Keith Jarrett: Roma

*Roma* is the fifth and final concert recording from Keith Jarrett’s highly acclaimed final European solo tour in the summer of 2016. It was recorded on July 12 of that year at the Sala Santa Cecilia in the Parco della Musica in Rome. With music that stands out distinctly even within this extraordinary series, it brings this chapter to a close. As the Italian daily newspaper “La Repubblica” aptly wrote at the time: “Ultimately, Jarrett celebrates a timeless ritual—one that, in some respects, is as old as humanity itself. He pays homage to the act of creation, to spontaneous composition, and does so before an audience by sharing with listeners the excitement and joy of discovery.” The course of this evening—at once familiar and yet unique—unfolded according to a logic all its own: First, the canvas is cleared and filled with rich chromaticism, before the familiar touch and lyrical passages give way to unexpected contrapuntal twists, moments of crystalline lyricism, and sections of rhythmic intensity. Thus a grand musical architectural structure emerges. Just as the concerts in Budapest, Bordeaux, Munich, and Vienna each revealed a distinct musical landscape, Roma now presents one last time yet another—unmistakable and entirely unique in its own right.