Ralph van Raat, Matangi Kwartet & Friends

It is a famous story. On 24 January 1975, pianist Keith Jarrett arrived at the Cologne Opera, sick and exhausted. The piano did not meet his requirements and was poorly tuned. He came close to cancelling the concert altogether. And yet it became one of the most legendary jazz concerts ever. Jarrett at his best in a single, breathtaking, extended improvisation. Fortunately the recording microphones were switched on. Four million copies of the album The Köln Concert were sold. Jarrett is now 78 and following two strokes is no longer performing. And yet his work can be heard live again. Ralph van Raat, a jack-of-all-trades at the piano, replays the Köln Concert note by note.

Van Raat also pays tribute to another jazz piano giant: Chick Corea. Corea’s compositions at the interface of contemporary classic and jazz may be slightly less well known, but are no less worthy of discovery for that. The so far barely performed pieces Piano Music No. 1-5 (from Piano Music Vol. 1) are a perfect example of this stylistic versatility - with even quasi-Baroque references. Also the seldom-performed Septet for Piano, String Quartet, Flute and Horn makes this homage a must-see event. 

PROGRAMME
17:00 / concert 1
Chick Corea
Piano Music No. 1-5
Lyric Waltz
Septet
The Adventures of Hippocrates

19:00 / film 
‘Keith Jarrett. The Art of Improvisation’ (Mike Dibb, 2005)

20:30 / concert 2 
Keith Jarrett
The Köln Concert

21:45 / a conversation with Ralph van Raat