The second complete show to be issued from Keith Jarrett’s 2016 European tour – following on from the widely-acclaimed concert released as Munich 2016 - this double album documents the pianist’s solo performance at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest. Jarrett, whose family roots reach back to Hungary, viewed the Budapest concert as akin to a homecoming, and the context inspired much creative improvisation. Where Jarrett’s early solo concerts shaped a large arc of music over the course of an evening, the later concerts have generated suite-like structures, comprised of independent “movements”, each of them a marvel of spontaneous resourcefulness. Creative energy is applied also to familiar songs given as encores, “It’s A Lonesome Old Town” and “Answer Me”, transformed in the Budapest concert.
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Magnificent, multi-dimensional, improvised solo piano — five stars all the way.
Keith Jarret's improvisational solo piano music is magnificent. From energetic streams of atonal waterfalls, to lyrical quietude, Jarret covers the entire psycho-spiritual territory. Living music, outside of conventional song frameworks and familiar chordal and melodic concepts. Adventurous, multi-dimensional music for the adventurous, multi-dimensional listener. Five stars all the way.
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This concert is the gold standard
That's Keith Jarrett's own assessment, and it's most accurate. I've been a huge fan (and, as a pianist, a vicariously thrilled one) since I first saw him perform at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 1976. This concert features Jarrett at his improvisational best. (How could it not?) The pieces are, as always, amazing, with the unbelievably hyper ones bracketed by quieter ones. But when he takes off on one of those fast flights, you really get a physical lift. There are no lows here, only highs. Highly recommended for Jarrett aficionados and/or anyone who appreciates piano improv.
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The gold standard
Only for two encores, “Budapest Concert” is worth buying. “It’s a Lonesome Old Town” and “Answer Me” are also performed in “Munich 2016,” two weeks after this concert. Budapest version is much more disconsolate and wet than Munich. Jeff Tamarkin refers Jarrett’s saying “Budapest Concert” being the gold standard among his solo live albums on his disk review. (Jazz Times, Dec., ’20) Nevertheless, I can’t even choose a favorable one between Munich and Budapest, much less compare with his early performances like Bremen/Lausanne, and Koln. As an ordinary listener, I’m always wondering what causes a major impact on his improvisation? Is it geography, or cultural climate, or simply an air? As is often the case, he starts introductory parts with groping manner as if searching inner-self inside out. How does he come across with beautiful melody during those process? Is it like chiseling a figure out of stone? Or choosing essential pieces for collage? As though receiving an epiphany, he suddenly, but convincingly, plays a serene and accessible melody like part VII. CD2 contains many approachable parts. Listening part V, VIII, and XI becomes my favorite moment. Understanding his backbone well, audience welcomes his blues play with bigger applause. Nate Chinen reports Keith Jarrett has been attacked by stroke twice in 2018 on New York Times.( Oct. 21, 2020) He comments it is unlikely he will ever perform in public again. What a pity we can’t hear him live again.