Keith Jarrett ROMA Album Released on ECM

Roma is the fifth and final concert recording from Keith Jarrett's highly acclaimed last European solo tour of 2016, captured at the Santa Cecilia Hall in Rome on July 12th. It brings the chapter to a close with music that stands apart even within this remarkable series. The album will be released November 6, 2026 via ECM.

As the Italian daily paper La Repubblica summarily stated at the time of the concert: 'Ultimately, Jarrett celebrates a timeless ritual—one that, in some respects, is as old as humanity itself. He pays tribute to the act of creation, to spontaneous composition, and he does so in front of an audience, sharing with listeners the excitement of discovery.'

The procedure on this evening, familiar yet separate, unfolded according to its own inner logic: first the canvas is cleared; in 'Part I', Jarrett builds momentum with dense chromatic lines, staccato, before themes become apparent and the keys are allowed sustain. 'Part II' continues in this sombre yet more obviously organised fashion before in the subsequent parts familiar touch and lyricism give way to unexpected counterpoint and passages of concentrated rhythmic insistence – all forming one great architectural structure.

We witness Jarrett's unmatched ability to pull a swinging gospel out of thin air in 'Part V', a gritty blues in Part 'IX', his penchant for stacking large arpeggiated harmonic arcs in 'Part VI', as well as the pianist's deep respect for the songcraft of the first half of the 20th century, translated to melodies of his own design – created in the moment –, in Parts 'VII-VII'. In 'Part X', Jarrett brings the canvas back to its original state. Encore favourites 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' and 'It's A Lonesome Old Town' conclude this concert, again familiar yet with a fresh delivery, rejuvenated.

If the concerts from Budapest, Bordeaux, Munich and Vienna each revealed a distinct musical landscape, Roma offers another, unmistakably its own. Five concerts in 13 days, each its own unique episode, with one-in-a-kind implications. There is a sense of summation without retrospection, of an artist remaining wholly committed to discovery in the moment.

Press Reactions to the 2016 Tour Recordings

New Vienna (ECM 2850, released 2025): 'Unlike Jarrett's solo piano works of the '70s, which favored lengthy pieces, during this period, he opted for shorter, distinctly composed pieces that resulted in a suite-like quality. Here we have nine of those, ranging from as short as three minutes to eleven minutes. The 'Suite,' itemized as Part I through Part IX, is followed by a succinct version, likely an encore, of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' All those Jarrett characteristics are present here: the melody, the uncanny use of space, the tremendous command of dynamics, the wit, and his penchant for the blues, which sometimes surfaces at unexpected times. No genre is ever out of reach for Jarrett. Jarrett aficionados have heard 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' on three of his other solo albums, but the phrasing is quite different here; the tempo is slowed exquisitely to accentuate single notes. The audience roars a hefty round of approval, as well they should.' - Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine

Bordeaux Concert (ECM 2740, released 2022): 'Consisting of a purely improvised 13-part suite, this intimate concert travels from knotty atonal ('Part I') to searching and pensive ('Part II') to deeply lyrical and almost hymn-like ('Part III'), with stopovers into the jauntily contrapuntal ('Part V') and sublimely restful ('Part VI'). Jarrett also digs into some gutbucket blues and boogie-woogie flourishes ('Part VIII') while also touching on achingly beautiful melodic passages ('Part IX', 'Part XII') to rival his most affecting moments on 'The Köln Concert'. […] Riveting and cathartic.' - Bill Milkowski, Absolute Sound

''Bordeaux Concert' has several hymn-like meditations that seem so complete they would be construed as through-composed if performed by anyone else. [Keith Jarrett] shifts into short explorations like 'VI,' which balances gorgeous harmony against spiky atonality, and somewhat longer improvisations like 'V,' filled with so much thorny interaction and opposing movement that it sounds like it was inspired by Glenn Gould. He has succeeded in parsing the most compelling of his musical ideas. As such, 'Part XII' sounds as fully realized as some of the named compositions on 1972's 'Facing You' — a rich, wistful ballad. While it's a challenge to not delve into nostalgic rumination, knowing Jarrett will likely never perform again, his compulsion to throw himself into the unknown and trust his muse remains as enthralling a concept as it always did.' - James Hale, Down Beat

Budapest Concert (ECM 2700/01, released 2020): 'Keith Jarrett's 2016 'Budapest Concert' spans the then 71-year-old's spontaneous prowess from stalkingly dissonant improv to wry boogying with a headlong drive worthy of the best of his 21st century solo shows.' - John Fordham, The Guardian

Munich 2016 (ECM 2667/68, released 2019): 'Jarrett's solo concert recordings constitute a unique and continually evolving body of work in his discography. 'Munich 2016' updates this history with a recording of a concert Jarrett gave in the city where the ECM label was born. The unique intensity emanating from this performance makes this Munich concert immediately one of the most intense performances the pianist has ever given.' - Alex Dutilh, France Musique

'Munich 2016 features Jarrett at his fluent and inventive best (…) The pianist re-constitutes the core ingredients of his aesthetic in fresh and unexpected ways.' - Mike Hobart, Financial Times

ECM Also Reissues Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden's Jasmine on Vinyl

ECM will also reissue Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden's 2010 Jasmine on vinyl as part of the label's Luminessence audiophile series on November 20, 2026.

In a similar way as Last Dance, Jasmine – originally released in 2010 – captures the intimate one-off session and reunion of Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden, who are documented exchanging familiar glances in duo over several sets of standards at Jarrett's home studio in New Jersey. At the time of the album's release, the Financial Times fittingly observed, 'it is more than 30 years since they last recorded together, but their dialogue has the detailed intimacy of old friends exploring common themes.'

Now available for the first time ever on vinyl, Jarrett and Haden's unmatched two-way understanding can be re-discovered anew, radiating with great warmth on classic songs like 'Body and Soul', 'For All We Know', 'Where Can I Go Without You', 'Don't Ever Leave Me' and more.

As Keith Jarrett says in his liner notes: 'This is spontaneous music made on the spot without any preparation save our dedication throughout our lives that we won't accept a substitute… These are great love songs played by players who are trying, mostly, to keep the message intact.'

Keith Jarrett · Roma · ECM · Release Date: November 6, 2026

For more information, visit ECMRecords.com.

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