeaux Auditorium for that event.

2016 solo concerts

According to keithjarrett.org, in 2016 Jarrett played a total of 8 solo piano concerts.[2] Bordeaux Concert was recorded at the fifth of those concerts, on the second night of his European tour.

Reception

In a review for AllMusic, Thom Jurek wrote that the album "is not for the Jarrett beginner, but for seasoned fans of his many solo recordings, that are, after all, responsible for a sizeable portion of his legendary reputation. The dialogue he engages in with the piano here challenges its own assertions with an unassuming, even reverential authority. This is not only masterful, it soulful, interrogatory, and virtuosic."

The Guardians John Fordham noted that "everything from the softest improvised ballads to the most exuberantly hard-stomping blues draw grateful accolades – the sound of an audience's thanks for a one-off music that belonged only to their presence with Jarrett, in that space, on that unique evening."

Mike Jurkovic, writing for All About Jazz, called the album "a remarkable listen," and stated: "Bordeaux Concert feels like it has always been there. In the air, in the heart, in the quiet turnings of a world at large. Just waiting for one to encounter it and come to the greater understanding of just how beautiful, how peaceful, this life can be."

In an article for The Daily Telegraph, Ivan Hewett remarked: "If this album turns out to be Jarrett's farewell, it will be a more than worthy one."

Jim Hynes of Glide Magazine wrote: "Every Jarrett solo performance holds its own magical appeal and Bordeaux certainly holds its own with any of the others in his storied catalog."[3]

Associated Press writer Steven Wine praised the album's "astounding mix of intensity, introspection and invention," and commented: "Structure and pacing are a marvel as Jarrett's on-the-spot composition swings between gorgeous lyricism and dissonant, distressed chromatic explorations that abandon tempo... One yearning melody unfolds like an invitation to hum, and so Jarrett does. He likes what he's hearing, and it's easy to understand why."[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Keith Jarrett.

  1. "Part I" – 12:45
  2. "Part II" – 4:44
  3. "Part III" – 4:33
  4. "Part IV" – 7:47
  5. "Part V" – 6:16
  6. "Part VI" – 4:23
  7. "Part VII" – 7:28
  8. "Part VIII" – 5:48
  9. "Part IX" – 4:39
  10. "Part X" – 2:54
  11. "Part XI" – 6:08
  12. "Part XII – 5:34
  13. "Part XII – 4:31

Personnel

Production

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Keith Jarrett: Bordeaux Concert . ECM Records . March 14, 2021.
  2. https://www.keithjarrett.org/past-concerts/#2016 Keith Jarrett 2016 live concerts
  3. Web site: On 'Bourdeaux Concert,' Keith Jarrett Releases Highly Lyrical Third Solo Concert From Acclaimed 2016 Tour . Jim . Hynes . September 30, 2022 . Glide Magazine . October 4, 2022.
  4. Web site: Review: Keith Jarrett at his peak on 'Bordeaux Concert' . Steven . Wine . September 28, 2022 . ABC News . October 4, 2022.